Fatally Flaky

Good 11/11 morning to you! Happy Veterans Day, with a huge thanks going out to the troops that keep the good ol’ USA a safe place to live.

So, I seem to get on “kicks” with certain authors (if you follow the blog, you’re probably saying ‘No kidding’ right about now) and I’m on a Diane Mott Davidson kick at present. I think I like her because I am the worst cook ever, and since her main character is a caterer, Mott’s books are like gazing into a wonderland of all things foreign and scrumptuous. I actually made the Tex Mex casserole from her book that I finished last week (Crunch Time) and it was edible! So she inspires me from a writing and culinary standpoint, and that’s a good thing. Don’t get me wrong, there are ingredients in some of her recipe’s that I’ve never ever heard of, don’t know what they are, wouldn’t know how/where to buy them, and frankly can’t pronounce. But again–did I mention I managed the Tex Mex casserole?! Baby steps…

I digress.

Honestly, I could write “ditto” to last week’s blog and it would suffice for this week’s writeup. Fatally Flaky was a good read (love the title) and found Goldy up to her ears with catering and murder; unfortunately, one of the murders in this week’s book hit really close to home for her. 😦 So there was that element in the book, along with some good sleuthing and some mouth-watering eats.

To sum, it was an easy read and I liked it. I preferred Crunch Time to Fatally Flaky, if I was made to pick. But I highly doubt that anyone will hold me at gunpoint and force me to give them my preference. They were both good, and I’ve got another Goldy Schulz story on tap for this week. After all, there are sixteen of them in the series. But after this one, I promise I’ll get on a new “kick” for those of you who aren’t into the whole culinary scene. It really is intimidating in my book, no pun intended…’Til next week, happy reading! 🙂

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Crunch Time

Good Sunday morning! It’s a chilly one in New England, and I hope this finds you safe and warm wherever your locale. I have been thinking and praying for my many friends in the states that have been devastated by Hurricane Sandy and hope that life returns to normal for all of you very soon.

My review this week is called Crunch Time, written by Diane Mott Davidson. Her main character is Goldy Schulz, who’s a caterer by trade. You know how you’ve heard of the term “comfort food” for people who are sad or upset? Well, this book someone manages to make you nearly taste the comfort food via the pages. (Neat trick, eh?) It’s not a cookbook–rather, it’s a mystery–but Goldy does so much cooking, in order to help her think through the who-dunit, that sometimes you forget where the food stops and the story begins.

Like many of Davidson’s other books, the gist of the story is that Colorado-based Goldy gets tangled up in a case that her husband, who’s a sheriff, is working on and would prefer her to stay OUT of. When their neighbor is murdered and leaves Goldy and her hubby to shelter his tenants–one of Goldy’s employees and her wheelchair-bound-aunt-from-Cuba who wields a very nasty baton–along with nine puppies, and a fellow law enforcement officer, let’s just say things get interesting. Each of them is wrapped up in solving the murder for their own different reasons, and the mystery goes in many different directions before it’s all neatly tied up at the end.

This book is fun, light reading and really gets your culinary senses fired up. (And I must admit that I felt completely inadequate in the kitchen after closing this read, but that’s really not that hard to do). What’s also very cool is that Davidson puts many of the recipes discussed in the story in the back of the book. Some of the ones from Crunch Time are as follows: Tex-Mex Ham and Cheese Casserole, Goldy’s Garlic Lamb Chops, Goldy’s Guava Coffee Cake, and Breakfast Bread Pudding with Rum Sauce. Is your mouth watering? 🙂 Told ya! ‘Til next week, happy reading…

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