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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Kind of offensive, March 22, 2005
This review is from: Truffled Feathers (Culinary Food Writer) (Paperback)
This is the second book in this series that I have read. I would consider these a type of culinary cosy type mystery with a few elements of quaint hard boiled detective, which normally I would love......... BUT I found the main character incredibly offensive. I think Fairbanks was trying to create a prim and proper heroine, but someone who stuck to her guns as well, a kind of steel magnolia. It sounds like it would be a cute combination, but consistently thrown in are degrading remarks about feminists and/or women with jobs, etc. In the first book in the series she mentioned with pride that she was not part of the counter culture revolution in the 60s. Gah!! Does Carolyn Blue (the main character) wish that the path towards racial and sexual equality didn't happen? She seems so out of touch with everything, as though something went wrong in the way how Fairbanks characterized/wrote Blue.
In the first book, there were strange racial comments about a French chef and a New Orleans maid. In this book, the Indian cab driver and the Japanese, well, stereotypes abound. There is some Muslim bashing too- although the main character did not utter them, still, ick.
I think Fairbanks was using ethnic and racial stereotypes to add more of a locational flavor to the books, but well, for me it backfired. I don't think she was trying to be racist or sexist, but eventually all of the little "oddities" combined together into something where I was so uncomfortable I couldn't enjoy the book, which is really annoying since normally I love the type of mystery book it appeared to be. The anti-feminist comments that Carolyn makes are in some ways even ickier than the racist ones because they aren't only stereotypes, but a type of judgment. Yes, Fairbanks tries to counter Carolyn's attitude by mentioning every now and then her strong, intelligent daughter, but it can't erase what has already been written.
Also, I felt that the book had a hard time coming together at the end, but I can't bring myself to go back and re-read to see if I missed some trivial line that would help it make more sense.
In essence, Truffled Feathers kind of ruffled my feathers. Sorry! Couldn't help myself.
The worst of the comments are really in the first few chapters of the book, which maybe that Fairbanks was only trying to set stages and solidify characters instead of being... not nice. So maybe if a reader would just skim over the first part they would have a better reading experience than me. The one star I gave this book feels too high.
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9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Better than the first in the series, February 21, 2002
This review is from: Truffled Feathers (Culinary Food Writer) (Paperback)
I enjoyed this second entry in the series much better than the first one; in fact, I had almost decided not to buy this one. I am glad, however, that I did. Both husband and wife, Carolyn and Jason Blue, take part in solving this mystery and I like both characters. Jason was not an essential part of the first book. The mystery, revolving around industrial espionage, murder, and the Russian mafia, is intriguing and Nancy [Herndon] Fairbanks does a good job balancing the husband/wife interfacing, the humor, the mystery, the zany characters, and the recipes. I give it three stars rather than four because one of the articles that Carolyn Blue writes for a potential newspaper job is rather offensive to Japanese-Americans (sorry if that sounds too politically correct). I am looking forward to the third entry in the series and will definitely buy & read it.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not Too Cozy, September 26, 2006
This review is from: Truffled Feathers (Culinary Food Writer) (Paperback)
This book was not only offensive with racial and sexual stereotypes, but the heroine was insipid and annoying. I don't know what kind of impression Nancy Fairbanks was trying to make with Carolyn Blue. After two books with this character, I can't say that I like her. The husband, Jason Blue, had his own turn at solving a murder mystery in this book. Unfortunately, it became hard to distinguish his voice from his wife's. That was disappointing because I like reading plots that are told from two different points of view.
The plot was ridiculous and hard to believe. The ending was an insult to the reader. It seemed as if the author threw a basketful of ideas in the sky and grabbed a random idea to end the book. The conclusion was so unbelieveable and silly that I felt cheated.
I am an avid reader of "foody" mysteries, so I know what to expect. It seems as if the author tried too hard to include food and recipes in this novel. Many of the foods she described did not sound appetising. Ususally a "foody" mystery would encourage me to try a recipe, cook, or eat. This book didn't.
I give this book 2 stars because it had some potential. If you're interested in reading this book, I would suggest borrowing it.
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