A Corpse in the Soup [Paperback]

Morgan St. James (Author), Phyllice Bradner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 11, 2009

Identical twin sisters Goldie and Godiva take a wild and funny romp through the glitzy world of TV chefs - in search of a killer. When Godiva Olivia DuBois, a.k.a. G.O.D. - an advice columnist from Beverly Hills - takes her niece Chili to a taping of the TV cooking show Flirting with Food she's selected from the audience as a food taster - and winds up in the hospital with food poisoning. Chili's mother, Goldie Silver, an 'aging hippie' living in Alaska, already sensed trouble through a psychic bond with her twin and immediately hopped on a plane to California. Together these two wisecracking amateur sleuths try to solve the 'who's sabotaging the cooking show' mystery - with the help of their 80 year old mother Flossie and their Uncle Sterling - both former Vaudeville magicians. Godiva develops a personal interest in handsome Chef Caesar Romano, the star of the show, who just happens to need a new assistant. Chili - already an experienced sous chef - is offered the position but her chance at stardom may be short-lived, because someone wants to eliminate Caesar, the reigning Gourmet Gladiator champion, from the upcoming competition. When this year's glitzy tournament begins, rivalry quickly turns to murder. Romano is arrested for the crime, and the sisters set out to prove he's innocent. Can they stir up the cooking pot to flush out the real killer without getting into too much hot water?

Editorial Reviews

Review

Godiva, a Beverly Hills advice columnist, is poisoned on a TV cooking show. Her twin sister Goldie, an aging hippie from Alaska, quickly comes to town when her daughter Chili calls. Luckily Godiva recovers. Chef Romano from the cooking show begins seeing Godiva and explains that someone is sabotaging his show. He s sure it s Chef Biff Wellington. They ll be going head to head soon in the Gourmet Gladiator s Tournament. Chef Romano hires Chili as his new assistant. Godiva and Goldie watch the shows being taped out of concern for Chili. And they start looking into Chef Wellington to try to figure out if he really could be the person behind everything. When one of the chefs is murdered, Chef Romano is the prime suspect. Godiva is sure he didn t do it and the twins set out to prove it and find out who did. This new series is off to a great start. The twins Godiva and Goldie are opposites, but when they work together, they re great sleuths. Throw in their quirky family and you ve got a real winner. Lots of twists and turns in the plot. I highly recommend this book. Dawn Dowdle --www.mysteryloverscorner.com

An amazing sister writing team, Morgan St. James and Phyllice Bradner, put out a witty, complex murder mystery that will keep you laughing from beginning to end. It s a must read. This book is chuck full of surprises and plot twists. I didn t want this book to ever end. A CORPSE IN THE SOUP is a whimsical tale about the Silver twins, who get into the act like Miss Marpal. When the rich sister, Godiva Dubois, a newspaper columnist attends the TV program, Flirting With Food featuring Chef Caesar Romano... she is hospitalized with food poisoning after tasting one of Caesar s culinary creations on the set. Her sister Goldie Silver Pepper, closes her Silver Spoon Antique Shop in Juneau, Alaska and dashes to LA to be with her twin. Godiva has been smitten by the chef s good looks, and when he is accused of stabbing to death his program s nasty, bad boy competition, Biff Wellington with his very own kitchen knife, Godiva and Goldie vow to prove Caesar innocent. Being identical twins has its own advantages when the entire family and a fistful of friends become involved in sleuthing out the facts they suspect the police may have overlooked. JoEllen Conger --Conger Book Reviews

A Corpse In The Soup mixes a dollop of mystery, a generous portion of humor and an inside look at the behind-the-scenes business of professional chefs. Someone is trying to snuff out Chef Caesar Romano. Is it his chief competitor Biff Wellington? The killer is methodically targeting Chef Romano and anyone else who gets in the way. And advice columnist Godiva Olivia Dubois (G.O.D.) almost becomes a victim. She and her wisecracking twin, Goldie, are determined to find out who is laying out a recipe for murder. Grab a delicious snack, a favorite beverage it is, after all, about food -- and settle into a comfortable spot to read this joyful romp created by the Silver Sisters. I can t wait for the next entrée. J. D. Webb --J.D. Webb --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

MORGAN ST. JAMES and her husband, radiologist/photographer Hubert Kottlove, split time between homes in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. She has three grown children, Scott, Jakki and Jason, a granddaughter Denali and a new half-British grandson named "Tex". Shopping for Dancing Shoes, a story about Morgan and Phyllice's mother, is the lead story in Chicken Soup for the Shopper's Soul. Morgan is a member of Henderson Writers Group. As a partner in an interior design studio, she worked with celebrities, model homes, showrooms and product designs and her design work has appeared in numerous magazines. Morgan served as Director of Design for two residential developers. She was co-owner of a marketing and promotions firm with a specialty in total imaging for small businesses, . Morgan is very well traveled both nationally and internationally and aptly fits the description of road warrior. PHYLLICE BRADNER grew up in Los Angeles and lived in Alaska for 39 years. She is an award-winning graphic designer and published writer, a former antique shop owner, and has been a political print consultant on many statewide campaigns including four gubernatorial races and five candidates for U.S. Senate. PHYLLICE is an accomplished fine artist whose work appears in galleries in Alaska and Oregon. In 2004 she and her late husband Jim Matson moved to a century-old farmhouse in Dayton, Oregon. She has one grown son, Ross. Over the years she has won four Alaska Press Club awards and two National awards for newsletter publications. Phyllice is the co-author of Touring Juneau, a guidebook, and the Juneau Centennial Cookbook. As publication specialist for the Alaska Division of Tourism, she authored many visitor-oriented publications for the State of Alaska. As a free-lance writer and designer, she produced numerous reports and informational pieces for Alaska Native corporations, the Alaska Native Foundation and clients such as British Petroleum, RCA, Sohio, Alaska Legal Servic --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: L & L Dreamspell (March 11, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1603181202
• ISBN-13: 978-1603181204
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 8.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,458,754 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Fast-paced and quirky; definitely depends on your taste!, March 12, 2008

By 

H. Grove "Errant Dreams Reviews" (Maryland, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Corpse in the Soup

Well I have to admit, Morgan St. James and Phyllice Bradner's A Corpse in the Soup is definitely a different sort of mystery from the ones I'm used to reading! The style is utterly bizarre, and I think it's one of those things that either you'll enjoy or you won't. For instance, the dueling chefs heading for a cooking competition are outrageously strange. One is a Jewish sushi chef; another is a Polish Cajun chef; and a third is best known for doing aerobics using raw chicken legs as dumbbells while cooking.

The breakneck pace of the story struck me as similar to that of watching a cartoon--everything's at full volume, color and velocity, and utterly bizarre things are thrown out at the reader with hardly a jot of explanation, such as the twins' occasional esp-linked thoughts, the apparent talking dog (sort of), and so on. The similar names drove me a bit crazy: Red and Rudy; Candy, Crystal and Chili; Godiva and Goldie... my head was positively swimming after a while, but that too fits the style and flavor of a cartoon. It also seemed to take the main characters a little time to pick up on some plot threads and twists that seemed a bit obvious.

In essence, this really is a cartoon version of a mystery, but aimed at adults--all of the above would seem perfectly in place if I was watching a cartoon, and I almost expect to see the pages decorated with black-and-white cartoon-style drawings of the characters and their capers. It's fun, it's funny, it's stylish and entertaining. It's silly and diverting. But it definitely won't be everyone's cup of tea. I think the characters could seem either charming and fun or annoying and silly depending on your take on the style. I more or less started from the latter and drifted toward the former during my read; overall I'd have to say that this isn't my style of mystery, but that it definitely has its charms.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reviewed for Midwest Book Review, July 2, 2009

By 

Christy Tillery French "reviewer/writer" (Powell, TN) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: A Corpse in the Soup (Paperback)

Goldie Silver and Godiva Olivia DuBois may be identical twins with the ability to communicate with one another telepathically, but that's where their similarity ends. Fashion-conscious Godiva, living in Beverly Hills, writes an advice column called Ask G.O.D. Free spirit Goldie lives in Juneau, Alaska, where she owns an antique store. Godiva takes Goldie's daughter Chili, a sous chef, to the taping of popular Chef Caesar Romano's show. Romano asks Godiva to sample the food and she passes out from food poisoning. Goldie flies in to help, and at the hospital, Romano confides that someone is sabotaging his show. Romano offers Chili a job as his assistant, and Goldie and Godiva put their heads together to try to figure out who's got it in for Romano. When his nemesis Biff Wellington is found with a knife in his back, Romano's the number one suspect and Godiva, romantically interested in Romano, is out to prove him innocent, along with the help of her sister Goldie and their mother and uncle, two former Vaudeville magicians.

This fun mystery romp will keep the reader guessing while enjoying the antics of Goldie and Godiva, along with their quirky family. The characters are amusing and endearing, and even the dog Waldo has his humorous moments. The plot moves along crisply, offering plenty of red herrings, and is twisty enough to provide a good whodunit. A Corpse in the Soup, first of the Silver Sisters Mystery series written by sisters St. James and Bradner, is a refreshing addition to the mystery world.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a circus!, October 3, 2008

By 

Mssr. E. A. Poe (gutter in baltimore) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Corpse in the Soup

Hippies, divas, bimbos, Hollywood has-beens, mumbling dogs and magicians, not to mention psycho-chefs and murderers, inhabit real-life sister-authors Morgan St. James' and Phyllice Bradner's wacky world of the Silver Sisters. This amateur sleuth team is like antique British sports car meets flower-adorned VW bug. Even the ordinary Main Street America characters are flakey and funny...well, it is California, of course...except for the part that's in Alaska, and that's pretty quirky, too. Bottom line: if you can't handle a pun, son, this ain't gonna be your fun...it was for me! I laughed all the way through the book. As a bonus, it had a surprisingly good plot. A Corpse in the Soup