The provided text comprises excerpts from a culinary-mystery novel titled Dying for Dinner by Miranda Bliss, including positive reviews highlighting its charming mix of humor, romance, and mystery, along with the addition of recipes. The story follows Annie Capshaw, a newly resigned bank teller who works at the restaurant Bellywasher's and is assisting her boyfriend, Jim, with his cooking classes when the assistant of their friend, French chef Jacques Lavoie (also known as Norman Applebaum), is murdered at his gourmet shop, Tres Bonne Cuisine. Annie and her best friend, Eve, conduct their own investigation into the murder and Jacques' disappearance, uncovering his past life as a con artist with multiple identities and a stolen $300,000 lottery ticket that ultimately connects the victim's death to an old accomplice seeking "payback". The excerpts conclude with Annie and Jim’s emotional reunion after her rescue and Jim proposing marriage.