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Chloe Carter is young and living on money left her by an uncle, but only if she pursues a college education. She's half-heartedly going for a degree in social work and classes are just starting. She's is trying to be as happy as she can be, but when her sometimes boyfriend and neighbor starts playing the field, she resorts to an online dating service where she hooks up with a man, Eric, who says he loves good food as much as she does. They plan to meet in a fabulous restaurant where Eric says he is thinking of becoming a partner. Once there she finds that her date isn't great, but the food in the restaurant is. Unfortunately, when Eric goes to the bathroom, he's stabbed and killed. All is not lost though, as the gorgeous chef of the restaurant, Josh, takes a liking to Chloe. When Eric's family seems to think they were almost engaged, and chef Josh's knife is thought to be the murder weapon, Chloe decides she definitely needs to get to the bottom of the murder. STEAMED is very light fare. The heroine is supposed to be young, funny and pretty so you wonder why she has such a problem meeting men. Her bills are conveniently paid for by her dead uncle and her only real problem is staying in school to collect. She picks social work to major in, because one of the writers of this new series has her own degree in it, but as Chloe doesn't show much enthusiasm for the subject, I can't see how it will fit into a series that's supposed to be about food. Why not just have her go for a degree in the service industry or cooking school? Also, Chloe is said to be 'foodie' but that came as a surprise in the story. It's not mentioned until she picks a name for the online dating service. All in all, she doesn't like to cook, doesn't have a stocked kitchen, and doesn't even think about food all the time. She doesn't visit greengrocers and such, and she doesn't have a thought about how eating rich foods will affect her weight, so how can she be so knowledgeable about good and rare foods and their preparation? We never learn how she developed her educated palate. There's no actual connection between the character and food. I found this book fast reading and entertaining enough, but it lacks when it comes to the food theme of the book and the simple solution to the crime. Chloe isn't solidly associated with culinary arts; she could just as easily be interested in fashion or decorating -- or social work, her major in college -- so the idea that this will be a culinary series is strained. She also has no connection to crime solving, and no real talent for it. STEAMED is easy to get through and perfect for beach or rainy day reading, but there's no real draw to look for the next in the series.
Reviewed by Sharon Katz, July 2006
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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