Murder Takes the Cake (Sullivan Investigations Mystery) (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Precisely what cozy mysteries are all about! Beautifully plotted, with a splendid cast of characters, this book is another highly entertaining read from Evelyn David." --Jessica Conant Park, author of the Gourmet Girl mysteries

"Smart, fast and laugh-out-loud funny… another tasty treat from Evelyn David who takes readers on a merry chase from a turkey farm in Virginia all the way to Capitol Hill." --Rosemary Harris, author of Pushing Up Daisies

Product Description

Evelyn David invites you to attend the wedding of Bridget O'Herlihy and Joshua Lasky. The ceremony will be held at the Willard hotel in Washington D.C. Please R.S.V.P. (In case of murder, the ceremony may be delayed.) It's the week before Thanksgiving and all's not right in Mac Sullivan's world. His detective agency needs paying clients; his goddaughter needs help staying alive long enough to say her "I do's;" his best friend needs to find some missing caskets; his Irish wolfhound needs a bath; and he desperately needs a how-to book on modern dating techniques. It's the week before Thanksgiving and all's not right in Rachel Brenner's world. Her son has ditched her for a ski trip with his new girlfriend; someone is stealing caskets and forging her inventory records; and her romantic life consists of hit-and-miss dates with a private detective who won't even commit to a car purchase much less a serious relationship. Weddings can be murder!

Product Details

• Paperback: 284 pages
• Publisher: Echelon Press Publishing (May 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590806182
• ISBN-13: 978-1590806180
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #136,191 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth reading just to sort out all the characters, April 12, 2009

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

Evelyn David is actually a partnership between Marian Edelman Borden and Rhonda Dossett. Marian is an author of ten non-fiction books and hails from New York. Rhonda lives in Oklahoma and is the coal administrator for the state. The most interesting facet of their relationship is that they have never met in person. MURDER TAKES THE CAKE is the follow-up to their first effort, MURDER OFF THE BOOKS. Both books feature Whiskey, an Irish wolfhound.

Rachel Brenner leads an interesting life. After her divorce from a meandering husband, she landed a job in a funeral home. Mac Sullivan runs a private detective agency. What do they have in common? Rachel and Mac have an uneasy relationship bound by their past experiences. But after Rachel discovers the inventory at the funeral home doesn't jibe with their invoices, she inveigles Mac to look into the problem. Hilariously, the skittish Mac thinks she's trying to pin him down regarding their relationship:

"'What?' Mac was confused. Somehow he'd misread the whole situation. Maybe she wasn't breaking up with him. Can you even break up with someone you really haven't dated yet?

'The missing caskets? Did Jeff already tell you about them? There's about $20,000 worth that we can't find. Jeff is talking about running some kind of sting operation to catch the thieves.'"

Tales about mid-life detectives scream out for laughter, and the Evelyn David team complies with aplomb. They add a wedding between Mac's goddaughter and a spoiled little rich kid who has the sensitivity of a hockey puck to keep the plot lively. Characters abound, from the endearing Rachel and Mac to the confused teenager who is brought into line by Mac's office manager, JJ. Whiskey, Mac's Irish wolfhound and Snickers, Rachel's cat, also fit into the mix and promise to have many future exploits.

MURDER TAKES THE CAKE is light-hearted fun, with a little mystery; a little romance; a little family dysfunction; and several out-of-the-ordinary adventures thrown in to make it a fun-filled whodunit. It's worth reading just to sort out all the characters.

Shelley Glodowski
Senior Reviewer

4.0 out of 5 stars Missing caskets and attempted murder, September 12, 2009

By	Dawn Dowdle "mysteryloverscorner.com reviewer" (Lynchburg, VA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Rachel Brenner discovers caskets are missing from the funeral home where she works. She asks Mac Sullivan, a private detective and her boyfriend, to look into it.

Mac is also trying to protect his goddaughter who thinks someone is trying to kill her. It doesn't take long for Mac to really believe her.

J. J. Whiskey, Mac's office manager, sets out to help with the cases. By being in the right place at the wrong time, she discovers the thief of the caskets and sets out to help put him back on the straight and narrow.

Mac and Rachel's relationship keeps getting mixed up in everything and there is plenty of humor to go around.

Mac's goddaughter's fiancé and his family are rich and want everyone to know it. But could there be a tie-in to what is going on?

Evelyn David is the pseudonym for Marian Edelman Borden and Rhonda Dossett, who have never met in person. Reading the book, you would never know two different people wrote it. It is well crafted and full of humor. The characters are a lot of fun. You will laugh out loud and not want to put it down so you can turn the page!

I highly recommend this book.

4.0 out of 5 stars Light-Hearted Cozy, September 3, 2009

By	Lucinda Surber "Stop, You're Killing Me!" (New Mexico & California) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Murder Takes the Cake (reunites Mac Sullivan, a retired cop trying to start a PI business, with Rachel Brenner, a 40-something divorcee and funeral make-up artist, in Washington, DC. When Rachel discovers that the inventory of coffins at the funeral home doesn't match the invoices, she asks Mac to look into the discrepancy quietly since her boss is stressed out about his daughter's upcoming wedding to the son of a snooty New England socialite family. Mac fears that the request is just a ploy on Rachel's part to pin down his intentions about their sort-of relationship, but he needs a case to keep JJ, his young punk assistant, and Edger, his walker-bound researcher, from driving him crazy. Then the bride ambushes Mac, swears someone is trying to kill her, and hires him to catch her would-be killer. Everyone assumes this is just another case of pre-wedding jitters, but Mac worries that she might really be in danger. Whiskey, Mac's junk-food addicted Irish wolfhound adds yet another source of fun in this light-hearted and fast-paced cozy.
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