Upon his arrival at the spa, the Gourmet Detective meets food columnist Kathleen Evans. Kathleen mentions she has been to the spa a few times before and suggests the two meet later in the Seaweed Forrest. When the Gourmet Detective arrives, he finds Kathleen in a state he assumes to be dead, but before he can help her out of the forest, he is struck on the head and blacks out. When he comes to, Kathleen’s body has vanished, and the staff claims she has returned to the States.

For some reason, the Gourmet Detective chooses to make an anonymous phone call stating that there had been an accident in the Seaweed Forrest, rather than reporting what he witnessed to authorities. An extra hot dip in the mud bath that almost causes him to lose consciousness also does nothing to encourage the Detective to contact the police.

Instead, the Gourmet Detective continues to poke around on his own, conducting the lectures and demonstrations he is there to do. He becomes suspicious of spa owner and renowned chef Leighton Vance because Vance allows no one in his kitchen and is reluctant to share tips and recipes with guests, including the presenters. The Gourmet Detective gets the feeling that something is going on in the kitchen and that Kathleen may have happened upon it and was about to expose it in her column. When Kathleen’s editor, Janet Hargrave, shows up, he is even more convinced that Kathleen was onto something that could ruin Chef Vance and his spa.

The part of the mystery for which there are clues is easily solved, though that part of the mystery doesn’t seem worth killing for. The part of the story that Vance and his wife Mallory are more anxious to keep away from the press is not even hinted at, making the solution hard to guess.

The lack of the name for the Gourmet Detective, while gimmicky, quickly wears and becomes tedious. The staff of the spa is generally described as buxom blondes and conducts themselves as if fulfilling a stereotype. When the Gourmet Detective tries to locate Kathleen, everyone is very helpful in telling him when she checked out, where she went and the airline even confirms she was on a flight, something most airlines will not do for security reasons.

Another disappointing aspect to the story is the lack of recipes or a concise guide to the tips sprinkled through the story. There is a lot of useful information presented at the seminars and a lot of food is described in great detail, but no sidebars summoning up the information to make if more accessible. Fans of the culinary subgenera will find this a quick, informative read, if a little light on calories and mystery.

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry