A TASTY WAY TO DIE

Six-footer Darina Lisle (A Deepe Coffyn) is again up to her potholders in the foodie business, this time temporarily helping her short-of-staff cooking chum, Eve Tarrant, in her catering endeavor. When Eve's partner Claire expires after munching poisoned mushrooms, Darina trades in her toque for a deerstalker and, to the chagrin of her policeman boyfriend William starts snooping. Among her finds: Claire left her shares in the fledgling company to her assistant Jo, who detested Eve; Claire was having an affair with a married man, maybe Eve's husband; a TV producer was replacing Eve with Claire in his pilot; and a reporter whose obit on Claire panicked clients into cancelling was murdered by sipping hemlock-laced tea. Several smoked salmon curls later, the appropriate food addict is apprehended, and we can all go home--stuffed to the taste buds with red herrings. The menus, unfortunately, have been more interesting than the characters.