In Sally Andrew's mystery debut, Recipes for Love and Murder, South African journalist Maria van Harten branched out from sharing her favorite dishes to dispensing relationship tips. Maria's weekly column for the Klein Karoo Gazette now gives equal space to culinary delights and warm, practical advice on love. But although Maria (affectionately called "Tannie" or "Auntie" by her younger colleagues) relishes her role in helping others solve their problems of the heart and the kitchen, her own love life is more complicated. Still haunted by memories of her abusive husband (now deceased), Tannie Maria is hesitant to open herself up to her still-new boyfriend, Detective Henk Kannemeyer. When Tannie Maria sees a man poisoned at an arts festival and witnesses another murder days later, her relationship with Henk (who is investigating both cases) becomes much more fraught. Andrew stirs up another engaging mystery in her second Tannie Maria novel, The Satanic Mechanic.
"I was maybe too hungry for love and ended up with murder on my plate," Tannie Maria admits as the novel opens. She and Henk, both widowed, are gradually moving forward as a couple, but there are complicating factors, including the orphan lamb Henk has adopted and Maria's penchant for getting mixed up in murder investigations. Determined to move past the dark memories of her marriage, Tannie Maria starts attending a local counseling group run by a gentle former Satanist named Ricus, the titular mechanic. But as Maria begins to confide in her fellow group members, Ricus's shadowy past comes back to haunt them. Meanwhile, Tannie Maria's fellow reporter Jessie is determined to solve the murder of a local Bushman activist, but her digging may turn up some unpleasant truths.
Tannie Maria's first-person narration is studded with Afrikaans words, most of them related to food, and luscious descriptions of the dishes Tannie Maria cooks. (A sheaf of recipes at the end--both savory and sweet--will satisfy readers who want to try making Maria's lamb pie or her "Venus cake.") For readers more interested in the mystery plot or the South African setting, Andrew weaves together the two murders with issues of land rights and discrimination against indigenous peoples. And for those cheering for Tannie Maria to find love again, Andrew gently nudges her protagonist forward, not minimizing her past wounds but helping her deal with her pain in new ways.
In short, Tannie Maria's second adventure is like the meals that come from her kitchen: a bit eclectic, with many different influences, but ultimately a satisfying feast for readers. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams
Shelf Talker: Sally Andrew's second mystery combines a double murder with South African culture, mouthwatering recipes and matters of the heart.