by Marie Celine
DISHING UP DEATH
Gourmet Pet Chef Mystery Series
Book 1
Marie Celine
BEACHFRONT PUBLISHING
Raleigh, North Carolina
Here’s what Marie Celine’s delightful (and delicious) novel DISHING UP DEATH is all about!
Kitty Karlyle is a young and pretty gourmet pet chef. But she does not prepare meals for the rich and famous. Oh, no, Kitty prepares meals for the pampered pets of the rich and famous. Kitty lives in L.A. Where else? A graduate of a top culinary arts school, Kitty’s passion for food and pets has led her to create her own business catering to the elite and demanding clientele of the City of Angels and Angles. Business is off to a slow but successful start when one of her clients’ owners, fading rock star, Rich Evan, is found face down in one of Kitty’s creations. Okay, it was the Benny Had A Little Lamb.
Did we mention Rich was dead? Yep, deader than a canned mackerel. Seems the poor fellow has been poisoned. And Kitty is looking pretty good for the crime. With the assistance of her best friend, and an annoying L.A. County detective who can’t make up his mind whether to arrest Kitty or marry her, Kitty must clear her name and save her business or her next job just may be working that long cafeteria line in the Big House.
Words of praise for DISHING UP DEATH!
“What could be more "Hollywood" than a gourmet pet chef? Marie Celine, who loves animals and food, has seen fit to include both in her first mystery. While we don't get the old Valley Girl language per se, Celine still manages to create the aura of Hollywood to perfection.
Kitty Karlyle has managed to begin a business post chef school by cooking delicious meals, complete with cute little recipe cards, for a few select animals in the Hollywood area. Naturally the pet owners all have their idiosyncrasies, whether it's an aging rock star with a little too much sexual energy or an old woman with a mysterious past. But when one of Kitty's well intentioned meals kills the stoned rock star, the hunt is on. In the meantime, the major investigating detective has decided that even as Kitty is still a suspect, he's going to marry her. Kitty reacts by concluding that she'd better investigate the rash of odd suspects herself, even as the suspects have evil plans for her undoing.
Kitty Karlyle is a darling detective, and her frantic efforts to avoid the amorous Detective Jack only serve to make her a more endearing character. She chases around Los Angeles serving her meals and trying to make sense of a diabolical plot that almost ensnares her at the end.
DISHING UP DEATH is a very cute, well plotted mystery with lots of flair. Marie Celine seems to know her subject well and dishes up characters with enough evil intentions and weird lifestyles to please even the most critical mystery reader. The Los Angeles "thing" permeates the novel, and eccentricity makes this book a thoroughly delightful read. Marie Celine has done a smash-up job on her first novel and has a great idea with the pet chef business. We'll expect to see more mysteries from this very promising new writer. A great job!” — Midwest Book Review
"Pet chef Kitty serves "killer" meals to the pampered canines of upscale L.A. residents: braised lamb, steak and egg burrito, salmon and cheese omelette, etc. Unfortunately, a drugged up ex-rock star eats his pet's meal by mistake and dies of poisoning. Kitty, aghast and under suspicion by the police, works to clear her name with help from best friend, Velma. Light-weight prose, a humorous approach, and idiosyncratic LA characters transform this series start into a real treat." — Library Journal
"Exceptional!!!" — Today's Books, a Public News Service
"Nope. The subtitle “A Gourmet Pet Chef Mystery” is not a misprint. Kitty Karlyle is exactly that. She rushes all over town providing such specially cooked delicacies as Benny Had a Little Lamb, Mister Cookie’s Jack and Dill and The Doggie and the Hare for the pampered pets of the very rich. (Recipes included, by the way.) Her charges range from dogs and cats to cockatiels, but Kitty rises to all occasions and makes a living from this weird enterprise–believable only in the context of Los Angeles. But someone puts poison in one of her recipes and, worse yet, the food looks so tasty that recording star Rich Evan samples it–with fatal results. So who’s to blame? Why Kitty, of course, at least according to the police. With the help of Velma Humphries, a one-time fellow student at cooking school, Kitty sets out to find the real killer, and handsome Detective Jack Young seems eager to assist. DISHING UP DEATH is a rollicking tale meant to be fun to read -- and it succeeds. Celine has a wry sense of humor which peeks through every so often in this romp through Los Angeles' more expensive neighborhoods.” – I Love A Mystery
"1 young, naive gourmet pet chef. Several hungry pampered pets. 1 fading rock star (dead). Many red herrings. 1 attractive detective. 1 murderer on the loose. Mix all ingredients together and you have an entertaining culinary crime caper from food and animal lover Marie Celine." — Skokie Public Library
“From delectable dishes to long-buried secrets and quirky celebrities, this story has all the ingredients that make up a great read.” Cats and Kittens Magazine
“An enjoyable, light-hearted mystery.” Tucson-Pima Public Library, a Staff Pick
Look for these other great Beachfront Entertainment titles:
By Marie Celine–
Gourmet Pet Chef Mystery Series
Dishing Up Death
Lights, Camera, Murder!
Pampered Pet Peril
By J.R. Ripley–
Bird Lover’s Mystery Series
Die, Die Birdie
Maggie Miller Mystery Series
Buried in Beignets
Tony Kozol Mysteries
Stiff In The Freezer
Skulls Of Sedona
Lost In Austin
Bum Rap In Branson
Gunfight In Gatlinburg
Gendarme Charles Trenet novels
Murder In St. Barts
Death Of A Cheat
By Glenn Meganck–
George And The Angels
It’s A Young, Young World
After the Fall
For Children
Big Deal
Big Deal At The Center Of The Earth
No Big Deal
The Adventures of Jimmy Deal
Aliens In The Greenhouse
By Nick Lucas–
Five Minutes
—Beachfront Entertainment—
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblances to actual places or events, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Copyright © 2005, 2011, 2016 Marie Celine
All rights reserved under international and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by Beachfront Publishing/Beachfront Entertainment.
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without the written consent of the publisher, with the exception of brief passages contained in critical articles or reviews.
Beachfront Entertainment, Raleigh, NC. Correspond with Beachfront via email at:
[email protected]
First print edition 2005/First digital edition 2011
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
(Hardcover)
Celine, Marie date
Dishing Up Death / Marie Celine
1. Women cooks – Fiction. 2. Pet food industry – Fiction. 3. Pet owners – crimes against – Fiction. Los Angeles (Calif.) – Fiction
PS 3603.E45D57 2005 813'.6—dc22 2004056800
Cover Art by RITA
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with
another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Dishing Up Death
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
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More from Beachfront Entertainment
1
“Come on, Rich, let’s get out of here.” Fang Danson flung his cigarette butt across the room. It was a quick flash of orange, a tiny meteor hurtling across the dance floor, and then it was gone. Stamped out beneath the stamping feet.
“What?” The pounding disco music rattled Rich Evan’s ears. He was buzzing. A night of drinking could still do that to him, though it took more and more alcohol to get his attention, let alone push him over the top.
“I said, come on. Let’s go!” Fang drew the last word out like he was playing out a fishing line. His accent betrayed his London origins much more strongly than his mate’s.
Rich nodded and headed for the door. Wobbling, bobbing faces waving and shouting farewell. They exited the club and the sudden relative quiet of Sunset Boulevard struck them like a blow.
“Ouch.” Rich winced. The club had been all black lights and mirrored glass balls. The retro Disco Den was a current fave of the ‘in crowd’.
“You gonna make it home?” Fang, six-foot two inches, skinny as a proverbial rail, with a head of carefully concocted blond curls, was shifting on bent knees. He fished for his car keys. They fell from his hand to the smelly pavement, grown filthy through the endless parade of Hollywood’s unwashed masses. He stooped to retrieve them and some punk in a passing car shouted out an obscenity. Fang straightened and shouted back, as was his custom.
Rich laughed. “Too early to go home.” He looked up the street. “Think I’ll look for some action.” He raised an eyebrow as if daring Fang to ante up.
Fang folded and waved his friend off. “Not me. I’m in the studio tomorrow. Got six sides to cut.” With only moderate difficulty, Fang managed to crank up his Aston Martin.
Rich Evan giggled. Three young women were just leaving the Disco Den. A whiff of smoke and a belch of disco music accompanied them. They headed up the sidewalk. Rich followed.
So what if there were three of them.
It was a start.
He ran after them and jumped into their path. “Hello, hello, ladies.”
They looked at him, blank and silent.
“Do you know who I am?”
The lead girl shook her head and said tartly, “No, should I?”
“Yes, you should. I’m Rich Evan.” He waited for the ooohs and ahhhs. None followed. “Lead singer of Infinity Machine?” Still nothing.
Finally a second girl, a malnourished looking brunette with jeans hanging low on her hips, spoke up. “Oh my god, I know who you are.” She turned to her friends. “Do you know who this is?”
Her girlfriends were still shaking their heads.
“He’s this old rock guy. My mom and dad listen to his old records sometimes. They even play his music on that old rock station my parents make us listen to in the car.”
Rich winced. That was three times the damn girl had used the word old in reference to him. He was only forty-seven for crying out loud. He forced himself to ignore the obviously unintended insult. “Are you girls up for a party?”
The lead girl’s eyebrows shot up. She was the prettiest of the bunch and looked like a beach bunny. “With you?”
Rich nodded, desire creeping into his eyes.
The three girls laughed and, holding hands, walked past him.
Rich opened his mouth to call them back, but decided to preserve his dignity. He turned round to find his car. It was up the street in a valet lot. A woman was watching him from the door of the club. She was a pale thing, standing in the shadow of the building’s awning. She met his eye and held her ground. She said hello very softly. He’d almost missed it.
“Hi,” he replied. He started down the sidewalk.
“Need some company?”
Rich froze midstep. Well, this night wasn’t going to be a complete waste of time after all.
Kitty Karlyle laid the insulated bag on the kitchen table, unzippered the side and carefully set a prepared tray of food down on the table. “Here, Benny. Here, Benny-Benny.”
Kitty peeked behind the trash bin in the corner of the kitchen. This was Benny’s favorite place to hide. But not today. She bit her cheek. “Now, where can you be, you naughty pup?”
Benny had left a warm and sticky present on the kitchen floor. As a gourmet pet chef, not a pet caregiver or walker—as she was sometimes forced to gently remind her clients— it was not in Kitty’s job description to pick up after the little dickens, but she didn’t feel right just leaving it there for Benny’s owner to discover, perhaps too late and on the bottom of his foot. She grabbed a paper towel from the counter and scooped the mess into the trash.
Normally, the sound of her voice and the scent of his morning meal would send Benny to the kitchen in a flurry of paws that skidded over the red oak floor. Of course, this morning, he’d been naughty. Kitty wouldn’t have held this against him, but he was only a puppy and probably didn’t understand such things.
The accident might not have been the poor spaniel’s fault anyway. It could be Mr. Evan’s fault.
“What happened, Benny?” Kitty cried out. “Did Daddy forget to let you out this morning? It’s okay,” she cooed. “Come get your breakfast.”
Kitty frowned. Not a peep. She crossed into the media room, following the sounds of a television. The widescreen set was on but no one was watching. Her cell phone went off and she checked the number on her screen. “Oh, no. Not Mrs. Randall, not now.”
Kitty answered the call, much as she hated to. Mrs. Randall, oblivious to anyone else’s life or eardrum safety, was screaming. It seemed Mr. Cookie, her cat, wasn’t eating.
“You’ve got to hurry,” cried Mrs. Randall. “Hurry, Kitty. It’s an emergency!”
Despite her misgivings, and there were many, Kitty promised she’d be right over. And that meant driving all the way from Malibu back to Beverly Hills. She groaned. This time of day, that could take an hour.
Kitty gave one more shout for Benny or Mr. Evan. Neither appeared. She practically flew out the door to her car.
“Daddy’s home!” Rich Evan tossed his car keys into the sink and yawned. “Where are you, you little bugger?” He clapped his hands. There was no sign of Benny.
He glanced at his Rolex. It was too late to go to bed. And he was famished. He pulled open the fridge. Nothing edible looked interesting.
Turning, Rich caught sight of the tray on the breakfast table. “Well, well.” He rubbed his hands delightedly. “What have we here?”
He leaned forward and sniffed. He recognized the tray as one of those belonging to Ms. Karlyle’s Pet Gourmet firm. “Hmmm-mmmm.”
Rich looked under his feet for the dog. There was no sign of him. “Well, you little bugger, if you’re not hungry, I am.”
With that, he removed the foil revealing a tender bit of lamb mixed with some rice and vegetables. And was that a hint of saffron he detected?
He fondled the unlined index-sized card that always accompanied t
he dog’s dishes. “Dog eats better than I do,” he muttered as he read.
Kitty Karlyle Gourmet Pet Chef
—Benny Had A Little Lamb—
1 cup lamb, braised
½ cup finely chopped baby carrots
½ cup finely chopped spinach
1 cup brown rice, steamed
pinch kosher salt
hint of saffron
