Friend of the Devil by Mark Spivak
First a confession, I watch a lot of the Food Network, so I couldn't pass up a "culinary thriller." Friend of the Devil turned out to be a fun thriller full of drugs, sex and food. Not a bad combination.
David is a writer who first meets Joseph Soderini di Avenzano while doing a story. He is then hired to write the famous chef's biography and is summoned to the Chateau de la Mer, where the menu is amazing, the chef a brilliant, if often drugged-out, showman, and the hostess irresistible. Actually, that is my one complaint, how quickly David and Alessandra hook up. I guess they have to for the rest of the story, but it just seemed a little quick. Of course, everything at the Chateau is a little intense.
For me, it wasn't a quick read. I'm not sure why exactly. The pacing was good and there was enough action to keep the story moving. I enjoyed the bits of history that Avenzano...