Customer Reviews

And Murder for Dessert

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Ellen McKenzie never thought she'd get remarried. So why is she now engaged? She's really not sure how it happened. She loves Dan Dunham, Santa Louisa Chief of Police, but marriage?

Her niece, Sabrina Tortelli, and her husband Mark are coming to stay with Ellen. Mark is the new winemaker at Silver Springs Winery, and Sabrina will be managing the tasting room and doing special events. Ellen, a realtor, has been wrangled by her sister Catherine to let them stay with her while Ellen finds them a rental.

At the Harvest Festival Dinner at the winery, guest chef Otto Messinger and Frank Tortelli, Mark's dad, get into a verbal fight. Soon after Otto is discovered dead in one of the old fashioned wooden fermenting tanks. Sabrina and Mark are both suspects, but Sabrina appears to be their prime suspect.

Ellen doesn't believe Sabrina did it. She sets out to find out who did, with the help of her Aunt Mary. To complicate life even more, an old high school classmate of Ellen's is back in town and trying to pick up their "romance" where it left off. Funny thing is, there was no romance!

Can Ellen keep Sabrina out of jail and find the real killer without becoming the next victim?

I really enjoyed this book. Ellen is such a wonderful character. The interaction between the various characters is well written. The story moves at a good pace. The winery is a good setting for this story as well.

I highly recommend this book.

And Murder for Dessert contains all my favorite ingredients: interesting and lively characters; charming setting; a dash of humor with the mystery; and, gosh darnit good writing. Looking forward to more from Kathleen Delaney.

The niece of real estate broker Ellen McKenzie and her husband, Mark Tortelli move to a new job in the California wine region at Silver Spring Winery. This sparks immediate tension between Sabrina, Mark, Ellen and Ellen's current lover, Dan. Naturally there is something odd about the reasons Mark and Sabrina have suddenly appeared on the scene. Dan, who happens to be the chief of police, and it anxious to marry Ellen is put off by the presence of the other couple.

As things progress, Sabrina and Mark arrange a dinner at the winery to introduce themselves to the community. To do this they hire one of the most detestable chefs on the entire West Coast. There are several other mildly and strangely odd characters in this story. And of course there is a murder. As these things go, you can easily image who gets killed, where the body is found and who gets accused of the murder.

A classically structured traditional or "cozy" mystery that is smoothly written. The characters are carefully worked out to cover most types of individuals one might expect to find in any small community. Both Mark and his wife, Sabrina, come with family baggage, that is relatives who are forever poking their illogical noses where they are not wanted or needed. There are funny bits and there are poignant bits and the murder is logically solved.

I cannot enthusiastically recommend the book because there is no one here with whom I really connected. The level of angst and handwringing rises to surprising heights and in the end I was willing to suggest Ellen and Dan and the rest of the cast left standing pick up and move to the mountains. Nevertheless, the book is well-written and well-constructed.

Ellen's plans for her day sound relaxing. `I had decided that Tuesday morning was mine. Mark, who hadn't been fired, was at the winery. So was Sabrina, who hadn't been arrested, and they had Paris with them. Jake and I were going to clean house. Monday, I had taken two listings, written one offer, and then spent the evening alone with Jake, sitting on the front porch. I wondered what had happened at Lighthouse Winery that had Mark and Sabrina so upset, why Frank had sold his restaurant, why Otto had let Jolene stay at his place for free, and why she wanted to. Mostly I wondered what Dan was doing.'

Ellen McKenzie is a recently divorced, moved back to the old home and town, real estate agent who has been informed by her sister that her niece Sabrina and her husband Mark would be staying with her until they found their own place. Mark is a wine master who left his last job under mysterious circumstances that he nor Sabrina want to discuss. Dan is the significant other in Ellen's life that wants to become her next husband. He's also the Chief of Police. Frank is Mark's dad who is a temperamental chef that sold his own restaurant for reasons he doesn't want to divulge. And then there's Otto who is another temperamental chef that has been hired to create a dinner at the winery with the dishes being complimented by the wines. But, Otto's temperament ends up in disaster for Otto as well as others who are connected to the winery.


In And Murder for Dessert, author Kathleen Delaney created characters that are so realistic. There's Aunt Mary that you want to find yourself wishing you had an aunt like. There's Jake the cat that you want to cuddle with. Otto who you would like to throw something at before he throws something at you. Jolene the reporter who you want to slap just for the heck of slapping her. And Carlton who you want so desperately to get caught in one of his own schemes.

So who will die and who will commit the murder? The suspects are many and the clues are few. I can say, I was and I wasn't surprised at who the murder turned out to be but. The ending could have gone several ways. And Murder for Dessert was a very enjoyable book to read.

Reviewed by Olivera Baumgartner-Jackson for Reader Views (3/07)

Ellen McKenzie has a lot on her mind. Her boyfriend, Chief of Police Dan Dunham, had just asked her to marry him. She loves him, but she is clearly afraid of being hurt again. Her niece, Sabrina, and Sabrina's husband Mark are staying with her - temporarily, but it has been a bit too long for Dan's liking. Sabrina and Mark got new jobs in the winery located nearby. What happened to their old jobs? It seems that their departure there was a bit abrupt.

Sabrina and Mark are hosting an upscale dinner at the winery. Their jobs might well depend on its success. Their guest chef, Otto Messinger, is well known for his volcanic temper. To top things off, he feels that he has unsettled issues with Mark's father. Otto's assistant Larry is an old acquaintance of Ellen's - and he seems to be very keen on taking her to dinner - and more. This does not make Dan particularly happy.

The dinner starts - and we meet yet more people who have argued or fought with Otto in the past. Then Otto turns out dead - in a wine fermenting tank. Sabrina seems to be the most likely suspect. Did she do it?

Kathleen Delaney's "And Murder for Dessert" is an enjoyable, if a bit too predictable mystery. I was pretty sure I knew who's-done-it by page 80 or so - and I was not wrong. This slightly diminished my enjoyment of the story - I like my mysteries more mysterious. On the other hand I did enjoy the plot and the characters greatly. Ellen McKenzie sounds very real - a real woman struggling with a lot of middle-age issues. Aunt Mary is too cute for words. I sure hope I am like her when I reach her age - well, maybe without her "interesting" outfits. Even the villains are endearing in their own way - if slightly irritating the entire time.

I'd recommend "And Murder for Dessert" as this is a nicely readable book, which should provide a couple of hours of good reading fun.

Received book free of charge

In California, realtor Ellen McKenzie and her fiancé Police Chief Dan Dunham attend the Harvest Festival Dinner at the Silver Springs Winery in nearby Santa Louisa. Though somewhat estranged from her snobby sister Ellen and Dan go to celebrate her niece Sabrina's husband Mark Tortelli becoming the new winemaker; although Ellen did not know her niece married as she was not invited or even informed until now.

As Chef Otto explodes over minor inconveniences, his rival Chef Frank arrives to celebrate his son being named the winemaker. Frank and Otto are more than competitors as they hate each other with a passion that rivals their love of cooking. However, it is not Frank who the police, including Dan, believe killed Otto, found floating in the fermenting tank; it is Sabrina they suspect. Not one to sit idly by while her niece goes down, Ellen investigates; even though she is unprepared for a second homicide.

Ellen's personal life adds depth to a fine amateur sleuth tale as she has doubts about marrying for the second time after years in a horrific marriage to a physician; Dan recognizes her hesitation and does his best to prove he is not her former rat of a husband. Although the killer is obvious, the investigation is still fun to follow due to Ellen's antics. She knows she should stay out of it but cannot because blood is thicker than water.

Harriet Klausner