Customer Reviews

The Proof is in the Pudding (Della Cooks Mystery)

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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!

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.

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.

You wouldn't think that a judge could get into trouble at a Celebrity Cook-Off type event. But, maybe you would think that if the judge in question was Della Carmichael. She isn't exactly trouble-prone, but it seems as though any trouble with several miles of her current whereabouts will surely find it's way to her, and thoroughly entangle her.

It's a good thing her significant other at the moment is a talented and intelligent reporter, or she'd find herself in deeper trouble than she'd like. Especially as the target this time is her 'honorary' daughter Eileen O'Hara, daughter of Shannon and John. The latter was the partner of Della's late husband, Mack, as both were on the local police force. Eileen is also Della's partner in their joint venture of making and selling fudge.

(Note of Warning here: you can easily gain five pounds just from reading this delicious book! There is something scrumptious on nearly every page!)

Unfortunately, a fellow judge (not a very nice guy, really) ends up dead at the Cook-Off, leaving Eileen and Della as the prime suspects. John had just punched out the guy (Keith Ingram) so he's thrown off the case, and it really doesn't look too good for the intrepid ladies.

But Della is no one's fool. She's very capable of thinking for herself -- totally outside the box, too. Things don't always go her way, but she solves the puzzle in the end.

This is a very clever, very well- and unusually-plotted mystery with great characterizations throughout. I'd be very skeptical of any mystery fan who claimed not to like it. I'd recommend it to anyone!

In North Hollywood, public relations specialist Phil Logan informs widow Della Carmichael, the hostess of In the Kitchen With Della, that she is one of the three judges selected to score the Celebrity Cook-off charity event at the Olympia Grand Hotel. The other two judges are Yvette Dupree and Keith Ingram. Phil warns her that her Della's Sweet Dreams partner Eileen O'Hara is seeing womanizing Keith, who rumors have it will dump her to marry wealthy Tina Long, daughter of the Olympia Grand's owner. Keith dumps Eileen, but tells her she will be his mistress as he has tapes of their sexual encounters with his face blurred that he will release.

At the gala, Eileen's father Police Detective John O'Hara punches Keith in the face. While cook Wolf Wheeler performs an incredible juggling act with pots, pans and food, someone releases a smoke bomb. When the air clears and the panic ends, Keith is dead from a knife to his throat. The prime suspect is John, who the lead detective Hatch (known fondly by Della as Hatchet) hates.

Although readers know who will be murdered when Eileen hysterically calls "Aunt" Della, fans will enjoy the latest Della Cooks mystery (see Della Takes the cake). Della is courageous as an amateur sleuth and insane as a break and enter "thief" when she sneaks into the victim's home to attempt to steal the tapes. With wonderful recipes after case solved and some included in the whodunit, culinary mystery fans will appreciate Della's risking her life to keep Eileen out of a sex scandal and prove John did not commit the homicide.

Harriet Klausner

Titles in this terrific cozy mystery series are: (1)Killer Mousse (Della Cooks Mystery). (2)Death Takes the Cake (Della Cooks Mystery). (3)The Proof is in the Pudding (Della Cooks Mystery). (4)Pie A La Murder (Della Cooks Mystery), to be published in July.

The publisher's blurb sets the scene: "Della Carmichael, owner of a cooking school in Santa Monica and star of a new cable cooking show, has agreed to be
one of three judges for the Celebrity Cook-Off Charity Gala. The spotlights are fixed on twenty celebrities, amateur cooks for the night, preparing their favorite dishes in
a hotel ballroom. But before the judges have a chance to sample the delights, food
columnist and gold-digging playboy Keith Ingram is found dead. And one of Della's
closest friends, LAPD Lieutenant John O'Hara, is the prime suspect."

Reading Melinda Wells is like drinking coffee with your closest friends.
Della's close friends are back: (1)John O'Hara, former partner of Della's late husband,
Mack. (2)Shannon O'Hara, one of Della's two closest female friends, twenty-year victim
of paranoid schizophrenia, married to John. (3)Eileen O'Hara, Della's "spiritual daughter" {Page 32}, her housemate for fifteen of her twenty-one years, an almost UCLA
graduate, and a partner in a mail-order and on-site fudge business called "Della's Sweet
Dreams," daughter of John and Shannon. (4)Liddy Marshall, the second of Della's closest
gal friends, former Miss Nebraska, part-time TV soap opera star, part-time partner-in-
crime with Della. (5)Bill Marshall, Beverly Hills dentist, married to Liddy.
(6)Phil Logan, publicity head for the Better Living Channel on which Della hosts "In the
Kitchen with Della." (7)Car Guy, Della's co-worker, legally known as "Car Guy" or "Car"
to his friends, Della's sometime mechanic. (8)Nicholas D'Martino, Della's much younger
main man, newspaper reporter. (9)Tuffy, Della's five-year-old black standard poodle who
stars on her show and receives tons of fan mail. (10)Emma, Della's gold and gray calico
kitten, the newest addition to the family.

Wells' knowledge of law enforcement comes through. Della explains the
phrase "the shooter policed his brass." It means no shell casing was left at the scene.
{Page 218}. Della looks at finger print evidence {Page 309}. And in a detailed breaking
and entering scene with Liddy at her side, {Pages 140-143} Della uses a tool called the
Auto Center Punch, sold for $4.00 through none other than Amazon!

Wells' character sketches are fleshed-out even in the case of minor
players: "Berger was cute, in an irregular-weave, Santa's elf sort of way. He wasn't
tall, and he was a little round in the middle, but his bright hazel eyes and easy smile
made him pleasant to look at. He wore a red cashmere sweater unde a navy blazer. The
blazer was so well cut that it had to have been custom-made." {Page 333}.

Wells' Della Carmichael is above all a cook-educator, so it is not sur-
prising to learn a bit of bread history: " 'Bread salad is called Panzanella by the
Italians. I don't know if you realize it, but bread has been around for thousands of
years. Loaves were found in ancient Egyptian tombs, along with jugs of wine.' "
{Page 27}. She also points out that Ben Franklin could outdrink any diplomat because he
coated his stomach with olive oil.'' {Page 377}.

Olive oil is an ingredient in many of the recipies detailed within the
story as well as at the end of the book. They include "Della's Italian Chicken Stew,"
"Linda Dano's Italian Meatballs," (Dano of course is an Emmy award-winning actress),
"Pasta Caruso" from Wells' friend Fred Caruso, production manager on the first "Godfather" movie, and, my personal favorite recipe from British author and poet,
Penrose Anderson for tomato soup. Thank you, Melinda Wells and Penrose Anderson. I've
always wanted a recipe for tomato soup!!

Della Carmichael is a judge in a Celebrity Cook-Off. A fellow judge, who isn't a nice guy, ends up dead. Because there is evidence to link John O'Hara to the death, he is suspended. Della goes to great lengths to hide all evidence her "honorary" daughter, Eileen O'Hara (John's daughter), had a relationship with the dead judge.

The books in this series are fun, fast reads. I really enjoy Della and the other characters. While she gets in some tight spots, I don't find myself thinking she made poor choices to get into those spots. Her relationship with Nicholas has grown and changed with each book in a way that feels right. The author has done a great job. The plotting is well paced and the killer and motive weren't too easy to determine.

I really enjoyed this book and look forward to the next one. I highly recommend.

Fantastic. I adored this book. I think the series is getting better with each installment. I was on the edge of my seat reading about Della's investigation. She took some risks in this book that made it really exciting. Lovely ending as well with her personal life coming together nicely. I can't wait for the next in the series! Melinda Wells is now my favorite mystery author.

Melinda Wells does it again in Della Carmichael's terrific third adventure. The plots just get better and the recipes more mouthwatering. What I enjoy most is being able to relate to her characters who feel like real people dealing with real-life situations. I also love that Melinda Wells does not shy away from sprinkling some sexual tension in her story lines - something that is often missing in this particular genre. I can't wait for the next book in the series.

Over the last couple of months, I've become a huge fan of the "Della Cooks" series. "The Proof is in the Pudding" is really the best so far! Wells does an excellent job of digging deeper into her characters. In fact, I felt that after reading this book, I now have a much better idea of just who Nicholas D'Martino, Liddy, John, Shannon and Eileen - her closest friends really are. In previous installments of this series, I've felt that Wells didn't go as far as she could in developing Della's friends into active players in the book, and this time she really hits a home run, in this respect.

When Della finds out she's one of three judges for a celebrity cooking contest at a famous landmark hotel, she's a bit apprehensive. It turns out she had good reason to worry when after a diversion involving a smoke bomb, one of the other judges is found dead in the middle of the ballroom where the contest was being held. This time, the stakes are high because Della's close friend John is a suspect in the murder. Della fighting hard to protect John and his family commits a crime - when the police find out, they are hot on her trail, even as Della uncovers a growing list of possible suspects. Will Della go to far in her search for the culprit, and end up being the next victim? Read the book and find out!

I can't wait for the next "Della Cooks" mystery.