BEAT A ROTTEN EGG TO THE PUNCH 
Journals of Kate Cavanaugh’s Culinary Mystery
By Cathie John
Journey Book Press - 1998
ISBN: 0963418351 - Trade Paperback

Reviewed by: Pam Stone, MyShelf.Com
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Beat a Rotten Egg to the Punch is the second installment of Kate Cavanaugh culinary mystery. The first was Add One Dead Critic.

Kate is out walking Mr. Boo-kat or shall we say trying to walk him, Welsh Terriers are the most obstinate animals on earth.  As they are walk closer to a storefront that someone has been working on opening, she hears a fight between two men.  One of the men is pushed in the store window and through the blinds. Kate sees a shoulder and hears yelling.

The first voice yelled, “You are pressuring me.”

The second yells, “You can be replaced, you know”.

“Not with my connections.  You need me,” the first yells again

“Forget about it.  Big Gabe cannot protect you now,” the second yells.

Kate decides to take off fast but Mr. Boo-kat and his typical bark, “loud enough to wake the dead” let the men know that someone had heard the confrontation.  Kate, running and dragging the beast, hears a door slam and then running.  Then she hears a car door open and shut. The engine roared to life, tires squealed and car roared away.  She wished that she had gone to the police station to report what went on.

The next morning as she and Mr. Boo-kat are walking, Kate sees a man running out of the same storefront that she heard the fight.  Kate goes in to look around and finds the body of Brad Holtman.  Kate decides that it is time to go to the police station. When she arrives, she hears the young man that she saw running from the building earlier say, “That’s her.  She killed him.”  Now she finds herself accused of murder and must clear her name.

Beat a Rotten Egg to the Punch was just as good a read as One Dead Critic with some of the same characters, and a few new ones that are just as interesting. It’s an unforgettable addition to this cozy series. Included in the book are more recipes. Cathie John knows what she writes.  She has a passion for food and has worked in the catering and restaurant industry.

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