Death Caps

Castleman's second novel featuring San Francisco reporter Ed Rosenberg makes excellent use of the author's in-depth knowledge of his adopted city in an intriguing whodunit plot. Rosenberg writes a regular column on the history of the Bay City for a paper known as The Horn. He and his wife, Julie, are guests at a major media launch of a new magazine, Loving Couple, when several of the major players behind the publication, including publisher Ted Calderone, and editor Valerie Kurtzen, are poisoned by a mushroom appetizer that proves fatal for an investigative journalist whose expose of toxins in breast milk made him powerful enemies in the chemical industry. Rosenberg digs into the twisted relationships of the Calderone family in an effort to solve the crime. Castleman's sure pacing and vivid journalist's world will pull readers in, though the sex scenes may be a little racy for mainstream readers, and the ending may prove less than satisfying for traditional mystery fans.