Immaculate Reception

In Jerrilyn Farmer's Immaculate Reception, the second installment in the Madeline Bean culinary cozy series, things get heated and a bit controversial with past historical topics. Months after the debacle from the previous incident, Madeline and her two associates started a new catering company together. When they received an invitation to cater the pope's arrival in Los Angeles, things get a bit dicey, when she discovered a hidden confession from a Jesuit priest in a folder of recipes for making bread. She became intrigued and asked her ex-fiancé's help, when they talked about the discovery and started investigating into the matter. While preparations are in full swing, during the viewing of a sitcom, a friend of Brother Xavier's had gotten murdered. While the cops believed a gang banger did it, she thought so otherwise. And then she's been harassed after speaking to the monsignor about the letter, and a day later, he turned up died. Later on, she unearthed something in his English journals and dug around by asking Victor Zoda, who had a hidden past. During the pontiff's visit, things turn awry, when Xavier gets handcuffed to a crate, and Zoda escapes the clutches of the cops, when Maddie corners him and fends for himself to find out why he had done it in the end.

This was another great catering culinary cozy in the series. I really like Madeline and haow she made a fresh start with her catering company to make their first big event a success in th end. I found Holly and Wes a hoot. I didn't like Dottie much and Arlo was a bit much. But I could see her hooked up with Chuck if things pan out well. I loved the California backdrop of Los Angeles for the scenic settings and locations. This would give you a great read to learn about the Jesuit order of priesthood and a great caper to get a feel for things, even with such history from World War Two. This has great drama, non-stop action, intrigue, good recipes, and plenty of mystery to go around.

Will you be invited to the Immaculate Reception?