Madeline Bean and her partner, Wesley Westcott, have a successful catering business smack in the middle of Hollywood. Tonight they are handling the event of the year. Bruno Huntley, the famous producer, is throwing a Halloween bash for 600 prominent people in the entertainment industry.
The party appears to go off without a hitch. Scrumptous delicacies and ghoulish décor transform the Huntley estate into the ultimate house of haunts.
The party comes to an abrupt halt when the host goes into horrid convulsions. His shocking death is the final ghastly scene at the party of the season.
The police have quite a case on their hands. Bruno has been poisoned and there are 600 party-going suspects. Even Bruno's own family can't escape suspicion. Unfortunately, a botched land deal between Wesley and Bruno makes Madeline's partner the number one suspect.
Rumors claim that the catered food was poisoned. Madeline puts herself on the case. She must clean her company's tarnished reputation and exonerate her business partner.
Bruno Huntley had a lot of enemies. Any one of the guests could have slipped him the poison. Who did it and when? Nobody else became sick. The crime was perfectly timed.
Can Madeline Bean find the real killer before it's too late for Wes? The answer to this culinary mystery can be found in Sympathy for the Devil.
This is Jerrilyn Farmer's first novel and it is a good effort. The catering angle allows for some yummy food descriptions reminiscent of the famous sandwiches the late Lawrence Sanders created for Archie McNally.
The Hollywood setting makes for a fun story as well. The characters are anything but outlandish in a town where people cheer on fleeing car chase suspects.
This is the first book of the Madeline Bean series. The lead character doesn't seem fully developed, but that could be because this is the first book. The same could be said for John Sandford's "Rules of Prey," which introduces Lucas Davenport.
An interesting element of the story involves Bruno's last will and testament. Apparently the guy was a prankster even after his demise. His actions and intentions left me scratching my head. In a town like Los Angeles, though, anything is possible. Perhaps the author though along the same line.
Sympathy for the Devil is an entertaining read. Farmer provides plenty of interesting characters and several motives. Some of the elements are conveniently far-fetched, but the author deserves credit for holding this reader's interest.
If you're hungry for a new mystery series with a spunky female character, give Jerrilyn Farmer's work a chance. Sympathy for the Devil is an easy, fun weekend read. Madeline Bean's culinary and crime-solving talents will satisfy the most voracious reading appetites.
