Claire M. Johnson

Beat Until Stiff

Claire M. Johnson

• 2002 Agatha–1st Novel nominee
• Score: 6.52

Experienced pastry chef Claire Johnson whips up an insiders look at San Francisco’s cutthroat restaurant trade. Cranky Mary Ryan has sunk a lot of time and talent into the in-vogue American Fare, the town’s hottest spot, while grieving over her broken marriage. At work very early one morning, she steps on a laundry bag stuffed with the dead body of one of her employees. The investigation soon exposes all the dirty secrets that the food business would like to keep secret: the philandering chefs, the silly whims of the dining public, the hiring and illegal aliens,…