Last Suppers, The [Hardcover]

Diane Mott Davidson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1994

From the author of Dying for Chocolate, a delicious mystery, including recipes, begins with Goldy the caterer preparing her wedding feast when the groom calls to say that the wedding is off because of a killer. 25,000 first printing. $25,000 ad/promo.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

The author of The Cereal Murders (LJ 10/1/93) offers more of the same: an appealing mixture of food and crime. A murder delays Colorado caterer Goldy Bear's second wedding when duty calls away the homicide-detective groom-to-be. Includes 12 original recipes.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Caterer Goldy Bear's wedding would have been perfect except for two minor problems--the priest is killed shortly before the wedding and her fianc{‚}e, homicide detective Tom Schulz, is kidnapped from the scene of the crime. Frustrated with waiting for updates from the police, Goldy attempts to find out who ruined her wedding. Is the killer the organist, recently fired by the priest? Or the disgruntled theology student snubbed by the ordination board? Sandwiched between the suspense and Goldy's 10 gourmet recipes are layerings of criticism directed at organized religion. The scandals of Goldy's church snowball as she pursues the killer. Battles over church funds, building projects, and hymnal music lead to suspicious miracle healing and cleric egocentricity as well as corruptness. And although Tom Schulz's character is never more than one-dimensional, Goldy's realistic thoughts and reactions to events make her an interesting personality--and turn this book into a substantive mystery. Caroline Andrew

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 283 pages
• Publisher: Bantam; 1st edition (October 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553095870
• ISBN-13: 978-0553095876
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #841,271 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 Enjoyable, January 29, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Last Suppers (Goldy Culinary Mysteries, Book 4) (Mass Market Paperback)

This may be the last book that I read in the Goldy Bear series. While the writing is enjoyable and the characters are engaging, the mystery takes a back seat to the food. This is not necessarily bad, but I was able to figure out who and what fairly early into the story. On the positive side, I still wanted to read the book and find out how the solution developed - how Goldy puts all the pieces together. The long descriptions of food and its preparations made me very hungry, and the recipes that Ms. Davidson includes seem almost worth the price of the book, even if I am slightly disappointed in the mystery. So I offer a qualified recommendation of this book - enjoyable and tasty but not quite filling

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fluffy mysteries at their best!, April 28, 2005

By 

Ann Centimano "Annabelle41378" (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Last Suppers (Goldy Culinary Mysteries, Book 4) (Mass Market Paperback)

This is the first Diane Mott Davidson that I've gotten to read and I was hooked right away. Similar in form to my other favorites (Dorothy Johnson, Rita Mae Brown, etc.) it took on the hokey beginnings and led their fluffy way down to the solving of the mystery, all the while the main character doesn't skip a beat with her catering.

I know it sounds bad, but I honestly love these types of light and fluffy mysteries, they aren't dark and depressing, they're easy to follow without too many characters and not enough substance. I don't like heavy mysteries that get confusing within the first chapter and get wayyy too descriptive when it comes to the crime scenes or the lack of morals of some of the characters.

This one in particular does seem to be a little bit too hokey in the plot (dead priests and missing soon-to-be husbands) compared to the other books, but it's forgivable!

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not quite satisfying..., September 13, 2003

By 

Cynthia K. Robertson (beverly, new jersey USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Last Suppers (Goldy Culinary Mysteries, Book 4) (Mass Market Paperback)

This is the second Diane Mott Davidson that I have read, and although it is light and fluffy and entertaining, we're not talking great fiction or even great mystery here. Davidson is one of the many mystery writers nowadays who has come upon a theme, and her theme is food. The main character, Goldy Bear, is a caterer and while she's running around solving crimes, she's also cooking up a storm. Three things kept me from giving this book more stars. First, the plot is rather hokey and it's hard to believe that after Goldy's fiance' is kidnapped just minutes before her wedding, that in the three days following, she would take on last minute catering jobs. Also, Goldy never listens to the police and always tries to solve things on her own (makes you wonder why she hasn't been killed). Second, I'm a devout Episcopalian and while I usually enjoy books with Episcopal themes, the complicated jargon of the Episcopal Church even got tiring to me after awhile. Most non-Episcopalians would be hard pressed to give definitions of narthex or ambry. Finally, as someone who likes to cook and entertains quite a bit, I found that the dozen or so recipes that are included in this book didn't even appear appetizing (except for maybe the cinnamon buns). Anyway, I will admit that I was anxious to keep turning pages to see who the villain was in this book. But overall, I don't think it is one of Davidson's better efforts.