A Healthy Place to Die: A Gourmet Detective Mystery

How could any self-respecting gourmet turn down a few weeks in a luxurious Swiss health spa?After all, this is no dieter`s boot camp, but an exclusive hideaway for weary elites seeking a few stolen moments for relaxation, self-indulgence-and maybe a slight reduction in their fat intakes.And who`d ever believe that a healthy meal could sound so appetizing?Zuger Kirschtorte: a rich, saffron-colored cake soaked in cherry schnapps? Duck with sliced prosciutto, wild rice, dried apricots, pistachio nuts?When not gorging themselves, guilt-free, the exclusive spa`s wealthy patrons lounge in soothing mud baths and splash around in natural springs.No aficionado of the Good Life can pass up an opportunity like this.And few boast a better understanding of good living than the world-famous Gourmet Detective.When he`s needed to fill in for a friend-sampling and evaluating the spa`s rich delicacies-the discerning sleuth can hardly say no.Every one of his assignments, consulting on menus for the world`s premiere restauranteurs, seems to end up with someone dead and someone else trying to kill him.But here, at last, is a chance to relax in the very lap of luxury.Or so the Gourmet Detective thinks...When he arrives at the resort`s seaweed massage room for a rendezvous with one of the many attractive, leggy, blonde staff members, he finds her passed out from the heat.As he reaches for her pulse, someone bludgeons him from behind.While he`s unconscious, her body disappears, along with any hope of a peaceful vacation. Then two more women-both editors at lifestyle magazines-go missing.And a lawyer shows up to inquire about the stories they were writing.The Gourmet Detective suspects they had uncovered more than the tastiest recipes.Now, as a menu specializing in relaxation turns into a recipe for disaster, the Gourmet Detective may have to sniff out a killer.