Sweet Revenge- Diane Mott Davidson
The Latest Mystery by the Queen of Culinary Crime Fiction
Oct 5, 2007
"Sweet Revenge," the 14th Goldy Bear mystery novel by Diane Mott Davidson, starts as Goldy, a caterer, is starting the busy holiday season. She has barely a minute to spare, sometimes hosting three events in a day. Her one charitable, "pro bono," gig is for the local Aspen Meadow Library. The facility has planned a Charles Dickens-themed breakfast affair to reward their volunteers.
A Body in the Library
Goldy arrives the afternoon before the party to set up the tables and decorations. As she's working, she is startled to see a woman lurking amidst the shelves. That this woman looks just like Sandee Brisbane, the woman who killed Goldy's ex-husband before (supposedly) jumping to her death, is more than a little disturbing.
Soon Goldy's activities and morose thoughts are disturbed by the shouts (in a library?) of the library director. She's standing over the prone body of the community's former district attorney, not a controversial rare map dealer. When the man, Drew Wellington, is later declared dead and found to have a priceless map in his clothing, there seems to be no lack of suspects, including Goldy's friend and Drew's sometime girlfriend, Pat Ingersoll.
A Missing Map
As Goldy is drawn into the events surrounding the murder, much to her husband's, a detective with the local Sheriff's department, chagrin, she learns more than she wants to know about her friend Pat, the dead district attorney, and the people around them. She also learns that there may have been two maps on Drew when he died. If so, where is the second map? Is Sandee Brisbane really "back from the dead?" Did she have something to do with Drew's murder? Somehow Goldy will need to find time to answer all of these questions amid her busy holiday schedule.
"Sweet Revenge" is as enjoyable as the very first Goldy Bear mystery. Ms. Davidson has a knack for introducing the characters to new readers without boring her loyal fans. Plus, there are always those tasty recipes at the end of the story. (This time it's Chuzzlewit Cheese Pie, Bleak House Bars, and Chicken Divine.) The plot is complicated enough to be interesting without testing the reader's sense of the incredible.
About Diane Mott Davidson
Diane Mott Davidson is the author of 13 other Goldy Bear culinary mysteries beginning with "Catering to Nobody," which was released in 1992. Ms. Davidson attended Wellesley College (where she lived across of the hall from Hillary Rodham--now Clinton) and graduated from Stanford University. Ms. Davidson now lives with her husband in Evergreen Colorado (a town that closely resembles Aspen Meadows).
Related Articles
- A Review of Dark Tort, the 2006 release by Diane Mott Davidson
- A Review of A Catered Valentine's Day by Isis Crawford
- A Review of Through the Grinder by Cleo Coyle
 |
