OCTOBER 2013 - AudioFile
Listeners will be amazed by the artistry Barbara Rosenblat brings to the much loved characters of Davidson’s culinary mystery series. This time, Goldy’s good friend Holly drops dead after attending a catered birthday party. Scrumptious food descriptions as well as Goldy’s stubborn inner monologues and her best friend Marla’s bold and brazen attitude are delivered perfectly by Rosenblat. She does equally well with friend Julian’s dry humor and deadpan delivery. Tom, Goldy’s sheriff husband, provides calm and steady support to the female sleuthing team. Rosenblat can be counted on to capture the essence of each character. Especially entertaining are the patience and sly humor of the two police sergeants assigned by Tom to protect Goldy and Marla as they investigate. M.F.T. © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
In bestseller Davidson’s beguiling 17th mystery featuring Aspen Meadow, Colo., caterer Goldy Schulz (after 2011’s Crunch Time), Goldy fears that the death of her friend Holly Ingleby immediately following a birthday party she catered was caused by something Holly ate. When Holly—who was part of the unofficial group of emotionally and often physically battered wives that Goldy and mutual friend Marla Korman belonged to—turns out to have died from a medication overdose, the caterer knows she owes it to Holly to investigate. Digging into her friend’s past, particularly through the reams of notes Goldy took during long-ago sessions of the support group Amour Anonymous, she discovers unsettling secrets involving Holly and other prominent members of Aspen Meadow society. It becomes clear that whatever tidbits Holly took with her to the grave may have provided a motive for murder. Davidson, as usual, deftly weaves her mouthwatering recipes through the plot, which takes several emotional turns. Agent: Sandra Dijkstra, Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency. (Sept.)
Kirkus Reviews
Three women formerly married to doctors had formed a support group named Amour Anonymous. Now the past has caught up to one of them. After her divorce, it took caterer Goldy Schulz years to recover her sense of self-worth. Now she's happily married to Tom, a police detective in Aspen Meadows, Colo., who hardly minds that she occasionally meddles in his cases. Goldy and her helper Julian are catering a Mexican-themed birthday party for her son Arch and his friend Drew, whose mom, Holly, has been part of the support group. The party is to be held at the home of wealthy Marla, the third member. After Drew's father and his second wife show up uninvited, things go from nasty to tragic when Holly collapses and dies in Marla's driveway. Goldy and Marla, determined to discover why, review all Goldy's notes from their meetings. But the research they do on Holly's current life is more revealing. Holly lost her house and had to sell her expensive cars and move Drew to a cheaper school even though she was awarded child support from her well-heeled ex. Although Holly seemed to be living on the money from her artwork, even that turns out to be not quite the truth. The plot thickens with an attack on an Episcopal priest who may have been counseling Holly and the death of a Goldy wannabe who just happened to be with him. Goldy is lucky to escape violence at her own home from an attacker who's obviously searching for something. Goldy, Marla and the police had better figure out what before more people die. Davidson snaps back from the mediocre Crunch Time (2011) with a more tantalizing puzzle. But fans may well skim the mystery and focus on the many appended recipes and bits of cooking lore scattered throughout.
