Susan Kandel, Dial H for Hitchcock **

None of the characters in this mystery novel act like real people would act, least of all our heroine Cece Caruso. I recognized the various Hitchcock movie references, and I was surprised by the surprise twist, but I couldn't get past the contrived decisions that Cece makes or the dialog that has working cops and gardeners arguing with a stranger about whether the secret to the tortilla soup at the Bel Air Hotel is the tomato base or the masa flour.