Death Al Dente (Gourmet Detective Mysteries)

The Gourmet Detective did not expect his job to be easy. He had been sent by Desmond Lansdown, respected actor and London's premier restaurateur, to find the best chef in Italy. But even the most difficult tasks can be savored when one enjoys his work, and the sleuth happily immerses himself in his duties, sampling the peninsula's finest cuisine with his beautiful and mysterious guide, Francesca.
But between courses of boccocini - vol au vents filled with chicken giblets and truffles - and strangolopreti - a gnocchi and spinach dish whose name means "priest stranglers" - the determined gourmet begins to suspect that someone is trying to kill him. And when an agricultural magnate with whom he has enjoyed several meals turns up facedown in a swimming pool, the Gourmet Detective must dodge stampeding buffalo, a kamikaze airplane, and a killer monk, while at the same time choosing the perfect chef and solving the perfect murder.