THE WHOLE ENCHILADA

Three women formerly married to doctors had formed a support group named Amour Anonymous. Now, the past has caught up to one of them.

After her divorce, it took caterer Goldy Schulz years to recover her sense of self-worth. Now, she’s happily married to Tom, a police detective in Aspen Meadows, Colo., who hardly minds that she occasionally meddles in his cases. Goldy and her helper Julian are catering a Mexican-themed birthday party for her son Arch and his friend Drew, whose mom, Holly, has been part of the support group. The party is to be held at the home of wealthy Marla, the third member. After Drew’s father and his second wife show up uninvited, things go from nasty to tragic when Holly collapses and dies in Marla’s driveway. Goldy and Marla, determined to discover why, review all Goldy’s notes from their meetings. But the research they do on Holly’s current life is more revealing. Holly lost her house and had to sell her expensive cars and move Drew to a cheaper school even though she was awarded child support from her well-heeled ex. Although Holly seemed to be living on the money from her artwork, even that turns out to be not quite the truth. The plot thickens with an attack on an Episcopal priest who may have been counseling Holly and the death of a Goldy wannabe who just happened to be with him. Goldy is lucky to escape violence at her own home from an attacker who’s obviously searching for something. Goldy, Marla and the police had better figure out what before more people die.

Davidson snaps back from the mediocre Crunch Time (2011) with a more tantalizing puzzle. But fans may well skim the mystery and focus on the many appended recipes and bits of cooking lore scattered throughout.