‘Basil Instinct’ provides hearty helping of comedy
Three weeks after the action in You Cannoli Die Once, the Edgar-nominated first installment in Chagrin Falls author Shelley Costa’s Italian Restaurant Series, things are settling down at Miracolo, the fancy Philadelphia-area eatery where narrator Eve Angelotta works as a long-suffering chef.
In Basil Instinct, second book in the series, Miracolo has recovered its momentum after Eve’s grandmother, Maria Pia Angelotta, was arrested for bashing in the head of her gentleman friend with a marble pestle (she was innocent), and Eve is back to business when a mysterious envelope arrives for Maria Pia.
Eve and her cousin Landon, the sous chef, sneak a look and find that the envelope contains an invitation for Maria Pia to join Belfiere, a cult-like secret society of women chefs. A little Internet research reveals a frantic message board post by a former member, claiming that a woman had collapsed at a Belfiere meeting after being forced to taste poisoned food.
Eve’s investigation time is limited because she’s been enlisted to teach a basic cooking class at the local “career center,” little more than a home for delinquents. One student, Georgia, seems competent enough, and Eve hires her to do prep work for the big dinner Maria Pia must give for the Belfiere members before her initiation. Georgia’s term of employment, unfortunately, proves short, as Eve finds when she arrives at the restaurant: Georgia’s corpse in the lobby surely would reflect poorly on Maria Pia’s qualifications for membership in Belfiere.
What follows is a Weekend at Bernie’s-style comedy of pass-the-body, with Eve and Landon moving poor Georgia from the foyer to the storeroom, temporarily losing track of her before she appears in the freezer. Her eventual destination involves Eve’s cute lawyer crush and another cousin with the great name of Choo Choo Bacigalupo. Costa’s best character, the enigmatic lounge pianist Mrs. Crawford, is here again too.
Basil Instinct (358 pages, softcover) costs $7.99 from Pocket Books, a division of Simon and Schuster. Shelley Costa will sign her books at the Western Reserve Book Festival (see listing below), and from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday in the “Tuesdays on Coventry” summer vendor village across the street from Mac’s Backs bookstore, 1820 Coventry Road, Cleveland Heights.
Revere graduate offers marriage tips
Harry Heckel Jr., author of Around the World in 80 Years: The Oldest Man to Sail Alone Around the World — Twice!, died in February, 10 days before his 98th birthday. His daughter, Richfield resident Florence Heckel Russell, who co-wrote her father’s book, is working on a follow-up to her own Heading South: Tales from the RV Trail, an amusing account of travels with her husband in a recreational vehicle.
Now there is a third-generation author in the family. Russell’s daughter, Revere High School graduate Betsy Kerekes, is the co-author of 101 Tips for a Happier Marriage: Simple Ways for Couples to Grow Closer to God and To Each Other. Her fellow author, Jennifer Roback Morse, is the founder of the Ruth Institute, a Catholic project of the National Organization for Marriage.
The book assumes that the reader already is married, and many of the tips are practical and commonsense. Number 37, “Always speak well of your spouse, both in private and in public,” and Number 45, “Accept the fact that each of you is good at a different set of things and cares about a different set of things,” could apply in any type of relationship, regardless of religion or gender roles. Number 80, suggesting that the couple sing a song together when embroiled in an argument, is unusual enough that it just might work. Other tips involve prayer.
101 Tips for a Happier Marriage (123 pages, softcover) costs $12.95 from Ave Maria Press.
Events
Akron-Summit County Public Library (Kenmore branch, 969 Kenmore Blvd.) — Marty Gitlin, author of The Great American Cereal Book: How Breakfast Got Its Crunch, gives a presentation on his new book The Greatest Sitcoms of All Time, in which he ranks and indexes 70 shows, 6 p.m. Tuesday.
Akron-Summit County Public Library (Ellet branch, 2470 E. Market St.) — Cuyahoga Falls native Marjorie Tannehill discusses and signs Serendipity Happens: The Sassy Adventures of a Girl Traveling on Her Own, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Medina County District Library (Buckeye branch, 6625 Wolff Road, Medina) — Irv Korman, author of I Was Jerry Lewis’ Bodyguard for 10 Minutes! and I Was Jackie Mason’s Chauffeur for 5 Minutes, talks about his brushes with fame and signs his books from 6 to 7 p.m. Thursday.
Hudson Library & Historical Society (96 Library St.) — Celebrity chef Michael Ruhlman talks about and signs Egg: A Culinary Exploration of the World’s Most Versatile Ingredient, 7 p.m. Thursday. Registration requested; call 330-653-6658, ext. 1010.
Rocky River Public Library (1600 Hampton Road) — Military historian Bill Warnock, founder of the 99th Infantry Division MIA project, talks about The Dead of Winter: How Battlefield Investigators, WWII Veterans, and Forensic Scientists Solved the Mystery of the Bulge’s Lost Soldiers, 7 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday.
Hiram College (Kennedy Center, 11730 Garfield Road) — The Western Reserve Book Festival brings almost 50 authors, including Cinda Chima, Mark Dawidziak and Paul Bauer, Amanda Flower, David Giffels, Kylie Logan, James Renner, Les Roberts, Stephanie Siciarz, Tricia Springstubb and Andrew Swann, who will read from and sign their works from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. See the full list and schedule at www.hiram.edu/wrbf.
Village Bookstore (8140 Main St., Garrettsville) — Four authors will sign their books — Fred Tribuzzo of Ravenna (American Sky); Burton W. Cole of Garrettsville (Bash and the Pirate Pig, Bash and the Chicken Coop Caper, for middle grade readers); Gloria Alden (Catherine Jewell mysteries set in fictional Portage Falls); and Laura Peskin (Deep Cover Cleveland). 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday.
Barnes & Noble (4015 Medina Road, Bath Township) — Michael Ross, author of Overcoming the Character Deficit, talks about and signs his self-help book, 2 p.m. Saturday.
— Barbara McIntyre
Special to the Beacon Journal
Send information about books of local interest to Lynne Sherwin, Features Department, Akron Beacon Journal, P.O. Box 640, Akron, OH 44309 or lsherwin@thebeaconjournal.com. Event notices should be sent at least two weeks in advance.