Red Beans and Vice

Great relaxation---death essentially occured "off stage" I have already passed it on to two friends who are enjoying it.

Mondays were open mike nights at Cafe Heaven. The writing is good and the recipes are too. Heaven Lee is a former lawyer. She runs a cafe in Kansas City. Heaven visits New Orleans for the purpose of planning a benefit banquet in honor of the oldest convent in America. She learns that someone has sent anonymous notes that the waiters in her cafe are diseased. She collects the notes from the Kansas City Star and city hall on the advice of a hate crimes expert. Later Heaven feels better when she learns all of the chefs involved in the banquet received such notes. A friend's husband, Truely, is found stabbed at the benefit event with a stolen cross placed on his body. Heaven assigns herself the task of sorting it all out to find Truely's murderer. The scenes are lively and the plotting is clever.

Heaven Lee is invited to New Orleans to be a guest chef at a swank fund raising dinner for the Sisters of the Holy Trinity. Before she can even get packed, Heaven receives a vicious crank letter that could ruin the reputation of her Kansas City restaurant if it gets into the wrong hands. But going to New Orleans could be great publicity for her restaurant, so it's off the Big Easy. Almost as soon as she hits town, problems crop up. The planning meeting is disrupted by a loud mouthed local celebrity with a grudge. Mysterious and menacing people are lurking around her friends, Mary (an old law school chum of Heaven's) and Truely Whitten (successful owner of the largest coffee importing company in Louisiana). And to top it off, the Sister's lovely Convent building is vandalized and a priceless crucifix is stolen! Heaven smells disaster for the future success of the fundraiser and reluctantly steps in to try and make sense of these seemingly unrelated incidents before it's too late. She meets and befriends a former Madame, Nancy Blair, who knows a lot about the hidden skeletons of the society elite in town. She is squired to all the best night spots by handsome, smooth talking, Southern gentleman T. Wilson Tibbetts, who is Truely's best friend. But murder, conspiracy and plain old greed complicate Heaven's life even further. On the way to solving the mysteries, the reader is treated to some of the most mouthwatering descriptions of delicious sounding Southern food. Many of the actual recipes are included, a trademark of author Lou Jane Temple's scrumptious series featuring Heaven Lee. By all means, read this book. It's a fun, fast paced book and a great addition to the series..

Heaven Lee is asked by her old friend Mary to be a participant in a fundraising dinner for the Ursiline nuns of New Orleans. All does not go well. First an African American newswoman protests that the fundraiser is for a white order, when her ancestor helped found an order of African American nuns who were instrumental in educating their community. Suddenly there is a commotion and graffiti is found all over the courtyard and an eighteenth century cross that the nuns brought with them from France. Other incidents follow. Heaven is determined to find out who is sabotaging the event.I always enjoy the books from this series and this on is no exception. I love the setting, and can't wait to try the recipes.

Heaven Lee having been backed out of the legal profession for doing something wrong opened up a Café Heavens Restaurant in Kansas City. To her amazement, Heaven learns she likes to cook and prepare food and soon her restaurant is a success. She has a full house almost every night with many repeat customers. When a nasty letter about her restaurant is sent to Heaven, City Hall and the local newspapers, she is afraid her restaurant's precious reputation will be tarnished. Thanks to good friends, Heaven is able to keep the note out of the public eye and go to New Orleans with an easy mind. She is part of an outdoor sit down diner to raise funds for the Sisters of the Holy Trinity, one of the oldest convents of the United States. Towards the end of the event one of her closest friend's husband is murdered and Heaven will not rest until she finds the killer. Lou Jane Temple has created a zany, eccentric and lovable heroine who will go that extra mile for anyone she cares about. The mystery is well drawn out and it is doubtful anyone will guess the identity of the perpetrators although when they are finally revealed it makes sense. RED BEANS AND VICE is a colorful culinary who-done-it that is a feast to read.Harriet Klausner