Maddie is thrilled to be recommended by her former fiancé Xavier to cater breakfast for the Pope and his two thousand guests during his short visit to Los Angeles. Maddie and Wes, her best friend and old business partner, are planning a new catering firm called Mad Bean Events. They amassed a small fortune after selling their first company, Madeline Bean Catering, following the inconvenient murder during their last catering job (Sympathy for the Devil). As their new company's grand entrance to the Hollywood scene, hosting the immaculate reception would be quite the coup de grace.

Xavier hopes Maddie will help him with a charity cookbook he is compiling that will feature historic religious recipes. Ten years ago, Xavier broke their engagement without much explanation. Seeing him again has Maddie re-thinking her decision to work with him, as feelings between them still flow beneath the surface. A relationship is impossible for them now because Xavier is a Jesuit brother and has taken a vow of celibacy.

While Maddie and Xavier are looking through old cookbooks, an unusual paper falls to the floor. It is a confession of murder written in Latin by a Brother Ugo, and Maddie is intrigued. Xavier had always found comfort in his faith, but Maddie only feels peaceful after she unearths all the answers.

If Maddie finds her old boyfriend complicating her life, then it becomes even more confusing when Arlo, her current boyfriend, immediately gets along so well with Xavier. Arlo produces Woman's Work, a weekly sitcom, and invites Xavier and his friend, Brother Frank, to watch the show. After the show, Brother Frank turns up dead in the star's trailer, and Maddie has two murders to solve.

Maddie's investigation covers the inner workings of the Jesuit Brotherhood, Vatican City during WWII, and the many details surrounding the Pope's visit to the US. They are diverse and unusual subjects to peruse and very interesting without being inundating.

The only irritant I found in the book is that Maddie's friends know more about her psyche than she appears to know about herself, which seems an unusual shortcoming in a heroine so spirited and intelligent. On the other hand, her friends are likable, trustworthy, dependable and amusing, the perfect foils for her.

I especially enjoyed the numerous attractive men in her life, including Xavier, Arlo, Wes, and the laconic Lieutenant Chuck Honnett of the LAPD (who appeared in the previous novel). Perhaps Ms. Farmer will also include recipes in her next book for the mouth-watering, appetizing foods she describes.

--Monica Pope