MURDER À LA MODE

Statuesque sleuth Savannah Reid (Death by Chocolate, 2002, etc.) takes a stab at reality TV, only to find someone stabbing back.

Although the only reason she agrees to be on medieval-themed Man of My Dreams is the hope of winning a diamond tiara (which, of course, she plans to sell to get enough money to fix her roof), Savannah Reid quickly discovers a bonus: Lance Roman, her favorite romance-novel cover boy, is the object of the five contestants’ videotaped affections. And to her surprise, Lance seems to prefer her company, too, much to the annoyance of Brandy, Leila, Roxy, and Carisa, her stick-thin rivals. Unfortunately, their blossoming friendship is interrupted by the murder of producer Tess Jarvis, whom they find bludgeoned by an unidentified weapon in the cellar of Blackmoor Castle. Savannah’s forced to call on her old friend Detective Dirk Coulter, who likes the looks of the corpse even less than he likes her canoodling with Lance. But Tess’s husband Alex insists on continuing the shoot, and only after one contestant is flattened by a falling gargoyle and another pierced in a sword fight does Savannah realize that pursuing the man of her dreams may become her worst nightmare.

Savannah swoons a little too long over her vision of Lance in tights, but, still, she shows enough tough-mindedness to solve a puzzle that mystifies even Dirk.