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2024 Bookish Books Reading Challenge (Hosted by Yours Truly)

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30 / 30 books. 100% done!

2024 Literary Escapes Challenge

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My Progress:


51 / 51 states. 100% done!

2024 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

My Progress:


52 / 50 books. 104% done!

2024 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge


36 / 50 books. 72% done!

Booklist Queen's 2024 Reading Challenge

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52 / 52 books. 100% done!

2024 52 Club Reading Challenge

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51 / 52 books. 98% done!

2024 Build Your Library Reading Challenge

My Progress:


37 / 40 books. 93% done!

2024 Pioneer Book Reading Challenge


18 / 40 books. 45% done!

2024 Craving for Cozies Reading Challenge

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25 / 25 cozies. 100% done!

2024 Medical Examiner's Mystery Reading Challenge

2024 Mystery Marathon Reading Challenge

My Progress


5 / 26.2 miles (4th lap). 19% done!

Mount TBR Reading Challenge

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51 / 100 books. 51% done!

2024 Pick Your Poison Reading Challenge

My Progress:


99 / 109 books. 91% done!

Around the Year in 52 Books Reading Challenge

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52 / 52 books. 100% done!

Disney Animated Movies Reading Challenge

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139 / 165 books. 84% done!

The 100 Most Common Last Names in the U.S. Reading Challenge

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88 / 100 names. 88% done!

The Life Skills Reading Challenge

My Progress:


45 / 80 skills. 56% done!
Tuesday, December 29, 2009

... And My Love/Hate Relationship With Culinary Mysteries Continues ...

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

Ahhh ... the culinary mystery. My love/hate relationship with this genre continues ...
I actually picked up Catering to Nobody, the first book in Diane Mott Davidson's popular series, last summer. It's been living in the master bathroom ever since. Apparently, I need to eat more fiber.

The book begins with the apparent suicide of Laura Smiley, a beloved elementary school teacher. Gertrude "Goldy" Bear is hired to cater the postfuneral luncheon. Being inside Laura's house reminds Goldy of what a funny, happy person the teacher always seemed to be. Could she really have taken her own life? With a hungry crowd to feed, Goldy doesn't have much time to ponder the question. Still, it nags. Pretty soon, though, she's got her own problem to deal with: Her ex father-in-law has collapsed after drinking coffee she prepared. Suddenly, she's not only the suspect in an attempted murder, but she's also out of a job. The city has shut down her catering business - the only source of income she has to support herself and her son - until further notice. The only way to get herself out of this mess is to find out who really had it in for Dr. Fritz Korman. And Laura Smiley. Are the cases connected? In a town as small as Aspen Meadows, they almost have to be.

To support herself, Goldy takes on cleaning jobs. And amateur sleuthing. Fortunately, suspects in Korman's case are not hard to find. The real question is who doesn't want to kill the philandering OB/Gyn? There are his two ex-daughters-in-law (one of whom is Goldy), his alcoholic wife, a host of clients, and at least one person obsessed with making him pay for the mistakes of his past. While trying to ferret out information from the residents of Aspen Meadows, Goldy realizes that her two "roommates" know a lot more than they are saying. Exactly how she's going to get her moody preteen son and her lazy, young renter to spill their guts is a mystery in and of itself.

Goldy's renegade investigation is gaining her a great deal of attention. Detective Tom Schulz obviously finds her appealing, while the killer just wants to shut her up. Can she get to the bottom of the crimes before she finds herself in a shallow grave?

Probably because I read it over a period of 6 months or so, Catering to Nobody seemed really disjointed to me. I enjoyed the characters, especially the sassy Goldy, but I found the plot pretty predictable. Writing wise, I'd call Diane Mott Davidson average. The book includes seven recipes, none of which look that great to me. All in all, I found the book disappointing and probably will not pick up any of the other titles in the series.

I feel as if I've already lowered my standards pretty far, and yet I'm still disappointed in this genre. Will I ever find the perfect culinary mystery series? Or should I just give up and admit the genre's not for me? Thoughts?

Grade: C

If this were a movie, it would be rated: PG for language and references to adult situations

To the FTC, with love: Bought this mass market paperback from Border's. Wish I could say it was worth the money.

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2024 Reading Challenge

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