The Grilling Season [Hardcover]

Diane Mott Davidson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2, 1997

For fans of Diane Mott Davidson's unique blend of sumptuous fare and first-class suspense, The Grilling Season, her seventh in the cordon bleu series, is truly a mystery to savor.

Hired to cater a hockey party, Goldy comes up with a winning menu featuring zesty South of the Border Appetizers, succulent Goalies' Grilled Tuna and iced Stanley Cupcakes.  Yet Patricia McCracken, her client and long-suffering friend, won't be satisfied until Goldy adds a hefty side order of revenge. . .

Patricia is convinced obstetrician and her Health Maintenance Organization--penny-pinching ACHMO--are to blame for the recent loss of her baby.  And the doctor in question is none other that John Richard Korman, Aspen Meadow's leading ob/gyn and Goldy's ex-husband, whose clean-cut good looks hide his dirty habit of battering women.  Now, Patricia is suing the doctor and ACHMO for malpractice, but that's not enough.  She wants Goldy's advice on getting even--and coming out on top.

At first, Goldy relishes the fact that her ex-husband is finally going to pay.  Even so, it's a horrid shock when John Richard is arrested for the murder of his current girlfriend, glamorous Suz Craig. . .especially when it's Goldy who makes the gruesome discovery.

Shaken by the thought that she could easily have been the victim, Goldy feverishly throws herself into her work.  But with her new husband, homicide cop Tom Schulz, delegated to the background of the case, and her fourteen-year-old son begging to prove his father innocent, Goldy has no choice but to sift through Aspen Meadow's premium mix of sizzling gossip and reheated rumor for clues.

Will Goldy's fresh-baked Chocolate Comfort Cookies give her the strength to disentangle a baffling mystery that threatens her catering deadline, her relationship with her son, and even her life?  The Grilling Season, replete with tantalizing recipes, is Diane Mott Davidson's tastiest mystery yet.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Caterer and amateur detective Goldy Schulz is at it again in this tasty treat of a novel. Although catering two events more different than a hockey party (complete with the guests chasing pucks on blades) and a decorous breakfast for a doll collectors' convention would be hard to imagine, Goldy manages each with aplomb, Goalies Grilled Tuna and Babsie's Tarts included. While this would be plenty for anyone's plate, Goldy is also trying to decide whether she wants her abusive ex-husband arrested for his current girlfriend's murder. Certainly Goldy is perfectly willing to believe that the Jerk (as Davidson's fans know she has dubbed her former spouse, John Richard Korman) could have done the loathsome deed in one of his violent moments, but she is torn by the desire both to see him brought to justice and for their son not to have a convicted killer for a father. So, between letting the pizza dough rise and baking treasures such as Chocolate Comfort Cookies, Goldy sets out to make sure the police have indeed got the right man.

Davidson's fans will recognize the pattern while new readers will relish her witty, recipe-filled, searing plot. Old friends (all of whom suitably appreciate good food) make their reappearance, including Korman's other ex, Marla, and Goldy's shrimp-peeling husband Tom. While apprentice Julian Teller has left for his restaurant management degree at Cornell, his place in the plot is filled with the more lethargic--if equally good-natured--Maguire Perkins. New characters revolve around the murder itself: Korman's predictably shapely assistant Ree Ann and the very serious doll collectors play a role, as do the administrators of the health maintenance organization Korman has joined. A pleasure to read, even if Goldy's imaginative concoctions make you hungry long before mealtime. --K.A. Crouch --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

From Library Journal

Davidson, known for her skillful writing and the mouth-watering recipes concocted by her series sleuth, Goldy Schulzas, serves up a tale of murder and love gone rotten.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Bantam; First Edition edition (September 2, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553100009
• ISBN-13: 978-0553100006
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (57 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,167,530 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Diane Mott Davidson is the author of more than ten bestselling mysteries. She lives with her family in Colorado.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Tuna and Suspects on Goldy's Grill, February 13, 2001

By 

Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 109,000 Helpful Votes Globally) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Grilling Season (Goldy Culinary Mysteries, Book 7) (Mass Market Paperback)

The food is the best part of this entertaining mystery. The dishes all sound irresistible, and food as therapy is well displayed both through cooking and eating. If that were all there was to the book, it would be a five star effort.

The story involves Goldy Schulz in some sleuthing when her ex-husband is charged with killing his latest girl friend. On the surface, it looks like he went overboard with his favorite activity of beating up women. Their son, Arch, is horrified and wants to protect and help his Dad. Reluctantly, Goldy tries to do the right thing, even though she cannot stand the vicious creep (referred to as The Jerk in the book).

Unfortunately, Ms. Davidson chooses to turn Goldy into a punching bag for physical and mental abuse throughout the often-distressing plot. Her ex-husband hurts her, suspects hurt her, and her son treats her like something he stepped in. Now really, enough is enough. We all know that much such abuse occurs every day. I did not see that it advanced the plot or my understanding of it to have the heroine being constantly assaulted. On the other hand, Ms. Davidson's development of the theme is well done. She nicely captures the lassitude and passive cooperation of the victim mentality, and the utter insensitivity of the abusers.

The mystery itself involves a sort of HMO gothic, filled with evil careerists who stop at nothing to advance their own ends. Where are the silver stakes when we need them?

I thought that the legal aspects of the plot were badly flawed. Goldy is married to a police officer, and she repeatedly acts in ways that compromise the legal case against various suspects. Ms. Davidson needs someone who knows criminal procedure to look these stories over for her. Goldy's marriage would have lasted about 4 minutes if she had done these things as the real wife of a real police officer. Her abuses of the legal process are awful!

If you are a devoted Diane Mott Davidson fan, you will probably enjoy the story enough to read it, but it will probably be your least favorite of her books. If you have not yet read her work, I suggest you skip this one and read any of the earlier ones instead.

After you finish the book (if you decide to read it), I suggest that you think about how you could use comfort food in a healthy and supportive way to improve your life and the lives of those you love.

Bon appetit!

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Too spineless, July 24, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Grilling Season (Goldy Culinary Mysteries, Book 7) (Mass Market Paperback)

I enjoy all of Diane Mott Davidson's books, but I found this one flawed by the totally unrealistic portrayal of Arch. How many sons would be furious with their mother because their father had abused and possibly killed another woman? And where is Goldy's backbone? She allows Arch to move out of the house to a friend's because he is angry with her. She allows him to berate her for things that are not her fault. She asks permission to speak to him! This is not a healthy mother-son relationship. The same with Maguire. Goldy is supposed to see to it that he eats, since he has lost so much weight from mononucleosis, but whenever Maguire says he doesn't feel like eating, she lets him not eat. As far as I can tell, she does nothing except put food in front of him that he doesn't like, after which he goes to bed. Goldy needs to develop the kind of backbone in dealing with teen-agers that she shows in defying the law on behalf of her friends.

Nevertheless I think readers of these mysteries will enjoy The Grilling Season. Just grit your teeth when Arch appears.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great read - love the recipes, May 5, 2000

By 

"robinrbr" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Grilling Season (Goldy Culinary Mysteries, Book 7) (Mass Market Paperback)

This was the second of Davidson's books that I have read. I really enjoyed it and I love the recipes in the book. This is just something that I have never seen before and it is fun to hear how she makes the items and then to see the actual recipe. A neat idea!