Customer Reviews

Cook the Books (Gourmet Girl Mysteries)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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

What a great book! I picked it up by chance and am thrilled to find out there are 4 more in the series. I am equally saddened finding out that this is the last one in this series. I loved how the book flowed, so much so that I almost couldn't put it down at the end of my lunch hour. With a full time job, kids, and an all around crazy life I couldn't wait until my lunch break to dive right back into Boston and Chole's life. You ladies did a great job and I can't wait to read the other 4 installments and get caught up.

I thoroughly loved this final installment of the Gourmet Girl Mysteries series. I was hoping they wouldn't leave me hanging with Chloe in Boston and Josh in Hawaii. This fifth mystery did not disappoint in any way. If you're looking for a fun summer read and you love the juicy descriptions of food, you'll be hooked on the Gourmet Girl Mystery series. Looking forward to more delicious reads from this contemporary and amusing author!

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

I love this series so I was sad to hear that Cook the Books is the final installment of the Gourment Girl Mysteries. Seriously? Why? I want to know what comes next!

In any event, Cook the Books is a good conclusion to the series.

Chloe has amassed a mountain of debt buying gifts for her best friend's new baby. The best friend and her husband are like many young newlyweds/new parents - eternally broke! Chloe steps in to give baby Patrick all kinds of lovely gifts. Now she has to get a part time job to pay off those bills. She is, sadly, not terribly skilled being a graduate student with few practical skills, but she does find a promising ad on Craigslist: an assistant to a cookbook author. She snags the job and gets right to work.

Of course, her financial problems aren't the only thing going on in Chloe's world. Her boyfriend, Josh, moved to Hawaii, so she is trying to get over him. Then, Josh's best friend, Digger, is murdered and Chloe is in the thick of things, trying to figure out what happened.

I think this is a great final book because, though it wrapped up things well, it also left open the possibility of more books about Chloe. Come on Jessica and Susan, please give us some more!

In Boston Chloe Carter insures herself she is over the dumping by her former boyfriend Josh who left her and the restaurant scene to become a personal chef to an affluent couple in Hawaii. Chloe remains busy with her schooling as she works on obtaining a Masters in social work while spending time and a fortune on her godson Patrick. To pay her bills, she obtains a position of assistant to cookbook writer Kyle Boucher and his renowned chef of a father.

They plan to write a series of cookbooks with recipes given to them from lesser known chefs. Chloe plans to introduce them to her friend Digger, but a fire in his apartment left him dead. Several people insist the blaze was not an accident especially those who knew him well who insists Digger kept his kitchen pristine clean; and Chloe agrees as she has a hard time accepting an experienced chef like Digger would cause an out of control fire. Working with Kyle proves difficult as he keeps sloppy records and cannot delineate the good from the bad. Josh returns home for his friend's funeral and to find his killer, as well as see Chloe who he misses.

The fifth Gourmet Girl amateur sleuth is a truly scrumptious mystery that gives readers a glimpse at the dark side of the restaurant business with its bang -bang cutthroat competition as Chloe finds a horde of suspects with strong motives. Readers will admire her for putting friends first as she genuinely cares about people while also empathizing with her as she still loves Josh and his leaving does not Simmer Down her feelings and his returning to Turn Up the Heat complicates her need to move on.

Harriet Klausner

I love this series. It's fun and includes recipes. Chloe is still upset about Josh moving to Hawaii when she looks in Craigslist and finds a job for cookbook editor. Through this job she has to deal with Josh's friend Digger who is killed as a result of a fire. However, Chloe knows this is no common grease fire. She works at solving the murder while still editing the cookbook, dealing with her new employer, loving Ade's new baby, and going to school. When it becomes a possibility that Josh will return in light of the tragedy, Chloe has her hands full.

Chloe's boyfriend, the talented chef Josh, just left her
and moved to Hawaii. But she has been dealing fine by
overindulging her 3-month old godson and eating lots of
ice cream. To pay off her credit card bills Chloe looks
for a job, and finds the perfect one, a Cookbook Writer's
Assistant. She gets to eat great food and get paid to do
it, what could be better! Not to mention her new boss Kyle
is attractive too. But things quickly turn bad when Josh's
good friend dies in a suspicious fire.

Chloe is a quirky and lovable character, even though she spends just
a bit too much time pining for her ex, she is real. The
accompanying characters also add flavor. The constant
theme of food in this book made my mouth water and
including the recipes in the back was a great addition to
the story. But the plot was almost nonexistent. The fire
occurred a few chapters in but the idea of murder didn't
come up until the second half. Then, nothing was really
done about it. For the first ninety percent of the book
very little happened then in the last few chapters
everything was revealed and resolved and boom we're done.
There was no mystery, there was a crime and then later the
crime was solved. That's it. In the end the delicious food
and lovable characters barely held the book up through the
plot.

Reviewed by a young adult student reviewer
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