Killer Pancake

This story, number five in Goldy, the caterer series, features lowfat recipes, Goldy's assistant Julian, her new husband Detective Tom, Marla's heart attack, a blue rose and hemlock. I find the characters quite entertaining with some real life events, not just recipes and a mystery in the mix. I didn't enjoy her laughing off the prerogative of her new husband sabotaging her catering event. In other stories in the series he's more of a help than a hindrance. Enjoyable read.

Goldy is a caterer, and while cooking for a cosmetic company's event, gets involved in a suspicious hit and run.
This book has all the makings of a traditional murder mystery: a spunky main character, recipes from Goldy's menus, lots of makeup and complicated love lives. I enjoyed it until the last chapters. First there was a lot of repetition (there were definitely a lot of characters weaving in and out of the story), then the plot veered to more and more outlandish situations, until the end which was downright farcical. I don't mind humour in my thrillers, but this book went next level ridiculous and I just lost interest.
A good way to spend a Sunday afternoon, but I won't be reading more from this author.

Goldy Schultz, owner of Goldilocks Catering, has with some reservations, agreed to cater a low-cal lunch banquet for Mignon Cosmetics. It could open up a new market, and her assistant, Julian, is dating one of the Mignon sales associates, Claire Satterfield. And it's only one afternoon. How bad can it be?

Her doubts come rushing back when she has to run a gauntlet of animal rights activists calling themselves Spare the Hares, who even have dead rabbits to wave around. Then Claire Satterfield is killed in the mall parking garage by a hit-and-run driver before they even have all the food inside. Goldy calls 911, and she and her homicide detective husband Tom have to break the news to Julian.

Even more disturbingly, Goldy discovers the show more police don't think it was an accident.

This is an intricate story involving illicit affairs, commercial espionage, cutthroat competition and fraud between Mignon sales staff, and an old, well-buried scandal of terrible injuries caused by cosmetics testing. Goldy learns more about her neighbors and potential clients than she really wanted to know--and all while there's drama enough in her own family and household. It's not just Julian losing Claire. Marla, Goldy's best friend and the other ex-wife of her abusive ex-husband John Richard Korman, has had a heart attack. Do I need to say that John Richard is not staying away, and that Goldy has some difficulty letting the fancy security system Tom has installed do its thing? No?

This is a fun, fast-paced mystery with the main secondary characters just developed enough to make an engaging story.

Recommended.

No free galley to declare on this one; I borrowed it from the library. show less

It is getting harder to read these books. This will be my last. I get more irritated with Goldy and her narcissistic behavior, her son, Arch, and her live-in catering helper, Julian with each book. The books are very dated and I feel like I am listening to my mother and grandmother. I have been listening to the audio versions of the books and I think the individual chosen sounds like my very snooty mother. Goldy is very judgmental of the wealthy and constantly berates their behavior but never fails to mention that she went to boarding school and college and was once married to a wealthy doctor. Bitter much? Not my cup of Earl Grey.

Not as good as the previous books in the series, but still worth reading. Goldy is catering to a high end cosmetic company where all is not what it should be: murder, hidden look out blinds, jealous employees. Goldy has to cook non-fat (gasp!) and has to deal with her best friend landing in the hospital with a heart attack.
Julian's girlfriend, Claire, is run down in the mall parking garage. While Goldy didn't actually see it, she did hear since she was close by at her van. Since Claire was one of the top sales ladies at this prestigious cosmetic company, Goldy sets out to find out why Claire was murdered and nearly gets killed for her efforts.

Killer Pancake by Diane Mott Davidson is the fifth of the Goldy Bear mysteries. This is also the first one where she is married to Tom Schulz.

Independence Day is around the corner and Goldy is busy with a variety of patriotic events. Her big client, though, is Mignon Cosmetics — a local affair with BIG plans. The only problem — local animal rights protestors have gotten wind that they test on rabbits. Worse yet, Julian's new girl friend and employee of of Mignon, has been struck down in the mall parking lot and Julian is the prime suspect.

I found investigation between Mignon and a rival cosmetic company a lot more interesting and credible than the kidnapping plot of The Last Suppers. Although Goldie isn't a makeup wearer, she was show more still able to go undercover as a potential client. It's something a newlywed might do.

Now as I first started reading this series out of order (starting with Fatally Flaky), there are some characters introduced here who are expanded upon later. I found that tidbit a bit distracting, especially as I expected certain characters to resort to violence. Except that they didn't. Here they were minor parts in the ensemble.

This is also the novel where Goldy's coffee addiction gets out of hand. She pulls some long nights but also uses coffee as a coping mechanism. I don't think I could ever drink as much espresso as she manages without becoming violently ill.

Anyway, it was a fun book to listen to. show less

Ms. Davidson does a good job of misdirection in this mystery, giving the reader lots of different motives for the murder. For any woman skeptical of the cosmetics industry this mystery also sends a few zingers in that direction. Goldy is as likeable as ever and flawed enough that she is easy to relate to and understand.