LOVE YOU TO DEATH

The second appearance of flighty Boston hairdresser Stan ""Vannos"" Kraychik finds him eyeing the waiter at the press opening of his client Liz Carlini's new venture, Le Jardin Chocolatier, while his friend Laurett, the shop's manager, serves special truffles to Liz; her wealthy, stuffy husband, Prestin Kingsley; and her creative cookery partner, Danny Doherty (who also has an eye for the waiter). Then, back in the pantry, Laurett's boyfriend munches on a truffle and dies: Was it one actually meant for either Liz, Kingsley, or Danny? Boston cop Branco arrests Laurett; Stan is saddled with her four-year-old menace, Tobias; and the chase is on--not only for the real killer but to keep up with the wiseacre kiddie. Snips Salon owner Nikki sniffs her displeasure while Stan tours the chocolate factory and has heart flutters over that dashing waiter. Eventually, he untangles a complicated family feud involving an adoption, a half-brother, a couple of wills, and several homosexual liaisons. Amusing, and somewhat toned-down from A Body to Dye For (1990). The nasty exchanges between Start and Nikki, the tense confrontations between Branco and Stan, and the lovelorn asides from Stan to himself enliven a so-so story.