Review of Catering to Nobody: Book OneReview of Dying for Chocolate: Book TwoReview of The Cereal Murders: Book ThreeReveiew of The Last Suppers: Book FourReview of Killer Pancake: Book FiveReview of The Main Corpse: Book SixReview of The Grilling Season: Book SevenReview of Prime Cut: Book Eight *The Gush*Again, I can’t give this book the review it’s due because when you have six books of the series staring at you…you don’t really take time to work out what you want to say in a review. You simply pick up the next one and read. It has been years since I’ve devoured a series this fast and I’ve enjoyed every minute. When I reread this series (which I will soon), the ones I didn’t do justice to the first time around will get their due. While I enjoyed this book, this isn’t my favorite. It’s not bad; just I feel other books stood out better. The theme of this book is skiing – not something I’m really into but the author managed to even grab my interest and by the end even I found it kind of neat. I will admit this book has one distinction; the Jerk manages to mess up their life simply by existing. That has to be a record even for him. The whole ex-boyfriend thing was…not that great because he wasn’t even really that much of a former boyfriend. I found it really tenuous that he was even labeled that. I’m looking for someone to come from New Jersey and rock her world. That would be much more interesting. Goldy is really getting a reputation. And I’m with Tom on this; there is not really a good side to that. People know she’s coming and several in this book react to her as they would to the police themselves. Where once she could just casually talk to someone and get information, some characters here are ready to lawyer up when they see her. Funny, but it makes things much more difficult for her this time around. Also, I hate snow and cold and I felt as if I needed to read this with a coat wrapped around me, you could almost feel the cold, the wind, and the snow. All in all, not a bad story but I’m really looking forward to some of the ones in the future. *The Rant*For the first time, I felt one of the books dragged a bit. I still read it straight through, but the middle of it was not as interesting as the beginning and the end. This was a good book, but not one of the best ones. *Conclusion*A decent continuation of the series, with our beloved characters growing and developing; however, I have to admit, not one of my personal favorites. I can’t wait for the next one.
Unfourtunately for Goldy, a lot could go wrong. Horrible snow storms covering the land which makes her driving back and forth between home and work hazardous to her health, and the job isn't quite doing what she needed it to do to begin with. She's only booked one client for her personal chef buisness, and that her boss at the PBS station.Add on a murder, attempted murder via car plunging down side of a mountain, and threats against her family and you have a fun little mystery set in the moutains of Colorado. I don't want to give too much away but I was able to figure this one out about halfway through the book, but the way it's delivered more than makes up for it. The ending is a hair raising chase full of action and danger. This is the second book I've read in this series, not in order, and I highly enjoy them. Goldy is well written and her policeman husband and bratty yet sweet teenage son, help ground her as a character.One of my favorite things about the Goldy Schulz series are all the great recipes that are included within each book. This book serves up 10 delisciously sounding dishes that I'm going to have to try out. As soon as I make the Snowboarder's Pork Tenderloin and the Chocolate Coma Cookies I will let you know how they turn out.
What do You think about Tough Cookie (2000)?
Touch Cookie is the first book I've read in this popular series, and it failed to hook me as a fan. But that's fine--I'm just one reader. I rather like a series with gimmicks, though, like the recipes Diane Mott Davidson scatters throughout her books. I may try the crab cakes and ginger snaps described in this one.The setting was well done, and I feel almost as though I've visited the slopes of the Colorado ski resorts in winter. (With my aversions to cold and heights, it's a setting I prefer to visit vicariously.) I thought the plot was rather clumsy and contrived, however, and it depended greatly on the characters doing some rather stupid and unlikely things. For example, three healthy adults--even adults who've imbibed a glass or two of wine--are unlikely to tumble all over each other trying to get out the door of a restaurant, then act like it's an everyday occurrence. Similarly, I have a hard time imagining the heroine hoisting herself into a bin of garbage and burrowing down into it--especially with her hands bound. In Tough Cookie, the son of the main character, Arch is oozing with angst--one of several characters that seem more stereotypical than real.The culinary-caterer series is clearly meant to be fun, however, not deeply literary, and I think it succeeds in its purpose.
—Donna
Once again Goldy is trying to figure out who killed someone because somehow she is mistakenly blamed. Amazingly enough she is often in the wrong place at the wrong time. In this next book in the series she has to take a ski lift during Christmas season to be filmed for a PBS tv series. Who knows how, but the guy she wanted to sell her husband's vintage World War II skis to is killed and it looks like she was trying to bribe him to keep the Jerk in jail longer, as he was the person in charge of the parole office. So she is determined to discover who did it. Along the way she solves two other three year old murders and keeps her friend from making a disastrous relationship more permanent. One of the extra perks in the book is reading about so many places that I can identify with. The books are set in Colorado. When she mentions a place, I can picture it very well in my head. It is fun to have that feeling of being in the "in crowd".
—Carmen
I loved the concept of Goldy hosting a cooking show. I also loved the idea of her getting some distance from Aspen Meadow. The cooking show didn't play as well as I had hoped, but the distance and exposure to new people seemed to breath some much needed life into Goldy. The mystery kept me guessing and the recipes were mouth-watering (mmm, Mexican Egg Rolls with Spicy Guacamole Dipping Sauce.) The last, inevitable, fleeing from the killer scene has stuck with me and seemed painfully realistic, but was written in a way that would have been better suited for screen than print. So much action is such a short period of time combined with the inner emotional turmoil took a lot of visualization to understand. I'd have to rate Touch Cookie a high three, not quite a four.
—Jennifer
