Death and the Epicure

English cookery writer Darina Lisle takes on her fifth murder case, after Recipe for Death , while making plans for her marriage to Detective Inspector William Pigram of the CID. Invited to write a cookbook using products packaged by importer Finer Foods, Darina meets the directors of the family business, who are riven by animosity. Managing director Joel Madoc, widower of the former owner, is pitted against his stepdaughter Anna Drax Johnson and his sister-in-law Marian Drax, who would dearly like to force him out. When Marian, the financial director, is electrocuted in the company kitchen, Madoc is the prime suspect. At the request of Madoc's lover, Jane Leslie, a food store owner and once defendant in a murder case herself, Darina begins her own investigation, egged on unofficially by her fiance, who refuses to interfere outside his territory. While the investigation initially proves fruitless, a visit to Hong Kong to meet some of her future in-laws provides Darina with an unexpected clue. As always, Laurence's detective is a charmer and the food elements are integral to the plot; this particular adventure is enhanced by a well-disguised means of murder and by its glimpse into the English community of Hong Kong. (Jan.)