Corinna Chapman, baker extraordinaire in the city of Melbourne, Australia, was content with her life.  She was totally happy running her bakery and shop, having a perfect relationship with her boyfriend, Daniel, and watching her young apprentice, Jason, blossom into a true culinary genius when it came to the art of creating muffins.  Jason was a recovering drug addict who had been off the stuff for two years.  He had created several new kinds of muffins and now was experimenting with new soups to go with them.  Life was sweet—until Corinna's mother showed up.

The first clue Corinna had that her sweet life was going sour was that Starshine had come alone.  As far back as Corinna could remember, her parents had been inseparable.  But Sunlight was nowhere in sight.  In fact, according to Starshine, he'd taken all their money and left the commune in search of young prostitutes.  "Find your father," Starshine ordered.

Then, there was the matter of the poisoned tea.  Someone had almost killed Corinna's two shop assistants, selling them poisoned weight loss tea.  Corinna now had two mysteries to solve.  Were they connected?  Corinna and her friends were determined to find the answers.

Devil's Food is a strange story, peopled with even stranger characters.  From the anorexic shop assistants, Kylie and Gossamer, to the witch, Corinna's parents and the Discarnates, these characters are definitely memorable.  The most endearing, to me, are the cats.  There are Corinna's beloved Mouse Police, Heckle and Jeckyl, and the elegant Horatio, the witch's cat, beautiful black Belladonna, the mischievous kitten, Lucifer, and others.  The lone dog is Corolus, whom the cats tolerate.

The story is well-written, the plot well-constructed.  The story is absorbing, from the beginning to the strange and twisted end.  Keep an eye on Kerry Greenwood.  She has other books out.  Pick those up when you get Devil's Food.