Customer Reviews

Something's Cooking: An Angie Amalfi Mystery (Angie Amalfi Mysteries)

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

 

 

This book is wonderful. I have read the entire series and especially like this one, the first; as well as the fourth and the sixth being constantly re-read in my house. I look forward to a long entertaining line to follow. I find the characters well written, heartfelt and true. The heroine may not seem true to life to some, but I can attest that there are women out there like that, who in spite of everything they have going for them, still feel that they lack direction and have a need to find purpose. This is one thing I like about Angie, the second being that she isn't a supersleuth/supercop type who is strong, tough, cold and cunning with a steel trap mind. Angie is more real and blundering with good intentions and combining her with Paavo, as the real detective, who is her foil and backup and oh-so-complicated love interest, makes for very emotional, sexy and intriguing reading. The fact that there is so much humor is a nice change from the grim, "real life is grim," attitude that so many mysteries feel they must convey these days.

I'm glad that this whole lighter, humorous but still thrilling sub-genre of mysteries is coming of age. This book is definitely worth a look.

Alhough some readers thought this was too much romance and little mystery, I found this to be fun and exciting in both areas. I loved the way Pence grabbed my attention from page one, and the excitement continued until the end. I couldn't put it down! I thoroughly enjoyed the way Pence kept me guessing if Angie and Paavo would ever become an item, and the way she tenderly wove their romance into the story.

I enjoyed this book so much that I clicked on to amazon.com and ordered all of Pence's Angie Amalfi mysteries. I can't wait to get them in the mail!

I have read Diane Mott Davidson's Culinary Mysteries and was left "wanting more " after I finished her 11th book . Pence was also reccomended and this book was quite entertaining ...but did not tie together well in my opinion . I still couldn't put it down and eagerly await next in series.

It's all down hill from here. Angie Amalfi tumbles through life and always comes out ahead...it gets annoying after a bit. Every man wants to date her, every woman wants to be here. Petite, rich, and ready to face the world??? No, ok so she's still looking for her niche, but honestly this is the only book in the series where she didn't annoy me so badly that I had to put it down. Life is TOO easy for her. Every thing ALWAYS works out. Come on!

She gets herself into stupidly dangerous situations, and Paavo always comes in the nick of time. Then does she learn from the mistake? Nope, there she is the next chapter or book doing the same thing. It gets old fast.

I gave this one three stars because I didn't actually mind the read. Quick and light. It's what made me at least try the second (also not a bad read) and third books in the series. I gave them both a chance (along with one other randomly picked from the set) All fell flat in comparison and even this one wasn't a keeper. I wish I would have gone to the library for it instead.

This is the second of Joanne Pence's series that I have read (I'm reading them out of order it seems). It was very good. I just received my order from Amazon of her other books and can't wait to start reading. I hated to put the book down to let go of the wonderful characters (are there really cops like Paavo Smith? It makes you want to get into trouble just to meet them if there are!) I look forward to reading more about Angie and Paavo.

Hurrah! The initial books in the Angie Amalfi mystery series are being reprinted. It's great to read how Angie and Paavo meet, and find out about their backgrounds. This book is fun because you don't know until well through it how all the threats and murders and murder attempts are linked. Why is someone trying to kill this nice food columnist, just because she publishes recipes like Liver Pate Waffles and Marshmallow-Sprouts Blintzes? And how can she convince the police detective that she really loves him, for more than his protection?

I absolutely loved this book; it kept me interested from first page to last. I usually only read while commuting to and from work, but I found myself carrying this book around, reading it whenever I had a few minutes to spare. I don't normally go out of my way to buy a romance, but this book combined the best of both mystery and romance (and Pence certainly knows how to write romance!). I just ordered several more of the books in this series - can't wait to get them!

The series starts out with an interesting mystery and characters that switch around the usual typecasts- this time the heroine is the rich one (though not self-made- she's more an heiress) and the hunky love interest is the cop with a dark past. [....] Having a somewhat ditzy woman to lighten up a loner guy could work... [...]For this book though, Angie is still tolerable. If you're looking for anything culinary from the series, look somewhere else- its something Angie only dabbles in.

Although very predictable (I had it figured out by page 50), this mystery is fun to read and hard to put down.
Joanne Pence finds just enough balance between a hard-boiled criminal investigation and sizzling romance to turn this book into a nice, fast-paced cozy that would otherwise be a complete disappointment to cozy mystery fans.
However, Angie Amalfi's character needs a little work. Although she wears her emotions on her sleeve and seemingly has a heart of gold, she still comes across as slightly spoiled and oblivious to anything that goes on in the "real world".
I'm looking forward to reading the next mystery in the series to see how things develop.

I love mysteries combined with romance, so when a romance started to develop I eagerly read on. However, Pence goes way overboard, laying it on so thick that you think you're reading a Harlequin Romance. Added to that, the heroine--since there's no way you can call her a detective, even an amateur one--continually gets herself and others into hot water through her sheer stupidity. She also has few positive characteristics, not someone I could relate to or see as a role model; she's just a nice, stupid girl without any common sense. This book was just plain irritating. I'm definitely not going to order any more Angie Amalfi mysteries.