Done with “Dying for Chocolate” by Diane Mott Davidson

One of the characters in this book actually died for chocolate. I won’t say who. This is a well written book, and even though this is my second time reading it I didn’t remember who the killer was. That’s a good thing because it was a complete surprise to me.

Goldy has a tendency to get so wrapped up in her mysteries that she forgets to take care of herself and her son Arch. Good for the mystery, but bad for her and Arch. Her relationship with investigator Tom Schulz deepens. He cares for her and Arch and tries to watch out for them both.

The book also includes several of Goldy’s recipes for various salads, soups, entrees and desserts. Someday I'll have to try some of these recipes.

You can buy the book here:

Biscotti and a Body

Re: “Dying for Chocolate” by Diane Mott Davidson

Goldy is staying at the home of Adele and Bo Farquhar while a security system is being installed in her own home. Adele is the older sister of Goldy’s friend, Marla. Bo is a former general in the Army and is an expert in explosives. He even used some explosives when he planted a garden at his home. What must the neighbors think? I personally think using a shovel is a better way to dig up a garden!

General Bo asks Goldy to make biscotti for his and Adele’s anniversary party. She does and it’s a hit. What is also a hit is Goldy’s young son, Arch, who has prepared several magic tricks to perform at the anniversary party.

Later when the party is over, Goldy tries to unwind by reading in bed. She thinks she hears someone swimming in the Farquhar’s pool but decides to ignore whoever it is.

The next morning she goes out to get some fresh air and discovers a body. Police investigator Tom Schulz has some questions for Goldy about her new discovery. Goldy and Tom have been dating. He shares information with her another case he is investigating: her friend Philip Miller’s death.

I don’t think it’s common in the real world for the authorities to share such confidential information with their girlfriends. But this is the world that fictional female-sleuths live in, and so we can believe this information-sharing will happen.

(Stay tuned for more posts on this book).

Happy Valentine's Day!

This cake looks yummy. I wonder if Goldy has a recipe for it?

Food for Love

Re: “Dying for Chocolate” by Diane Mott Davidson

Goldy’s next catering job is for the next-door neighbor who is trying to put some of the spark back into her marriage. Goldy works on the menu and calls it “Aphrodisiac Dinner for Six”. Included are oysters, shrimp dumpling soup, lettuce salad with tomatoes, avocados and mushrooms, chile relleno torta, lamb chops, zuchini, breads and last, but not least, a platter of assorted chocolate treats.

The client wants Goldy to wear a short, black and white lacy uniform while she serves. It looks like a French maid’s uniform dreamed up by Frederick’s of Hollywood. Goldy says NO, she will only cook, serve and clean up. She will not wear the caterer-as-a-centerfold uniform.

Goldy has done her research regarding the menu, so as she serves each course she discusses how food relates to love.

Author Davidson tells us about Aphrodite’s birth. Legend has it that Aphrodite was born on dry land in the crest of a wave. The word ‘aphros’ means foam. So any food item from the sea, Aphrodite’s birthplace, is supposed to have aphrodisiac-type qualities.

So that is why Goldy serves oysters first. They contain iodine, which is reputed to encourage a person’s libido.

Goldy finishes up the meal with a variety of chocolate goodies. Romantic lore commonly identifies chocolate as an aphrodisiac, and gifts of chocolate are a familiar courtship ritual. (info and photo from Wikipedia)


Another interesting tidbit that Goldy relates is that the word for love potion in Latin is “venenum” - which also means poison. This is very interesting. Is it because a person needs a love potion to fall in love with someone they wouldn’t normally fall in love with, and so they are ‘poisoned by love’?

(Stay tuned for more posts on this book).

“Dying for Chocolate” by Diane Mott Davidson

Since Valentine’s Day is coming up, and with the emphasis many people place on eating chocolate this time of year, I thought I’d read a chocolate-themed or chocolate-titled mystery.

This is book two in the Goldy catering series. Goldy has moved her son and herself into temporary housing since her abusive ex-husband, John Richard Korman (AKA the Jerk) has been acting strangely. He’s been slowly driving by her house. He’s also been calling repeatedly and hanging up the phone when she answers. He has a history of physical violence towards Goldy, and she is afraid of him.

So now she is living at her friend’s sister’s home. It’s a mansion with a great security system. Goldy has become the family’s live-in cook while a security system is being installed in her own home.

This book opens with Goldy making and catering brunch for 60 people. She hates the thought of brunch because she thinks it’s a meal in between two other meals. Like you would eat breakfast, then brunch, then lunch. Sorry Goldy, but if I’m having brunch, I skip breakfast and lunch!

She’s been seeing a man named Philip Miller. They dated while she was in college and have gotten together again recently. Philip shows up at the brunch and asks Goldy to meet him at his office in town after she is done with her catering chores. She agrees, and later follows him in her car.

She notices Philip is driving erratically and thinks it’s odd because he was fine at the brunch. She honks her horn and motions for him to pull over, but he doesn’t. Then she is horrified to see Philip losing control of his car and crashing into an oncoming bus. He is killed.

(Stay tuned for more posts on this book).

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.

Lumpy Potatoes and Dusty Turkey

Re: Turkey Day Murder by Leslie Meier

It's a Thanksgiving Day feast for twelve at Lucy Stone's house - a twenty-five-pound turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing, peas and creamed onions. She even made a brown rice and carrot casserole for the visiting college freshman who are vegans.

Everything goes well except for a couple of mishaps - the potatoes are lumpy and the turkey fell on the floor! Lucy thinks, great, I have lumpy potatoes and dusty turkey!

(My husband would call that "floor-enhanced turkey").

The turkey incident happens when Lucy struggles to get it out of the pan and accidentally drops it, in the process spilling greasy turkey juice over herself and on the floor. She is pretty upset when she realizes she can't make gravy, especially when her son Toby keeps bragging to his friends how great his mom's gravy is.

So she improvises: she takes two cans of pork gravy, adds some soy sauce and a dash of cooking sherry and viola! Instant gravy! (I wonder what Goldy Schulz would say about that!)

Toby's friend comments: "I've never had anything like it". I'll bet!

Photo courtesy stock.xchng

Oops, I goofed

RE: Sweet Revenge by Diane Mott Davidson

Well I discovered that I misspelled Goldy's name all throughout my posts. I have Goldi and it should be Goldy. I think it's because I used to work with a Goldi several years ago. Ironically she was a red-head, and I don't think a natural one either. Nice lady though and I wonder how she's doing now.

Since I'm done with Sweet Revenge, it's time for a new book I can read on my lunch break. I chose Kate Collins "Dearly Depotted" and I'll be writing about that in my next few posts.

Photo courtesy stock.xchng

Done with "Sweet Revenge"

I've finished "Sweet Revenge" by Diane Mott Davidson. The last chapter was a real page turner and we discover, along with Goldi, "Who Done It". I had the wrong suspect, but that's OK. I can't always be right - HA!

I must say that at times the story moved very slowly and it seemed like there was a lot of 'filler'.

Anyway, I won't reveal who killed Drew Wellington because I don't want to spoil the fun for anyone else. And we do discover the secret about Sandee Brisbane and learn more about the stolen maps.

Revenge is not sweet after-all: it's sour.

As with every Goldi book, there are several recipes included with the book. I have not tried any of them yet but I hope to some day. The “Got-A-Hot-Date Bars” sound quite interesting!

You can buy the book at Amazon.com:

Who Done It?

RE: Sweet Revenge by Diane Mott Davidson

I’m close to finishing this book. I have my hunch as to “who done it”. There are quite a few suspects in this book.

Goldi’s detective-husband Tom is investigating, and it almost seems like he is collaborating with her. He talks about the details of the case with her and swears her to secrecy. I don’t recall his character doing that in previous books, but it’s been a long time since I’ve read one in this series. I imagine that might be unethical in real life, but then again Goldi does have a track record for solving the crime.

In the meantime I’ve started another Nancy Drew book, The Ringmaster’s Secret. This one was written in 1953. The main characters here are circus people, led by a cruel ringmaster named Reinhold Kroon. Nancy has already had a couple of run-ins with him while taking six-year old neighbor Teddy to see them setting up the circus.

Dogged Determination

RE: Sweet Revenge by Diane Mott Davidson

Now I remember why I admire Goldi, in spite of her expresso-chugging, workaholic hyperactivity.  She's very persistent and reminds me of a bloodhound following a scent.  Goldi is determined to find the truth even though she puts herself in peril.  In this regard Goldi is like many of her fellow female-sleuths in fiction-land out there. 
 
In "Sweet Revenge" she thinks she sees Sandee Brisbane (who is supposed to be dead) and follows her in friend Marla's car.  In so doing, she smashes up the car and walks away with minor bruises and cuts.  (Marla is quite upset but forgives Goldi.  Marla is very wealthy and says she will just go and buy another car.) 
 
Goldi also wanders around a snowy creek-bed to look at a murder scene.  The police are also there and in order to avoid detection, she climbs up a hill overlooking the creek.  Luck is not with her however and she takes a tumble, and of course is spotted by the police.  She is well known to them since her husband Tom Schulz is a police detective - but they shake their heads anyway and tell her to not get involved.  Tom tells her also to stay out of it and let the police handle it. 
 
But they all know she won't listen to them - she has to follow her hunches!

Mystery of the Maps

RE: Sweet Revenge by Diane Mott Davidson

I’m about half-way through this book now. The victim in this book, Drew Wellington, was a buyer and seller of rare antique maps. These maps are the kind that sell for thousands of dollars.

But there is a question as to whether he legitimately bought the maps he sold. Some claim he stole them. There are allegations that he visited libraries and literally ripped off old maps from the shelves without anyone noticing until much later.

When Goldi found Drew dead in the Aspen Meadows library, the police did a search and found one map in his briefcase. A fellow map dealer who was at the library at the same time, claims that Drew had three with him when he entered the library.

So how many maps did Drew have? If he had three, what happened to the other two? Was he killed for them? Did the killer take them, or did someone else see an opportunity after Drew was dead to rifle through his belongings and steal the maps?

Another mystery to be solved.

Photo courtesy stock.xchng

High in the Rocky Mountains

RE: Sweet Revenge by Diane Mott Davidson

Goldi lives in a fictitious town called Aspen Meadow, CO. According to Diane Mott Davidson’s website dianemottdavdison.com, Aspen Meadow is in the mountains west of Denver. Diane herself lives in Evergreen CO, which is not unlike Aspen Meadow. I imagine it helps a writer to know a little something of the subject they write about. Her descriptions of the terrain are always interesting.

Sweet Revenge takes place in mid-December. It is snowy and cold. I can relate as I live in Wisconsin, where winters are all-together much too long. It probably wouldn’t be so bad if I were in Colorado - at least we’d have the mountain scenery to enjoy. But unlike Goldi, I think I’d like to hibernate during the Colorado winter so I wouldn’t have to drive!

Photo courtesy stock.xchng

Likes and Dislikes of the Goldi Catering Series

RE: Sweet Revenge by Diane Mott Davidson

I like the relationship Goldi has with her wealthy best friend, Marla.  As it turns out Marla and Goldi were both married to Dr. John Richard Korman AKA "The Jerk".  If memory serves from previous books, Goldi was married to him for several years while Marla was only married to him for a short time.  Goldi was beaten up quite a bit by "The Jerk" as he has a mean and abusive streak.  So I think it's great that Goldi and Marla were able to hook up and remain friends in their "Post Jerk" era and commiserate on their miserable experiences with him.
 
One criticism I have of this series is that Goldi can be overly hyper. Her tendency to chug expressos gets on my nerves at times. The only time she seems to be at all relaxed is when she is cooking. I guess her career choice of caterer is a good one - all that work she does in the kitchen just makes me tired!
 
Despite that, would I hire her to cater for me? You bet! To heck with the low-fat, low-cholesterol foods!

Photo courtesy stockxpert.com

Sweet Revenge

I just started reading Diane Mott Davidson's "Sweet Revenge". This is her 14th mystery story featuring female sleuth/caterer Goldi Schulz. I've read all the other Goldi mysteries and just got this one in paperback. It is close to 500 pages including recipes from Goldi's kitchen. I have yet to try any of the recipes out - someday when I 'retire' I just might!

Goldi lives in the small town of Aspen Meadow in Colorado, outside of Denver. She lives with her second husband, police detective Tom Schulz, and her son Arch from her first marriage. She operates her small catering business out of her home. It's called: "Goldilocks Catering, Where Everything Is Just Right!" A cute & catchy name.

The premise of Sweet Revenge is that Goldi is investigating the murder of Drew Wellington, the former district attorney. She was setting up for a breakfast she was to cater in the city library when she and the head librarian happened upon the dead body of Mr. Wellington. Of course Goldi has to try to figure out what happened, even though her husband Tom reminds her to stay out of the case and let the police handle it.

Perhaps there is another mystery to be solved: Goldi also thinks she sees a woman who is supposed to be dead named Sandee Brisbane. Sandee murdered Goldi's ex-husband and then committed suicide. Now Goldi wonders if Sandee really did commit suicide? Did they ever find her body? Why was Sandee, or someone who looked just like her, in the library right before they find Mr. Wellington's body?

We will find out as the page turns....

Photo courtesy Ebay

Obsession!

So now I’ve become obsessed with fictional female-sleuths like Kinsey Millhone, Stephanie Plum, Hannah Swenson, and Goldi Schultz, to name a few. I admire their ability to put the pieces together and solve the mystery. I also enjoy their senses of humor and their relationships with lovers, family and friends.

As this blog progresses, I will share my thoughts and opinions about the books I’ve read. I can even sometimes figure out ‘who done it’ before I reach the end of the book!

Thanks for visiting and I hope you enjoy my blog!