Customer Reviews

Cool Cache: A Tucker Sinclair Mystery (Tucker Sinclair Mysteries)

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

 

 

With Cool Cache Patricia Smiley has again elevated the female detective genre, and her own work as well. In her fourth novel of the series, heroine Tucker Sinclair is on the hunt for a chocolate loving killer while simultaneously trying to protect her pal and part-time employee Eugene Barstock. Against her advice Eugene has gone deep undercover, so deep she can't find him. He is searching for that same murderer, but for reasons of his own. Eugene has something to prove to himself and to others if they'll only listen. But is it worth his life?

This is engaging if standard fare. What sets Cool Cache apart is Tucker's very real persona fraught with doubts, decisions, and lost love. The character is so genuine and appealing you want to ring her up at her beachside home and arrange lunch at a Santa Monica bistro or an Inglewood taco stand. And that's the other Smiley trademark - knowledge of the Southern California scene from geography, to history, to the LA attitude. You almost need sunglasses and tanning lotion when you read a Smiley novel. For sure you need to fasten your seat belt.

Cool Cache shows us a more somber Tucker Sinclair than we've seen previously, but she's all the more believable for it. If you can't cruise the barrio, the beach and Rodeo Drive yourself, this book is the next best thing. And if you can visit those places, get the book anyway. Tucker Sinclair is just too much fun to miss.

Cool Cache is the fourth book in this very entertaining series that just keeps getting better. Tucker Sinclair, a great cast of characters and the authors habit of injecting actual business information into the series make it very entertaining.

Authors with the ability to interject real word business information into entertaining "who-done-its" are rare and Patricia Smiley has clearly joined their ranks. While this book is certainly not a business tutorial I do find books that provide insight into different businesses to be particularly enjoyable.

In this book Tucker becomes involved in both retail chocolate and the dating business while tracking down a murderer, and her missing assistant. Mix in some interesting slices of LA life and the continued development of a wonderful supporting cast and you have a great addition to the Tucker Sinclair series. This book is my favorite of the series to date and I can't wait for the next installment.

Not long after starting this book, I had a serious fit of chocolate-envy! Just reading "Cool Cache" may require either large infusions of chocolate (specifically truffles), or willpower of steel! This delightful new addition to Patty Smiley's Tucker Sinclair series is filled not only with mouth-watering chocolates to read about, but also a fascinating mystery.

Tucker Sinclair and Associates is a business-consulting firm, although the only "associate" besides Tucker is her male "executive assistant," Eugene. Keeping a close eye on her clients brings Tucker into a murder case involving a client, an upscale chocolatier in Beverly Hills, and a quirky clue, a rare green Quetzal feather, native to Guatemala, and symbol of an East Los Angeles gang. The narrative quickly gets more complex when Eugene decides to go undercover, sucking poor Tucker into the case, despite her best intentions to stay out of it.

So many things keep this mystery (and others in the series) from being banal, or a run-of-the-mill cozy. Smiley pulls in sub-plots about gang activity, stolen antiquities from Guatemala, and (besides the awe-inspiring candy) a role reversal, gender-wise, as Tucker is soon riding to the rescue of her intrepid male assistant. Woman to the Rescue! This is the fourth book in the series, yet, even though a part of a series, each book stands alone magnificently.

I would have loved to see a recipe or two in the book for making chocolates--but of course, I still recommend this book highly. It treats the readers intelligently, addresses awkward subject matter, and stays within the bounds of the rules of cozies with its amateur detectives, clever plot twists and dynamic dialog and characterizations. Cool Cache is certainly perfect reading for a hot summer day or for a cool spring evening!

by Laura Strathman Hulka
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women

This is the 4th book with Tucker Sinclaire that I have read by this author (she has written a total of 4 w/Tucker) and enjoyed this one as much as the other 3. I hope she will write more. This book was used and I was very pleased with the condition of it and also pleased with the price.

Honestly, I wish Patricia would write more of this series. I was just getting into it, and the books are very hard to find in the bookstores. That's why I'm happy she's Kindleized.
The writing is well done. The setting is good, and the characters are working their way into full-fledged characters that I might see as "imaginary real".
The plot was just average, I'm sad to say. Not that the writing was bad, but I was pretty spot on predicting what would happen. But don't let that stop you from reading it. I read A LOT, so some authors I'm good at guessing where they are going and who the killer is. Other's I've got no clue until they tell me.
I'm hoping for another episode in this series, because I like the main character's job, and how that is weaved into the plot. That's a key for me when I'm looking for a new author.

This Tucker Sinclair mystery is a fine pick for any mystery collection, particularly for California collections but for any strong in regional U.S. settings and mysteries. Here a new chocolate shop, Nectar, boasts all kinds of secret recipes from a Belgian great-grandfather and it's up to Tucker Sinclair to help assure its success. When her protective efforts fail and a murder results, Tucker must follow some bizarre chocolate-covered clues to solve the mystery. A fine thriller evolves.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Tucker Sinclair can't seem to decide whether she's a business consultant or a private eye. In this caper, she begins as an advisor to an iffy high-scale retail chocolate shop, retained to improve its somewhat shaky business. Unfortunately, one night the cleaning lady is murdered in the shop and Tucker finds the body.

Add the disappearance of her assistant to the mix and Tucker has more to chew on than a bon bon. Presumably, her assistant has taken it upon himself to solve the mystery despite being admonished to say in the office.

Well-paced, and cleverly contrived, the novel is a breezy read. It holds up well, with suspense right up to the end. A light and enjoyable read, and recommended.

Patricia has an amazing ability to swiftly bring in new characters and have them enhance the creativity of Tucker. She leaves you wanting more of this story.