Deep Dish » (Abridged)

Mary Kay Andrews has been delighting critics and readers for years with a series of funny, breezy mysteries, which are quite different from the more hard-boiled detective novels of a certain Kathy Hogan Trocheck. Of course, as most fans of Andrews and Trocheck know, they are one-and-the-same.

"Tasty Southern adventure...[Andrews is] the queen of sass." -Daytona Beach News-Journal

After years of hard work, Gina Foxton, chef extraordinaire and former runner-up Miss Teen Vidalia Onion, is hosting her own show Fresh Start, on Georgia public television. She's also dating the producer. But when Fresh Start goes bad-and her boyfriend is caught in flagrante delicto with the boss's wife-Gina decides it's time to pursue bigger dreams. Namely a gig on national television.

Gina knows she's destined to be the Cooking Channel's next superstar. But the execs also have their eyes on Tate Moody, Mr. "Kill It and Grill It" himself, host of the hunting, fishing, and cooking show Vittles. The ultimate man's man, Tate is a tasty side of beef with a large, swooning female fan base. Gina's loyal devotees consist of her free-spirited college-dropout sister and her mother...who calls every single day.

When the smoke clears there can be only one TV chef standing, and Gina and Tate are ready for the cook-off of their lives.

"Juicy"-Raleigh News & Observer

"A real page-turner."-Allure

"Andrews's [fans] will eat this one up."-Publishers Weekly

Publishers Weekly

Andrews (Savannah Breeze; Hissy Fit) delivers a trademark romance set in her native Deep South. Gina Foxton is a 30-year-old chef with a health-conscious approach to classic Southern fare whose public access cooking show gets canceled when the show's big sponsor pulls out after finding the show's producer (and Gina's boyfriend) in bed with his wife. So news that the Cooking Channel is looking to add a new show is a welcome development. The producers are also interested in another local cooking show called Vittles, hosted by "Kill It and Grill It" Tate Moody. The competition between Gina and Tate ramps up when the network decides to turn their competition into a reality show. The close quarters and competition create the right atmosphere for the two chefs to fall in love, though things never get too racy. Andrews takes a long time to get the romance off the ground, but when it starts moving, it moves fast. Andrews's readership will eat this one up. (Feb.)