Done with “Catering to Nobody” by Diane Mott Davidson

Intense - that’s the impression I got from most of this book and the characters in it. Except for the police detective Tom Schulz - the one person I would expect to be the most intense. He seemed more laid back and pleasant than the other characters. But I suppose doing that kind of work for a living, you build up a layer of thick skin to become oblivious to the horror of it all. I imagine it’s the same for those folks that work in hospitals and the ER.

I like the way that author Davidson uses the title of the book to mean a couple of different things. One, in that Goldy’s business was shut down so she couldn’t cater food to anybody. Two, she mentions her son doesn’t cater to anybody either. Meaning that they are their own people and they aren’t beholden to what others say or think they should do.

You can buy the book here:

Another Book Set During October and Halloween

Re: “Catering to Nobody” by Diane Mott Davidson

I didn’t realize when I randomly picked this book off my bookshelf that I’d be reading a book set during this time of year. Kind of a nice surprise, and it makes it easier to get into the events of the book since the season I’m in matches the one in the book.

Goldy is preparing for her fitness club’s Halloween party and also is spending time making her 11-year old son’s costume. He is into Dungeons and Dragons (D & D), something I’ve heard of but never participated in. So Goldy decides to make Dungeon Bars for a D & D party he is having with a friend. The recipe is included in the book and it sounds basically like oatmeal raisin cookie bars.

Her son is going to the Halloween party too, dressed as a lich. This is a character from D & D, and Goldy gets chills running up and down her spine when she reads that the lich specializes in vengeful activity against those who are wicked and evil. It will stop only when the evil one is dead. The lich’s face is like a skull.

Goldy is definitely worrying about her son’s involvement in this game.

Blue Skies

Re: “Catering to Nobody” by Diane Mott Davidson

I’m not typically a fan of long, flowery descriptions of things. For me a little goes a long way.

But this particular description author Davidson wrote caught my eye: “Overhead the sky was a deep periwinkle blue, as if a celestial housecleaner had spilled a bottle of bluing agent to the four corners of the earth”.

The mention of a housecleaner was made because at this point in the book, Goldy has to do some housecleaning to make ends meet since her business has been shut down.

I personally don’t have any experience with bluing agents but I have vacationed in the high mountains of California, Colorado and New Mexico, and I can attest to how blue the sky is on a clear day. (Goldy lives right outside of Denver Colorado, in the Rocky Mountains). I wonder if it’s because you are way up high in elevation and as such, are much closer to the sky? Or maybe one’s perception of color changes a bit because the air is thinner? Perhaps it’s a science-thing dealing with light refraction or reflection - I never was very good in science.

These are a couple of pictures from a trip we took to Yosemite National Park that I hope will show off the blue sky.

“Catering to Nobody” by Diane Mott Davidson

This is the first book in the Goldy catering series. It’s been a very long time since I’ve read this so it’s a nice re-introduction to the series.

Goldy lives in Aspen Meadow Colorado and is a divorced mom of a young boy named Arch. Her birth name is Gertrude Bear and she uses her nick-name of Goldy because she has blond hair. She has a degree in psychology, but hasn’t found a way to pay the bills with it. Since she’s a good cook, she started a catering business.

The name of her business is a play on her own name, plus the story of Goldilocks and the 3 bears. It’s called “Goldilocks Catering, Where Everything is Just Right!” (Exclamation point is included).

This book starts out with Goldy catering at a wake for a deceased teacher - one of son Arch’s teachers in fact. Unfortunately Goldy’s ex-husband, John Richard Korman is there too with his new girlfriend. His initials are JRK - which Goldy thinks sums up his personality quite well. The Jerk. He was abusive to her during their marriage.

Goldy’s ex-in-laws are also there and during the wake, her ex-father-in-law becomes ill. Turns out someone has put rat poison in his coffee. Now Goldy’s livelihood is in danger because the authorities have to shut her business down while they investigate.

But there might be a silver lining - Goldy feels an immediate attraction to the chief police investigator, Tom Schulz.