For Colorado caterer Goldy Schulz, business isn't just booming - it's skyrocketing. But as her friend Marla is constantly warning her, "success can kill you." Goldy knows she needs to slow down before she breaks down, and she vows she'll do it - right after her next booking: a cocktail party for the Westside Mall's Elite Shoppers Club. It's the event of the shopping season: the Princess Without a Pricetag party for the wealthy shopaholics who drop at least a thousand dollars a week at the mall. Goldy has been hired by charming mall manager Barry Dean to cater the jewel-encrusted affair. But she has hardly begun setting up when she finds herself in the path of a truck that has no intention of stopping until both she and Barry are crushed beneath it. Muddied, bruised, embarrassed, but determined to do her job, Goldy manages to get the party started on time with the help of her trusted assistants Julian Teller and Liz Fury. But with the outbreak of an ugly spat among the guests, the behavior of Barry's flighty young girlfriend, and Barry's own strange actions after the truck incident, the event is - by Goldy's standards - a catastrophe. And it's about to get worse. When she goes to pick up the check, she finds an old friend lying dead in a pile of sale shoes - stabbed with one of Goldy's new knives. Hours later, Julian is the prime suspect in the murder. To prove Julian's innocence, Goldy must catch the real killer. But to do that, she will have to figure out why the victim was carrying a powerful narcotic. And why was a private investigator called in shortly before the murder? Was the killer connected to a mall renovation project - or the eviction of a disgruntled tenant? Or was the villian the odd lover out in a violent love triangle? Between whipping up Sweethearts' Swedish Meatballs, Quiche Me Quick, and Diamond Lovers' Hot Crab Dip, and digging up clues, Goldy knows this is going to be one tough case to crack. And her gourmet sleuth's instinct tells her the final course will be a real killer.
Chopping Spree: Goldy Bear Culinary Mystery Series, Book 11
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle. Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Book Description
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Product Description
From Amazon
When Colorado caterer Goldy Schulz is hired by her old friend Barry Dean to provide a lavish buffet for the opening of his chic new Aspen Meadows mall, the last thing she expects to stumble over is Barry himself, stabbed to death with one of her very own carving knives. When the police arrest her assistant, Julian, for the murder, Goldy launches her own over-caffeinated investigation. There's enough espresso in this culinary cozy to keep the reader wide awake while Davidson's irrepressible heroine sets up the suspects, solves the mystery, sends up a Shopaholics Anonymous meeting, and dishes up 10 recipes for fabulous party food, including the Chopping Spree salad of the title. The plot's somewhat creaky and there's hardly any dramatic tension, but fans of this popular series won't mind a bit. --Jane Adams
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
From Library Journal
Catering a fancy event for a bunch of high-end shoppers gets sleuthing chef Goldy all stirred up. Includes ten new recipes.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
Format:Mass Market Paperback
This latest in the generally excellent culinary mystery series by Diane Mott Davidson, is a little less inspired than some of her other works. Even the recipes are more mundane----a quiche recipe you could find in a lot of cookbooks, a roast beef with burgundy recipe that has also been around a long time.
Goldy Schulz' teenage son Arch is in a difficult period now, and readers will miss his tractable sweetness of earlier books. Julian is in---catch this---JAIL as a murder suspect. Goldy's best friend Marla appears infrequently, as does her stalwart cop husband, Tom. For much of the book Goldy is on her own, trying to withdraw (without much success) from her twin pleasures of caffeine and chocolate, even as she suffers from various injuries incurred in the course of her investigation of the murder.
If you're new to the series, read some of the earlier books first to get to know Goldy, Tom, Arch and company. This one's a lesser light among many bright books.
Format:Mass Market Paperback
In contrast to other reviewers, I find the plotting in this Davidson novel to be more complex and the suspicious characters to be better developed than in her previous books. The victim was a bad guy, a good guy, a two-timer, a lover who wanted (and maybe expected himself) to become faithful, a good friend, and an exploiter -- yes, all rolled into one interesting, attractive man. Likewise, the people who might have knocked him off hardly arouse indifference.
Solve riddles, read recipes, go to a Shopper's Anonymous meeting, sigh at the mistakes we all make with our children: yes, indeed, you can get a lot done reading this book. It is also a great introduction to what passes for springtime on the eastern slopes of the Rockies and to the burgeoning (some would say out of control) commercial and residential development happening here.
I had allowed myself to be put off by reviews here and finally picked up the book for a holiday weekend. I was not in the least disappointed -- except that it had taken me so long to get to it. The book engaged my brain, made me laugh out loud, and brought on ruminations about how life -- and our outrageous mistakes in it -- catches up with us all.
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I have stated in my reviews of some of Diane Mott Davidson's other books in this series that I have come to regard Goldy and her family, along with Marla & Julian, almost as real people as she has done such a good job of describing them and making their lives so realistic.
I don't know what in the world has happened during the writing of this book. As I was reading this book on vacation with family, I told them a few times that if it were not for the dedication in the front of the book, I would almost believe someone else had written it. In this book, Goldy is completely irresponsible as a parent, Arch is a caricature of an angst-ridden teenager, Marla is in a few scenes and behaves like a rich snob towards everyone, including her supposedly best friend Goldy, Tom was nearly non-existenet except to make an occasional meal and pamper to Goldy's whining....and the list goes on.
All of these anomalies were so distracting to me, that I really didn't care much who did what to whom with regards to the murder and other crimes. I hope the next in the series will be back to Ms. Davidson's writing standards.
Want to see more reviews on this item?
›
Go to Amazon.com to see all 69 reviews
3.3 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
A whole lotta latte going on
I'd heard about this series from friends, but this is the first one I've actually read. Chopping Spree is book eleven of the series, which now has fourteen books.
1. Read more
1. Read more
Published on Dec 16 2007 by Amanda Richards
1.0 out of 5 stars
Loosen your belts
It seems all they do in this book is cook and eat! This is the second only book I've read by this authour. I could care less about the receipes, I'm not going to try any of them. Read more
Published on April 3 2004 by bookworm
4.0 out of 5 stars
CHOPPING SPREE
While this was not one of Ms. Davidson's best effort.
It was enjoyable to me in that I love the recipes and
the description of the Mall background.
It was enjoyable to me in that I love the recipes and
the description of the Mall background.
Published on Oct 10 2003 by Donna T. Mckenzie
5.0 out of 5 stars
A LATEST MYSTERY OF GOLDY BEAR SCULTZ
This is a really good book. This has wonderful recipes! This time Goldy is catering to a bunch of ritzy custermers at the malll. Read more
Published on Sep 21 2003 by booklover
5.0 out of 5 stars
Murder, mayhem and great recipes!
Davidson's culinary mysteries explore the complex world of family relationships with as much intensity as they explore the mystery of the specific crime Goldie is investigating. Read more
Published on Sep 13 2003
3.0 out of 5 stars
Chopping Spree
Davidson's books are easy reads and good for vacationing, but no mind challengers. I've found that, after reading several over the years, I'm impatient with the main character who... Read more
Published on Aug 1 2003
3.0 out of 5 stars
My first Goldy book
Goldy Schulz, owner and operator of her Goldilocks Catering, is hired by her old coffee drinking friend Barry Dean to cater a party at the high-scale shopping mall he's the manager... Read more
Published on Jun 24 2003 by K. Morgan
4.0 out of 5 stars
Julian's back!
I think I'd actually give this 3 and half, if one could give half stars. Yes, one does have to wonder how Goldy gets into all the trouble that she does. Read more
Published on Jun 12 2003 by C. S. Stockwell
1.0 out of 5 stars
Caffeine junkie cooks a meal.
It took me a good bit of time to get through this book...i had read others in the series...but this!...Goldy Schulz needs to have a talk with that rude child of hers...and Ms. Read more
Published on Jun 7 2003
1.0 out of 5 stars
Enough already
Will someone PLEASE disable Ms. Davidson's italics key!
Published on Jun 6 2003
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
