Rating: 
Summary: Murder and a Hit TV Food Game Show
Review: Madeline Bean is a Hollywood event planner and caterer to the stars. Her company is Mad Bean Events. They are scheduled to cater the big wrap party for the new TV hit food game show "Food Freak." As her staff is preparing the food for the party, Greta Greene the producer of Food Freak tells Maddie that the party is canceled for that night. The network wants Food Freak to produce one more episode. That's the bad news. What Greta doesn't know is that this is the last event on the schedule for Mad Bean Events. With the economy slump, people aren't having extravagent parties. Maddie isn't sure what she will do to try to raise money to pay her bills. Most of her staff has found other temporary positions for this slump. One good thing, Greta agrees to pay for the food that has been purchased and the wrap party will be rescheduled. Greta also asks Maddie to come be a writer for the last episode of Food Freak. Apparently the head writer, Tim Stock is missing. Maddie agrees.Maddie enjoys learning the ropes of writing for a food game show. She is intrigued by all the different personalities behind the scenes of this show. Especially Chef Howie and his wife Fate. She starts uncovering clues about the missing head writer. As the web of puzzles grows, Maddie works hard at solving them. Her assistant at Mad Bean Events, Holly, comes to help her. Plus Maddie's relationship with police detective Honnett becomes more confusing. I always enjoy reading a Madeline Bean novel. There are always a lot of escapades and food involved. Jerrilyn Farmer has a winner in this series. The characters are well written as is the plot and setting. She makes me feel like I am there in the story. There is a lot of intrigue and mystery but a lot of fun. This is a quick and easy read. I highly recommend this book and series.
Rating:
Summary: Murder and a Hit TV Food Game Show
Review: Madeline Bean is a Hollywood event planner and caterer to the stars. Her company is Mad Bean Events. They are scheduled to cater the big wrap party for the new TV hit food game show "Food Freak." As her staff is preparing the food for the party, Greta Greene the producer of Food Freak tells Maddie that the party is canceled for that night. The network wants Food Freak to produce one more episode. That's the bad news. What Greta doesn't know is that this is the last event on the schedule for Mad Bean Events. With the economy slump, people aren't having extravagent parties. Maddie isn't sure what she will do to try to raise money to pay her bills. Most of her staff has found other temporary positions for this slump. One good thing, Greta agrees to pay for the food that has been purchased and the wrap party will be rescheduled. Greta also asks Maddie to come be a writer for the last episode of Food Freak. Apparently the head writer, Tim Stock is missing. Maddie agrees. Maddie enjoys learning the ropes of writing for a food game show. She is intrigued by all the different personalities behind the scenes of this show. Especially Chef Howie and his wife Fate. She starts uncovering clues about the missing head writer. As the web of puzzles grows, Maddie works hard at solving them. Her assistant at Mad Bean Events, Holly, comes to help her. Plus Maddie's relationship with police detective Honnett becomes more confusing. I always enjoy reading a Madeline Bean novel. There are always a lot of escapades and food involved. Jerrilyn Farmer has a winner in this series. The characters are well written as is the plot and setting. She makes me feel like I am there in the story. There is a lot of intrigue and mystery but a lot of fun. This is a quick and easy read. I highly recommend this book and series.
Rating:
Summary: Mumbo Gumbo Good.....
Review: Madeline Bean, caterer and events planner to the stars, is a bit concerned as she and her team work on this evening's wrap party for the mega-hit gameshow, Food Freak. The company calendar is empty; the pages are all blank. That's right, this is the last party on the schedule, and until things pick up again, she's going to have to find some part-time work to pay the bills. As luck would have it, work finds her. It seems the network has ordered one more Food Freak show, an over the top, cook-off extravaganza to end its first, number one ratings season, and the head writer, Tim Stock, has disappeared. Who better to fill his culinary shoes than our girl, Maddie Bean? Of course the grateful producer is willing to pay big bucks and big perks for two weeks work, so Maddie finds herself saying yes to the glitz and glamour of T.V. gameshow land. But in no time, it becomes obvious that something very sinister is hard at work behind the scenes, and there's a lot more cooking on Food Freak, than clever contestant questions and new recipes. And as the mysteries and mayhem hit closer and closer to home, Maddie's determined to find answers and head off disaster before the show wraps up, maybe for good..... Jerrilyn Farmer is back with another wonderful gastronomic mystery, and fans of her Madeline Bean series won't be disappointed. The well paced plot is filled with wit and humor, marvelous dialogue, vivid scenes, and a quirky cast of delightful, original characters. Ms Farmer's breezy prose is engaging, and rich in Hollywood history, fun facts, and trivia that not only entertains, but adds real credibility to the story. Add to that her indepth knowledge of game shows and the ins and outs of food preparation and the kitchen, and you have the makings of a delicious treat. Folks new to Ms Farmer's Madeline Bean and company should start at the beginning with Sympathy For The Devil to get the real flavor of this series, and read them all. For those who are already fans, it's time to kick back, open Mumbo Gumbo, and enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Mumbo Gumbo Good.....
Review: Madeline Bean, caterer and events planner to the stars, is a bit concerned as she and her team work on this evening's wrap party for the mega-hit gameshow, Food Freak. The company calendar is empty; the pages are all blank. That's right, this is the last party on the schedule, and until things pick up again, she's going to have to find some part-time work to pay the bills. As luck would have it, work finds her. It seems the network has ordered one more Food Freak show, an over the top, cook-off extravaganza to end its first, number one ratings season, and the head writer, Tim Stock, has disappeared. Who better to fill his culinary shoes than our girl, Maddie Bean? Of course the grateful producer is willing to pay big bucks and big perks for two weeks work, so Maddie finds herself saying yes to the glitz and glamour of T.V. gameshow land. But in no time, it becomes obvious that something very sinister is hard at work behind the scenes, and there's a lot more cooking on Food Freak, than clever contestant questions and new recipes. And as the mysteries and mayhem hit closer and closer to home, Maddie's determined to find answers and head off disaster before the show wraps up, maybe for good..... Jerrilyn Farmer is back with another wonderful gastronomic mystery, and fans of her Madeline Bean series won't be disappointed. The well paced plot is filled with wit and humor, marvelous dialogue, vivid scenes, and a quirky cast of delightful, original characters. Ms Farmer's breezy prose is engaging, and rich in Hollywood history, fun facts, and trivia that not only entertains, but adds real credibility to the story. Add to that her indepth knowledge of game shows and the ins and outs of food preparation and the kitchen, and you have the makings of a delicious treat. Folks new to Ms Farmer's Madeline Bean and company should start at the beginning with Sympathy For The Devil to get the real flavor of this series, and read them all. For those who are already fans, it's time to kick back, open Mumbo Gumbo, and enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Lip-smacking good
Review: Madeline Bean, LA caterer/party planner to the stars, & all her cohorts are back, & so is the humor in MUMBO GUMBO by Jerrilyn Farmer. Bean's catering business is down, (like everyone else's) & she needs to do something to earn money. Her partner Wesley Westcott is fixing up old homes & reselling them, so he is covered, but what can Bean & their full time assistant Holly do? Bean's prayers are answered when the wrap party they are catering for Food Freak, the gourmet, cook-off game show is cancelled. Her friend, producer of the show Greta Greene, informs her that this show will not be a wrap, there will be one more show; however she will still get paid for the catering. She would like Bean to be one of the writers for the next show since head writer Tim Stock can't be found. (Bean is known for her food tidbit knowledge & recipes.) They assume that since Stock thought the show was ended, he is just on vacation & unreachable. Find out how a TV game show is put on, along with the pecking order of the staff, their desires, jealousies, power, & secrets as Bean does her stint as a writer. She's not comfortable with the idea that Stock is just on vacation since no one can get a hold of him. There are questions she would like to have answered & since she is good at puzzles hopefully she will be able to figure them out: 1. Where is Stock? 2. Bean finds a hidden post-it note in Stock's desk that says Heidi & Monica may have to die, Who are they? 3 Why did Stock's office get trashed? (When his office is trashed, the big worry is that someone stole the new script & will show it to the contestants creating a new game show scandal. Since Greene didn't want anyone to know about the trashing, she hired Holly to help Bean clean up the mess.) 4. Is Chef Howie (who EVERYONE must call CHEF Howie) really ... around like his wife believes he is? (Bean thinks his wife looks old enough to be his mother.) & 5 Who died in the fire at Stock's home? Not everything seems kosher on the show. Since this is a gourmet food show, Bean can't understand how recipes ingredients can get messed up. For those of you who are romantics, there is something for you. Holly comes across her ex-boyfriend Donald, & Bean & her cop friend Chuck Honnett meet at a crime scene weeks after he says he'll call. There are twists & turns, but to find a "real" killer, you need to get to the end-it's not over till the fat lady sings. Not only is MUMBO GUMBO a good read, it is Farmer's first book in the series that has come out in hardback.
Rating:
Summary: My favorite so far in the Madeline Bean series
Review: This amusing and absorbing mystery is also well-plotted. I wish the author would have her Madeline Bean character go to work full-time as a television writer, because the setting lends itself to comedy.
Madeline -- who owns a catering company whose business has been suffering in the post 9-11 environment -- accepts a temporary position writing for a hit television game show (based on cooking). The lead writer has mysteriously disappeared and they have been asked by the network to do one more episode. Madeline doesn't set out to try to find the missing writer, but things start happening that force her hand -- like getting attacked. She becomes convinced that there's something very wrong going on in the game show offices or among the game show staff. But which of this bizarre group of characters holds the key to the mystery? Is one of her coworkers a killer, responsible for the missing writer's death? Is the missing writer dead or in hiding or kidnapped or just off on a bender or vacation? And what does the ominous comment about Monica and Heidi dying that Mad finds on written on a post-it mean -- who are these women and are they really in danger?
This is the kind of book you can hardly wait to get back to -- Farmer creates a workplace that's funny but believable, and you get some idea of what lies behind game shows (Farmer herself was a writer for Jeopardy). I highly recommend this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Not Up To Snuff
Review: This was a nice read, but I did not find it up to par with other books I have read by this author. It dragged a little. Characters where hard to care about. Guess that I missed the ususal cast of characters in the bulk of the plot. I will try again when a new book appears on the menu.
Rating: 
Summary: A good addition to the Madeline Bean series!
Review: To get the full enjoyment from this book, you should really start at the beginning of the series with Sympathy for the Devil, and read the books in order. Maddie's life of food and friends will make more sense when you know its history.
I can't wait for the next book to come out, but I hope that if Honnett is out of the picture, that someone intelligent steps in since I preferred reading about Maddie's relationship with Honnett more than her one with Arlo.
Rating:
Summary: Madeline Bean takes a new job
Review: With the downturn in the economy, people just don't want to pay for lavish parties anymore, so Madeline Bean takes a temporary job as a writer for a food quiz TV show. Soon she is embroiled in another mystery - the disappearance of the show's head writer - and caught up in all the glamour, lies, and excesses of Hollywood. Jerrilyn Farmer's latest book has many of the ingredients that have made her previous novels so enjoyable: quick wit, wildly inventive plot lines, and the truly likeable character of Madeline Bean. Many of the comical moments in Mad's game show romp seem truly inspired; no wonder since Jerrilyn Farmer herself worked many years as a game show writer. Although I confess that I missed the pedantic Wes, who was absent from the majority of the story, and was disappointed by some developments in Madeline's personal life, I certainly recommend this novel to those who enjoyed the previous Mad Bean books.
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