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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Delicious and Surprising,
By Jane Austen "comedy fan" (Studio City, CA USA) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Proof is in the Pudding (Della Cooks Mystery) (Mass Market Paperback)
I've been a fan of this series since I read the first one, "Killer Mousse." This was the best yet. The relationships are getting deeper, but that wouldn't matter if the mystery wasn't so good. "Pudding" is full of new and interesting characters that Della meets when she's picked to be one of the judges at a charity party where movie and TV stars each cook a favorite dish. It's a competition with the big prize money going to the winning celebrity's favorite charity. But the food never gets eaten because one of the celebrities is murdered. In order to protect her unofficial daughter Eileen (who was being blackmailed by the victim) Della has to develop a new skill: burglary. Unfortunately, she leaves behind a piece of evidence that almost destroys her own life. I was crying with Della when she discovered what happened to her house. The recipes look good. Since the book just arrived yesterday, I haven't had time to try them, but I'll make "Pasta Caruso" this weekend to make up to my husband for not cooking last night so I could keep reading. The mystery has some surprising twists, and there's more action and romance than usual. I hope in a future book poor Eileen has better luck with men. Highly recommended!
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
KITCHEN MAGIC PRODUCES MURDER,
By
This review is from: The Proof is in the Pudding (Della Cooks Mystery) (Mass Market Paperback)
This is the author's third in her series featuring Della Carmichael. And yes it comes with several pages of what appear to be mouth-watering recipes. While noting that the author sent a copy of the book to review, I have not (yet) tried any of the recipes. However, if they are on a par with the quality of this author's writing which is excellent, they should be worthwhile.
Della Carmichael is the hostess and chef of a West Coast cable cooking show. She also runs a small cooking school. Her deceased husband was a cop so she has some useful connections for her adventures. Make no mistake, this novel is not a cozy. Even though set in Southern California, and the circle of suspects and other characters is limited, many of readers' expectations about cozy crime novels are broken. There are pets. There is some fine humor and the pace is enough to keep even non-foodies interested. And, this is a whee of a story. An Important Personage is staging a celebrity cooking competition for both humanitarian and personal reasons. Della is brought in at the last minute to be one of three judges of the event. There she encounters another judge who is definitely not on her `A' list of desirable guests. When the man is stabbed to death during the beginning of the cooking competition, in a delightful and well-thought-out scene, suspicion falls variously on a close friend who is a cop, the cop's daughter and on Della herself. Wells is a good writer and she deals with one of the major problems of writing a series in a competent and forthright manner. If a series is to continue, we can't have the protagonist in such jeopardy that she dies. However, by recognizing the quandary , this author builds the tension in other ways, and the detecting is handled in a well-done manner. In addition, Della Carmichael acts like a real, fully realized woman, with desires, problems, and some pets and friends who are occasionally troublesome. They are interesting which contributes to the stew without distracting us from the main story. I was completely charmed by Ms. Carmichael and her adventure. Her world is fun, funny, and as real as can be. Moreover, the story is well plotted and has a very satisfactory conclusion.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Wonderful Cozy,
This review is from: The Proof is in the Pudding (Della Cooks Mystery) (Mass Market Paperback)
I have been waiting a long time for this book.
Melinda Wells does a marvelous job of making me hungry, as well as creating a mystery, that keeps me coming back for another bite. Della, and her poodle Tuffy, are a real treat. Having her own TV cooking show, seems so tame. But, it seems that trouble follows Della, wherever she goes. This time, she is judging a celebrity Cook off. What could possible go wrong? Just about everything. Cheaters, smoke bombs, and of course, a dead body. Don't worry, she has plenty of help. Her boyfriend Nicholas,plus friends Liddy, John, and of course Tuffy. I do believe Melinda Wells has as much fun writing this cozy, as I do from reading her book. By the way, her French toast and Quiche recipes, sound good enough to send me into my own kitchen and do a little cooking. Just a side note to add. Melinda Wells is coming out with a new mystery in this series. It is called "Pie A La Murder". I do believe this author is an auto-buy for me.
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