Customer Reviews

Catering to Nobody (Beeler Large Print Mystery Series)

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

This was a a light, entertaining book and and fun murder mystery. The first book in the series, we are introduced to Goldy Bear (Whose real name is Gertrude Bear Korman). Goldy has started her own catering business, to support herself and her son, after divorcing her abusive ex husband. While catering a funeral, Goldy's ex father in law is poisoned, and Goldy's business is shut down. In order to clear her name and get her life back, Goldy decides to investigate the crime.
Chock full of interesting characters, a possible love interest and as an added bonus, some terrific sounding recipes. I can't wait to move on to the next book in the series.

"Catering to Nobody" is the first delectable book in this culinary mystery series full of crazy, different characters.
Lightly entertaining, and a good murder mystery Davidson's witty writing and clever clues combine with some yummy recipes along the way to solving this short, fun mystery.
Goldy is a former battered wife who has finally divorced her abusive doctor husband and strikes out to support herself and her pre-teen son by starting an upscale catering company.
Handsome police officer Tom Schultz adds another delicious dimension to the story. If you enjoy Grafton, Evanovich, and Tamar Myers (my other favorite mystery authors who write about 'real' people) you'll enjoy Goldy's sleuthing attempts to determine 1)who keeps trying to poison her lovable (?) ex-father-in-law, 2)who murdered her son's lovely, yet peculiar prior elementary school teacher and (deep breath) 3)WHY does everyone seem to know more about the entire mystery than Goldy? Most mysterious of all her books I've read to date! Excellent.

Catering to Nobody is the first novel written by Diane Mott Davidson and I think it is a winner. A "taste" of the story goes like this. Goldy is catering a wake for her sons ex-teacher and her father-in-law is slipped rat poison in his coffee. Until the culprit is found Goldy must close down her business so she talks the detective in charge (who just happens to take a liking to Goldy) to let her do some snooping. She finds out things about her family and friends that she never knew and figures out who the criminal really is just in the nick of time. This is a witty mystery with some nice recipes along the way.

Catering to Nobody starts with a clever title and never lets up. The main character, Goldy Bear, is a former battered wife who finally divorced her abusive doctor husband and sets out to make her own way in the world with an upscale catering company. In addition to her business, she must deal with her nearly teenaged son and help him cope with the divorce. In this entry of the series, Goldy has to deal with her ex-husband when his father is poisoned at a funeral reception she is catering. Soon Goldy realizes that the only ay to save herself and her business is to solve the mystery herself-- and along the way she meets handsome police officer Tom Schultz, who reappears in later books in this series. Goldy is a character with whom many of today's women can identify. The recipes add another dimension to the book -- try them yourselves

I can't believe this book is out of print in paperback and out of stock in hardcover. What a shame! "Catering to Nobody" is the first lovable book in the culinary mystery series. Among the twists and turns of an engrossing mystery you will find about 3 recipes (other books have more). In this book, Goldy's business is officially shut down due to poison-laced coffee that nearly kills her ex-father-in-law. Many believe she is guilty ... so Goldy must find the real culprit!

I want Goldy for my best friend and my caterer. The author combines recipes with a well-paced mystery with a main character who is a single mom dealing with an abusive ex-husband and maybe a new husband. Read one and you will be hooked.

This book is literary junk food, but just about everybody likes to snack on junk food sometimes. The story is fluffy as a quiche but a fun read, nonetheless. As an amateur cook and Colorado resident, I enjoyed Davidson's descriptions of small-mountain-town life and of the creation of delectable dishes. As a person who has dabbled in "nerdy" pursuits, I also enjoyed how Arch, the introverted, role-playing son, got to be a hero.

Catering a wake is hardly Goldy Bear's idea of a good time. This is especially true when the wake is for her son's former teacher. Eleven year old Arch was very close to Laura Smiley and her suicide came as quite a shock to him and the entire town of Aspen Meadow.

During the wake, Fritz Korman keels over. The police quickly determine that there was poison in his coffee. Fritz happens to be Goldy's ex-father-in-law. While she his happy to be rid of her ex-husband, she still gets along relatively well with Fritz.

Even more upsetting, the police shut down Goldilocks' Catering while they investigate how the poison got into Fritz's coffee. Since the holiday season is coming up, Goldy can't afford to stay shut down for long, so she begins her own investigation. She figures there was to be a reason Fritz was poisoned at the wake, so she also looks into Laura's life. The more she investigates, the more she is convinced that the teacher didn't commit suicide. Was she murdered? Any why did someone try to kill Fritz?

With all the culinary themed mysteries I read, I am finally getting around to reading the one of the first of the genre. And I can see why this series is popular. The characters are great. They seem like real people right off the bat. Even Arch seems like a real boy and not an adult in child's skin. On the other hand, the plot moved slowly and I couldn't believe how much the police shared with Goldy. As is customary in these types of books, there are recipes to be enjoyed after you've read the story.

Despite the flaws with the plot, the rich characters will probably pull me back for a second helping of food and murder.

I am so glad I discovered this series. Anyone who enjoys Sue Grafton, Janet Evanovich, and other authors with 'real' people will love Davidson's books. My only beef is with a blurb on the cover, comparing her to Mary Higgins Clark. I found the characters in this book far more human, appealing, and humorous. I'm furiously ordering every one of the books in this series. She's just my style.

FROM THE BACK/CASE: "Catering a wake is not Goldy's idea of fun. Yet the Colorado caterer throws herself into preparing a savory feast including Poached Salmon and Strawberry Shortcake Buffet designed to soothe forty mourners. And her culinary efforts seem to be exactly what the doctor ordered...until her ex-father-in-law gynecologist Fritz Korman is struck down and Goldy is accused of adding poison to the menu. Now, with the Department of Health impounding her leftovers, her ex-husband proclaiming her guilt, and her business about to be shut down, Goldy knows she can't wait for the police to serve up the answers. She'll soon uncover more than one family skeleton and a veritable stew of unpalatable secrets-the kind that could make Goldy the main course in an unsavory killer's next murder!"

When I first got this book I couldn't believe it. With a main character named Goldy Bear who owns and operates Goldylocks Catering where "Everything is just right", I was wondering what on earth I had gotten in to.

This book was a little slow at the start. At the beginning you learn that Goldy has been hired to cater the wake of a teacher who committed suicide. From this point until Goldy's ex-father-in-law drinks rat poison laced coffee seems to take forever to develop. Once you reach this part, the book seems to gradually pick up the pace, though it never reaches a breakneck speed. Never in the book does there seem to be any sense of urgency or a sense of "Oh my god, what's she going to do now?" or "How is she going to get out of this?"

Once this book begins to pick up the pace, it becomes a very enjoyable story. You will find yourself liking the characters of Goldy and her 11 year old son Arch. In addition, there is an almost light hearted air to this book which never distracts from the plot. In fact, it only enhances the character of Goldy. Ms. Davidson's inclusion of actual recipes in the story helps to accentuate the character of Goldy as a caterer and in a strange way make her seem more real.

For mystery buffs or those who like a good "Who Done It" this is a good book. Ms. Davidson did an excellent job at creating a plot that will keep the reader guessing all the time. Many times I thought this character or that character did it only to be wrong.

This audiobook was narrated by Barbara Rosenblat who is an experienced narrator with many titles to her name. She does an excellent job at bringing the characters to life. Though she isn't boring in her narration, I think Ms. Rosenblat could have done a better job in giving the characters a sense of fear or urgency when required.

All in all, this is a good book with an excellent plot. Unique in style and content it has wonderful well written characters. The narrator does a good job at bringing them to life but lacks that extra something that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

The first in the Goldy Bear Mystery series, Ms. Davidson was nominated for both the Anthony and Agatha Awards in 1991 for this book in the category of First Novel.

NOMINATED:

Agatha (1991)

Anthony (1991)

WON:

Anthony (1993)

I have never read anything by Diane Mott Davidson prior to this book. Though I only gave this book three stars, it was a good book that I enjoyed. With the unique characters and the way I was kept guessing throughout, I will definitely be trying other titles in the Goldy Bear Series.

Being an avid reader, I read all kinds of books. However, most of the mystery books I read are not really written in the same style as this one. To me, the only author I can really compare Ms. Davidson to is Lawrence Block and his Bernie Rhodenbarr mysteries.