Holy Guacamole! FROM OUR EDITORS
The Barnes & Noble Review
A selection of delectable Tex-Mex recipes are the perfect complement to the dramatic doings in Holy Guacamole!, Nancy Fairbanks's sixth culinary mystery. Food writer Carolyn Blue, a recent transplant to El Paso, Texas, has found plenty to like about her new hometown. She loves the multicultural history of the border city, enjoys exploring the spicy complexities of the local cuisine, and is thrilled to serve on the Executive Committee of the local opera company (opera being her other great loveﾽafter her husband and her work). Food is supposed to bring people together. But when overly artistic and overly dramatic Russian opera director Vladik Gubenko snatches the entire serving bowl of sumptuous guacamole one of his sopranos prepared for the post-performance celebration following the debut of his Tex-Mex version of Verdi's Macbeth, his greed is repaid with a vengeance. Local opera lovers are already in an uproar over Vladik's transformation of Macbeth into a tale of warring modern drug lords, but the discovery of the controversial director's corpse the following morning leaves everyone related to the company even more stirred up. While the police try to work out whether this death was a crime of passion, villainous overindulgence, or cold-blooded murder, Carolyn Blue turns her discerning senses and expertise to discovering the truthﾽdipping into a complex mix of personal motives, professional opportunities, sleazy scandals, and crimes involving victims both on and off the stage. Sue Stone
FROM THE PUBLISHER
At an opera party in Texas, the artistic director eats some bad guacamole that disagrees with him right to death. A scorned soprano admits to mixing the dish to get back at him for passing her over for her dream role. But Carolyn learns that foul play, not foul food, was the real culprit—and uncovers some unsavory secrets that lead to a full menu of suspects.
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