Double Shot: A Novel of Suspense

This is another delightful installment in the Goldy Schultz catering mysteries. This time, the murder that Goldy stumbles onto is that of her ex-husband, the Jerk. Trying to balance her relief that he's dead with her worry about being the prime suspect while supporting her son, Arch, through losing his father keeps Goldy busy. And, of course, she's still catering and providing some scrumptious recipes.

I've read several in the series but I'm not always sure I've read them in order. In fact, I thought they'd changed the series name to Goldy Schultz or just Goldy.

Double shot apparently refers to Goldy's consumption of coffee--despite the fact that she's trying to "cut down", it seems every time we turned around, she had a double shot of espresso that she was drinking.

This book was a little too soap-opera-ish for my taste. I can't quite figure out how John Richard Korman manages to have had relationships with over 50 women given how boorish his character is in the scenes we see him in in these books. Why would any woman want to go out with that?

You've got a teenager who gets pregnant and gets sent away, a different teenager who's raped, show more a nurse who doesn't say anything because she figures she'll get fired if she accuses a doctor,and a whole host of other characters who almost seem to be caricatures.

The premise seems to be wearing a bit thin. Goldy seems to feel that she, and only she (with a little help from Tom), is the only one who can solve a mystery. Why even bother to have a police department then? Why not just get Goldy to give up catering and take over solving all the mysteries and crimes that occur in Aspen Meadows? I mean, why would you want to hire a caterer who has dead bodies turn up at some of her events and in other cases, around her? I think I'd find a different caterer--even if I had to pay extra to get someone in from the "big city". show less

This is the 12th book in the Goldy series and IMHO is the best yet. Not only does Davidson dish up a great mystery but also includes delicious sounding recipes. Goldy is accused of a murder (will not give anything away here) . She and her bff, Marla set out to find the real killer. Along the way, they encounter a stripper, a boy who looks like Arch, old acquaintances and the real killer (of course).

The cover of this book says "Her best book" quoting the Denver Post. I'm not sure I would agree as I liked her earlier ones better but I would say it is better than her last few.

The Jerk (ex-husband of the narrator, Goldy) who recently got out of jail is shot twice (no doubt the origin of the title although it could also refer to a double shot of espresso which everyone in the novel seems to drink continuously) and killed. Goldie discovers his body and becomes the prime suspect. Along with her friend (and another ex-spouse of the Jerk), Marla, Goldie mines the local gossip for clues to the actual killer. In addition, Goldie has several catering jobs to perform so we get all the foodie descriptions. (The back of the book has the show more recipes for a lot of the items. I'm definitely going to try the Goldy's Nuthouse Cookies and the Party Pork Chops.) show less

Caterer Goldy Schulz is having a bad day. Someone has sabotaged a memorial service she is catering & knocked her out in the process. She then gets into a verbal altercation with her psychopathic ex-husband in the parking lot. Later, she discovers this same ex-husband shot dead in his garage—and she is the prime suspect. There is no shortage of alternate suspects, however; he left a trail of disgruntled ex-wives & girlfriends a mile long, not to mention he was involved in some shady dealings and had no visible means of support—despite his lavish lifestyle. Even though her new husband Tom is a policeman & assures her the police are more than capable of handling the case, Goldy takes it upon herself to clear her own name & clumsily show more pursues her own investigation.

I have read a couple of other entries in this series in the distant past, and this one seems to be precisely on par with the others. The most noticeable thing about it is that it is often more like reading a cheesy soap opera script than a cozy mystery; there is a lot of over-the-top drama, a lot of gossip, a lot of backstabbing, a lot of mentally unbalanced characters, and even a couple of tepid (completely gratuitous) sex scenes. The only thing missing is Goldy’s evil twin.

The writing is tolerable, but not very good. For instance, I am pretty sure when Davidson mentions the health inspector being like Holmes’ Moriarty serving as “the impersonation of evil” she was trying to say he is the personification of evil. Sadly, nowadays, it is just not possible to expect professional writers to be too adept at language skills. It should not surprise me anymore, but it still makes me want to weep.

Several of the recurring characters can only be described as tiresome.

Goldy’s son Arch is spoiled, sullen, self-absorbed, & a colossal sass-mouth. I gather he is supposed to be a stereotypical teenage boy, but Davidson takes the stereotype way too far to be bearable. It is very easy to envision his character as a frat party rapist a couple of books down the road. If dear little Arch had found himself as collateral damage in a previous story, I doubt too many people would be grieving his absence.

Marla Korman, Goldy’s best friend & fellow ex-wife of the now dead psychopath, is very disturbing. Here is a woman with a seemingly endless supply of money, energy, & time; yet she wastes an inordinate amount of this money, energy, & time stalking, investigating, & otherwise obsessing over her odious ex-husband whom she repeatedly professes to despise. And she even chooses to keep this jerk’s last name, which is just odd. Maybe all of this is explained in one of the books I have not read, but I doubt any explanation could make her behavior seem any less deranged.

Goldy herself is an inherently troubling character. Her actions & decisions repeatedly reinforce the notion that she actually enjoys being a victim. Her past refusals to press charges against her abusive husband, as well as her continued willingness to allow him to control her life (even though she clearly has the ammunition & resources to curtail it) render her more of an unpleasant character than a sympathetic one. At the end of this book, Goldy even expresses an almost optimistic expectation that Roger Mannis—the vile health inspector—will fill the abusive role in her life left vacant by her now deceased ex-husband. It’s all a little too Freudian for my tastes.

On a side note, this series does include recipes. They are all contained at the back of the book, so they don’t intrude into the flow of the story at all. They also represent a lot of what Goldy cooks up during the course of the story. I actually tried a couple and they weren’t bad. So, if you are passionate about mysteries that include recipes, this isn’t the worst choice you could make.

My final verdict: This series is good enough for me to be willing to read it when a friend gives me a copy or when I run across a new title at the library. It’s not good enough for me to spend any money buying it. show less

When caterer Goldy Schulz is attacked and her food deliberately spoiled while catering a funeral lunch, she suspects her attacker was her ex-husband, Dr. John Richard Korman, who was recently released from jail. While Goldy is concerned that someone is trying to sabotage her business, she is also worried about her husband, Tom, who has been depressed ever since he lost a case and a guilty defendant was let free. And then there is health inspector Roger Mannis who is making Goldy's life very difficult by doing his best to find health violations while she is catering. Goldy soon has bigger worries when she discovers the body of someone who was murdered and she becomes the chief suspect when the police think her gun was used in the murder. show more Goldy realizes she is being framed and tries to figure out who the real murderer is from a long list of suspects. While she is trying to save her business and investigate the murder, Goldy is dealing with problems with her son, Arch. Not only does he blame her for the murder, but it's clear he's keeping secrets from her. Goldy certainly has a lot on her plate.

"Double Shot" is a well done mystery. The murder in the book takes the series in a direction that could have hurt the series but instead makes it stronger. The book has some memorable characters, including Sandee, John Korman's latest girlfriend, and Brewster Motley, the attorney defending Goldy, who looks more like a surfer than an attorney. Author Diane Mott Davidson works the catering aspects seamlessly into the story and I liked the fact that Goldy's cooking isn't always perfect. The fact that she burns some fruit pies makes her more of a real character. The mystery itself is well plotted, with plenty of suspects. The motive for the murder is a sad one and readers may sympathize more with the murderer than the victim. Most of the plot lines are neatly wrapped up at the end and things that I didn't think were related to the plot, like out of control forest fires, actually turn out to be very important rather than mere filler. One of the plot lines is deliberately left vague, which may frustrate some readers, but I liked it. However, there were a couple of things I didn't like about the book. I found it hard to believe that Goldy didn't lose any of her customers while a murder suspect. And at the end of the book, Goldy has a new enemy who no doubt will be featured in future books. It would be nice if Goldy had some personal peace in at least one book, but that's probably not going to happen.

"Double Shot" is a good mystery. show less

Double Shot by Diane Mott Davidson is the 12th book in the Goldy Bear catering series. It's the last one to feature the JERK and the one in which he is the primary murder victim. It's also the first one to really feel like the series as I started reading it back in 2011 (as I started with Fatally Flaky.

Goldy has purchased an old restaurant near the lake. She has turned it into an events center and venue for her catering business. While preparing for a funeral lunch, she finds her food spoiled. Later she learns that John Richard Korman (her abusive ex husband) has been released from prison.

Before she can even accuse the JERK of sabotage, she finds his body. Now Goldy faces a new problem: being accused of killing her ex-husband.

As I've show more read ahead in the series and Sweet Revenge hinges on events that happen in Double Shot, I knew who was behind the murders. It didn't matter though. The book is still entertaining and character driven.
Looking at the series as a whole (or a near whole as I still have Crunch Time (2011) and The Whole Enchilada (2013) to read), I find a few recurring quirks troublesome. The first is Goldy's hard head. It seems in nearly book she sustains head trauma strong enough to black out (she's hit, in car crashes, falls, etc). The second is the ever changeable geography of Aspen Meadow.

It seems that everyone lives across the street from Goldy — and for the last couple of books she's been living in the same home! I know these mountain communities can have some crazy and meandering streets with small private roads snaking off the main one, but still — there must be other places for relevant characters to live. show less