Death al Fresco

Running her own restaurant is an enormous task but Sally Solari keeps getting dragged into the operations of her father's restaurant Solari's. In Death al Fresco by Leslie Karst, Sally is guilted into lending a hand with the sister city dinner her father is planning.

Before the work begins, Sally tries to relax and paint with her friend Eric, overlooking the beach. She notices her dog and another dog pawing at a pile of kelp. As she clambers down to the beach, she discovers a body . . . one she recognizes. It is Gino, an old Italian fisherman and a regular at Solari's.

Sally soon discovers Gino dined with an mysterious, attractive younger woman at Solari's and appeared to stumble out of the restaurant. She knows the staff at Solari's would never overserve someone, some witnesses say Gino appeared drunk.

As public opinion begins to turn against her father, Sally decides

to investigate the mysterious woman, Gino's bocce pals and his boat friends. As if this isn't enough to keep her busy, she discovers her chef Javier is in love and wants to start his own restaurant with his new love. Hoping to avert a desertion, she encourages him to hire his girlfriend and work with her at Gauguin. She also offers Javier a partnership in Gauguin, hoping this will appeal to him.

There's still the sister city dinner to deal with as well as Gino's death, and Sally tackles both until she finds a solution.

I would love to eat in both of these restaurants. They are described so beautifully and the food "smells" wonderful.