Killer Pancake by Diane Mott Davidson

With the temperature soaring, the last place Goldy, owner of Goldilocks' Catering, wants to be is slaving over a hot stove. But with her latest assignment, catering the Mignon Cosmetics Low-Fat Luncheon, Goldy stands to make a pretty hefty commission - and her assistant, Julian Teller, gets to spend time with his new ladylove, a gorgeous Mignon sales associate. Soon, though, as Goldy wrestles with recipes woefully lacking in cream, butter, and eggs, she wishes she'd stayed clear of the beauty biz - especially when she learns that to get inside the mall where the banquet is being held, she and Julian will have to wade through an angry mob of demonstrators. It seems that Mignon Cosmetics' animal-testing policies have made them the target of "Spare the Hares". And there's worse to come. On the day of the banquet, as Goldy struggles to carry forty pounds of low-fat fare from her van to the mall, she hears an ominous squeal of tires and a horrifying thump.