Customer Reviews

Mum's the Word

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

 

 

Ellie Haskell is back and pregnant. All she wants to do is stay in bed, eat and be pampered but a warning of danger gives her the push to go to America with her husband Bentley T. Haskell. Bentley wants to become a member of a select group of chefs along with several other unusual candidates. The selection of the one new member of the food society, takes place in a rural area in a strange house on an island. To make matters worse, the house is occupied by a woman who has written a bestseller book about her aging actress mother entitled Monster Mommie. And who shows up? None other than Monster Mommie herself.

Ellie is still an interesting character and the book does have some funny parts, but it was not nearly as good a read as the Thin Woman. I felt that the book had a lot of potential but failed to live up to it. I would not recommend Mum's the Word unless you are a die hard Ellie fan.

Oh to have Ellie's wit and narrative powers! Dorothy Cannell does a superb job with another Ellie Haskell mystery, this one every bit as fun as the ones before, if not more! It was delicious having Ellie visit the States and reading her reactions to its vastness and people. The clever little plot was devious and interesting, a mystery revolving around the expose of a famous actress in best-seller Monster Mommy. More delightful characters! I don't know how Mrs. Cannell does it, but her creations are an ongoing pleasure! I mean, here's a sample of who you'll meet (they're all contestants for some cookery Mange): Kid Prodigy named Bingo and his fashion-less mother, French countess and magician husband, goodhearted cooking witch who makes love potions, and a nice, warm housewife with a broody and paranoid husband. Then there are noncontestants, such as Valicia X, and the infamous, scandalous Theola Faith, and wretched daughter Mary. Then you've got the setting of a Gothic atrocity used in a movie called Melancholy Mansion (which, yes, had starred Theola Faith) and a narrow-minded town called Mud Creek with more eccentric characters, including a Diethologic reverend. This mystery is cunningly appropriate for a pregnant woman (Ellie) and is a successful farce. Do read it!

I got this one in a Secret Santa exchange a couple of years ago. Apparently, it, or the author, had been recommended, and I'd requested it, but I couldn't remember who or why. Also apparently, this is the fourth book in a mystery series.

Ellie Haskell is pregnant and looking forward to taking full advantage of the pampering she's undoubtedly due when her husband Ben is invited to join an exclusive secret society of chefs dedicated to discovering and preserving antique recipes. The invitation includes a Christie-esque stay on an island resort with the other candidates. In America.

The other candidates are all oddities--a child prodigy, a French magician, and a kitchen witch, for example, and the resort belongs to an actress whose daughter has just written a scandalous biography of her. The chef society activities are shrouded in secrecy, and when people start disappearing, Ellie takes it on herself to investigate.

It's a fun mystery romp, and Ellie is an engaging, if slightly self-absorbed and spoiled character. What was even more fun was seeing Ellie's impressions of and reactions to America, which were amusing and believable... and, now that I think of it, may have been the basis for the recommendation.

I'm not sure if I'll look for any more books in this series, but I did enjoy reading this one, and if I run across another, I won't turn it down.

I have read most of Dorothy Cannell's books, and have loved most of them, but I have to say, this one could have been written in Greek. I didn't understand it at all. I kept reading hoping it would spring to life for me. But, I have to admit I finally put it down and gave up. I read A LOT of books and put down very few, but this one I just could not follow. Sorry Dorothy.

After The Thin Woman, I had expected more from this novel. Rather than the crisp prose that I anticipated, the writing in this one meanders from scene to scene without much advancing the plot. It was just difficult to maintain interest in a work that I found more tedious than engrossing. I didn't find much to recommend it.

I loved the Thin Woman, and was excited to read this book, but never bothered finishing. I found Ellie irritating, not someone I liked very much. I read about 50 pages, and hadn't laughed once.