Killer Gourmet: A Savannah Reid Mystery

At the outset of McKevett’s engrossing 20th Savannah Reid mystery (after 2014’s Killer Physique), Savannah, the proprietor of the Midnight Magnolia Detective Agency in San Carmelita, Calif., and her husband, Det. Sgt. Dirk Coulter, nab a pair of crooks in time to attend a dinner party at a new restaurant owned by their friends Ryan Stone and John Gibson. Before the meal is served, angry shouts and the sound of breaking glass erupt from the kitchen. Dirk investigates and finds Ryan and John trying to calm their irate celebrity chef, Baldwin Norwood. During the dessert course, a scream comes from the kitchen, where moments later Savannah spots the chef dead on the floor. Savannah and Dirk shift into sleuthing mode and soon learn that Baldwin had no lack of enemies. Natural dialogue and characters with real-life problems set this series well above the cozy average once again. Agent: Richard Curtis, Richard Curtis Associates. (Apr.)