Customer Reviews

Sticks & Scones (Goldy Culinary Mysteries, Book 10)

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

As a longtime reader of Mott Davidson's, I found STICKS AND SCONES disappointingly disjointed and implausible....Loose ends, and too many leaps of logic. Besides which, juvenile son, Arch, gets more tediously obnoxious as the years go by with NO redeeming qualities, and ex-husband, John Richard, keeps up harassment that NO wife of a police officer would ever have to endure. I know this is fiction, but no heroine can be interesting being as much of a career victim as Goldy is.

Even the recipes in this book are disappointing.

Goldy the caterer and her crew are back with more murder and tasty morsels. The action this time centers around an English castle which has been dismantled, moved, and re-assembled in the Colorado Rockies (think Jerry Jeff Walker: o/~ "even London Bridge is falling down and moved to Arizona" o/~ The characterizations here are much better than the disappointments of Goldy's most recent prior endeavors, but her whiney son and his adulation of his abusive father is really beginning to grate.

Diane Mott Davidson has done it again, another fun mystery involving Goldy, the caterer/sleuth along with murder and missing valuable stamps, not to mention an appearance by Goldy's husband's old girlfriend. The story begins with Goldy's picture window being shot out, a suspect in a police case turning up dead near a catering sight, and after that , the clues and suspects mount up faster than the calories in the recipes!! There are wonderful recipes for scones, shortbread cookies and the totally fantastic and irrestible chocolate emergency 911 cookies!!! Davidson's mysteries are fun and interesting, and while some may find them a bit of a stretch for their imagination, the story is very entertaining and enjoyable. You will not be dissapointed. The characters are interesting, and some of them are really out there, and that is what makes the story move! I have read all of this series of books, and while some are better than others, this one is one of the most fun!!

I just finished this book and while it was a major improvement over "Tough Cookie", which seemed like it was cranked out in about two weeks with NO plot development, this recent effort was a bit stale.

The setting was interesting until you recall that "Death by Chocolate" took place in a similarly bizarre setting -- the home of an eccentric ex-general. Goldy is once again "rescued" by some amazingly indulgent clients ("Come move in with us and bring your entire extended family!".) I think that rather than retiring Goldy, as a reviewer suggested, she needs a change of venue. She needs to live and work in a place where her beloved friend Marla doesn't show up at every event brandishing her wealth like a shield and where the Jerk can't exert his strangely effective influence on the weak and whiny Arch. Now THERE'S an annoying character -- emotionally he's about 6 in every book.

I think that having Julien show up (as he always does in a crisis) is getting to be a very tired plot device. Maybe the next book should have him scamming Goldy or murdering The Jerk, just to break out of the mold.

Unlike other reviewers, I thought the recipes were great and will definitely try a few. And however negative this review may read, I AM a great fan of DMD and of this series. However, she needs to grow her characters a bit -- and she needs a new nemesis. The Jerk is getting implausible and sounds more and more like a mental patient in every book. Come to think of it, there's a good way to get rid of him!

I am a fairly new reader of Diane Mott Davidson's books and found this to be a quick and enjoyable read. I am always amazed at the trouble Goldy seems to get herself into and just when you think nothing else could happen to her, something else usually does! More delicious recipes to try in this book as well. Highly recommended read!!

This one wasn't my favourite of the Goldie series -- but it was entertaining. And I am compelled to state here: I rarely read the reviews of fictional books (this time is no exception) before I've read the book because SO OFTEN (as occurs in this string of reviews) someone feels compelled to write out the entire plot except for the final final outcome - and that is SO irritating. It is like telling someone 90% of a movie's plot when you KNOW they've not seen the movie. PLEASE don't do that. Refrain yourselves from re-capping and summarizing the entire book okay??

I just discovered this author last year so her last 9 or so novels are very fresh in my mind. This one is the best (the others were wonderful too). The beginning is so fast paced that I couldn't put the book down.

I discovered this author on a web site for mystery books called stopyourekillingme.com which organizes authors, titles and sleuths by job, historical time period, location, and other characteristics and then when you find a book you'd like to read, it links you directly to its Amazon.com page. Since I love Jerrilyn Farmer's Madeline Bean (she's a caterer, too) mysteries, that job category led me to Diane Mott Davidson. Who'd have thought food service professions could be so exciting.

reading about Goldy the caterer and her most unusual life is always entertaining. True, sometimes Goldy's behavior, as well as her son's, Arch, frustrate me but the characters are well developed now and I actually feel as if I know them all personally. And as for Tom, Goldy's husband, he sounds like just the kind of man most women would like to have in their life. He has been developed to be most appealing. Sticks and Scones doesn't have the same edge as some of Davidson's other books but I still devoured it quickly and attentively and I look forward to Goldy's next adventure.

If you aren't familiar with Diane Mott Davidson's wonderful culinary mystery series starring Goldy, the catering amateur sleuth, this is a great book to get you hooked! The novel boasts a wonderful locale (an English castle which has been transported and re-assembled in Aspen Meadow, CO), a clever mystery with lots of twists and turns, and numerous mouth-watering recipes created by Goldy and her assitant--budding vegetarian chef Julian Teller. I can't recommend this book highly enough to keep you entertained. You'll be torn between wanting to finish the book and running to your kitchen to re-create the terrific recipes. Davidson creates a wonderful story involving a colorful cast of characters. It's a terrific, fun read.

If you have not read any of her other books, do not start with this one. Being a Davidson fan, it seems to me that she did not tie everything together like she does in her other books. The plot was a little to far-fetched!! It was still pretty good and her recipes in this book sound delicious....