Cook the Books (Gourmet Girls Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Jessica Conant-Park (Author), Susan Conant (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

This Gourmet Girl has to take the heat-because she just can't get away from the kitchen.

Chloe Carter desperately needs a job, so she takes one assisting a cookbook writer. Unfortunately it stirs up painful memories of her ex- boyfriend Josh, who left her for Hawaii. While compiling a book of recipes from Boston's top chefs, she comes in contact with one of Josh's friends, Digger. Chloe manages to stay cool until later she finds Digger's apartment charred-with Digger in it.

Not believing that an expert chef would die from a grease fire, she sets about looking for Digger's killer. But things get sticky when the tragedy brings Josh back to Boston-and back into Chloe's life.

About the Author

Jessica Conant-Park graduated from Macalester College and has a master of social work degree from Boston College.
Susan Conant is Jessica's mother and author of the Dog Lover's Mysteries and the Cat Lover's Mysteries.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Hardcover (March 2, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425232468
• ISBN-13: 978-0425232460
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #385,518 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun culinary mystery, March 9, 2010

By	CJ - MO (Missouri, USA) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE)

This review is from: Cook the Books (Gourmet Girls Mysteries) (Hardcover)

I really liked "Cook the Books" which is part of the Gourmet Girl mystery series. Even if you haven't read earlier books in the series, "Cook the Books" would be a good place to start. In fact, I didn't care for the first book in this series, but the premise of this one (the main character is helping to research and edit a book about great restaurants in Boston when a chef and friend is murdered), sounded interesting.

I'm glad I gave this series another chance. Compared to the first book, Chloe's character seems to have matured and is much more likable in this book. She is still working on her masters in Social Work and I thought the parts about her clients and how that related to the overall storyline was interesting. The mystery of who killed the chef also kept my interest throughout the book.

Although parts of the book were predictable, I still enjoyed it. There was a nice balance between Chloe's work, interaction with friends, and romance along with the mystery. Overall, this was nice light reading and an enjoyable book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Filling and fabulous...what more could you possibly ask for?, March 24, 2010

By	Erika Sorocco (Southern California, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Cook the Books (Gourmet Girls Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Having finally made it to her second year of graduate school, you'd think that Boston's Chloe Carter would be over the moon and showering herself with praise, presents, and blissful desserts - after all, she is a food connoisseur with a healthy appetite. Unfortunately, you'd be wrong. Yes, she may have her education under control, but every other aspect of her life is in complete disarray.

As if it isn't bad enough that her beloved boyfriend Josh basically abandoned her by picking up and fleeing Boston's brutal weather to take up residence in sunny Hawaii working as the personal chef to a couple sitting pretty on a pile of money; Chloe has now found herself in the throes of financial trouble courtesy of the lavish gifts she finds herself incapable of bestowing upon her godson Patrick. Rather than cutback on her spending habits, however, Chloe decides to do the unthinkable and snag herself a part-time job - and she finds the absolute perfect one as the assistant to handsome Kyle Boucher, a cookbook writer putting together a recipe book featuring cooking secrets from some of Boston's most brilliant chefs.

Despite the fact that she is forced to deal with some of Josh's best buddies, Chloe is convinced that the position was tailor-made with her in mind; and believes that she can contribute a great deal to the project. That is, until she finds herself in a gruesome situation when she arrives at the apartment of Josh's loudmouth pal Digger, only to find his humble abode, and his body, burnt to a crisp.

Chloe knows Digger well enough to feel certain that he would never allow himself to fall victim to a grease fire. In her mind there's no question about it...Digger was murdered; and she's determined to uncover the killer. But with so many people harboring ill will towards the lovable ladies man, doing so may prove to be more challenging than anything Chloe has ever encountered before; not to mention dangerous. For if Chloe doesn't catch the killer soon, the killer may just catch her.

I have been cheering Chloe on since we were first introduced to one another via Steamed (A Gourmet Girl Mystery) in 2006. In the four installments prior to Cook the Books (Gourmet Girls Mysteries), mother-daughter duo Jessica Conant-Park and Susan Conant have painted the classy Chloe as a feisty firecracker; Cook the Books (Gourmet Girls Mysteries), however, greets us with a slightly different side of Chloe, highlighting her compassion towards her friends, in addition to a softer side of her personality courtesy of her recent heartbreak - all of which appears more prominent based upon the darker storyline.

Cook the Books (Gourmet Girls Mysteries) takes readers behind the scenes of the restaurant business, showcasing the spite, bitter feelings, and hostility that underlie the niceties which take place in the world of cooking; yet despite the animosity and anger found upon each page, Conant-Park and Conant put forth a story that is not only engrossing, but brimming with a cast of characters that you truly can't help but to love - and, at times, loathe. Filling and fabulous...what more could you possibly ask for?

Erika Sorocco
Café Fashionista

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, May 8, 2010

By	TeensReadToo.com "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cook the Books (Gourmet Girls Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Chloe's still reeling from her breakup with her chef boyfriend, Josh, who moved to Hawaii . She misses him something fierce, but the new addition to her BFFs family helps ease the pain a little. Although she now needs to find a part-time job to pay for all the baby items for Patrick.

She finds the perfect job, helping to organize a cookbook of Boston restaurants with the son of a famous chef. Chloe hears that Digger, Josh's friend, has a new restaurant opening soon. She volunteers to call him and set up a tasting with her boss and his father.

When Chloe arrives at Digger's apartment for the tasting a little bit early to help set up, she discovers a fire truck blocking her way. Digger's apartment building is on fire, with him trapped inside. At first, it looks like an accident, but the more Chloe talks to other chefs for the cookbook, the more truths she uncovers.

When Josh shows up to find answers, Chloe finds herself in hot water. On one hand, she's so happy to see him, but so angry with him for leaving. Does he have the best intentions or will she be setting herself up for more heartbreak?

Could Chloe be engaging with a killer who wants to advance in the chef world, or could it be a woman scorned out for revenge? Will she uncover the truth before she says too much to the wrong person?

COOK THE BOOKS, the fifth title in the GOURMET GIRL MYSTERY series, mixes murder, romance, jobs, and friendships with food - lots of food. This mother-daughter team has created another mouth-watering treat.

Reviewed by: Jennifer Rummel