Dim Sum Dead (Madeline Bean Catering Mystery, 4) – Jerrilyn Farmer (AVON Mystery)

143. Dim Sum Dead (Madeline Bean Catering Mystery, 4) – Jerrilyn Farmer, AVON Mystery, April 2001, ISBN: 0380817187, 248p.

Featuring: Madeline Bean

Synopsis (from back cover):

Mah-Jongg?

Yep. In hip Hollywood, that kitsch old game is fast becoming the next "new" obsession -- and that calls for a party! Madeline Bean and her charming partner Wesley Westcott are determined to throw a gonzo Chinese New Year banquet. But among the hot mah-jongg tiles, the steamy dim sum, and the frosty Singapore slings, no one expects to find one of the players ice-cold dead!

Meanwhile, in one of the historic celebrity mansions that Wesley is restoring as a sideline, a well-aimed crowbar uncovers a stash of precious objects -- including an antique mah-jongg set. As Madeline pieces together how these two events are connected, she must separate the yin from the yang to uncover a killer. It doesn't take a fortune cookie to spell it out. There is always a price to pay...whether gambling at mah-jongg -- or murder.

Comments:

An enjoyable fourth in the series.  The touches about mah-jongg and the meanings behind food eaten during the Chinese New Year were interesting.

Jo