Book Review: Catering to Nobody by Diane Mott Davidson (Goldy Bear #1)

Stars: 4 out of 5
Pros: Characters

Cons: Plot

The Bottom Line:

Characters were good

But plot was a little slow

It's good but not great

Goldy Strives to Save Her Business

Food themed mysteries seem to be a staple of the cozy genre. And they are certainly one I enjoy. With all of these books I've read, I've never read the Goldy Bear catering mysteries. This is the series that jumpstarted the trend, and Catering to Nobody is the first in that series.

Catering a wake is hardly Goldy's idea of a good time. This is especially true when the wake is for her son's former teacher. Eleven year old Arch was very close to Laura Smiley and her suicide came as quite a shock to him and the entire town of Aspen Meadow, Colorado.

During the wake, Fritz Korman keels over. The police quickly determine that there was poison in his coffee. Fritz happens to be Goldy's ex-father-in-law. While she his happy to be rid of her ex-husband, she still gets along relatively well with Fritz.

Even more upsetting, the police shut down Goldilocks' Catering while they investigate how the poison got into Fritz's coffee. Since the holiday season is coming up, Goldy can't afford to stay shut down for long, so she begins her own investigation. She figures there was to be a reason Fritz was poisoned at the wake, so she also looks into Laura's life. The more she investigates, the more she is convinced that the teacher didn't commit suicide. Was she murdered? Any why did someone try to kill Fritz?

The books in this series usually make the bestseller list, and I can see why. The characters are great. They seem like real people right off the bat. Even Arch seems like a real boy and not an adult in child's skin. Goldy feels pressure to provide for her son, and money doesn't come easily for her. We also meet Marla, another ex-wife, who provides some friendship and comic relief.

Goldy and Marla's ex-husband, John Richard Korman, is also a character in the book. He's abusive and still treats Goldy with contempt. While this makes for a darker tone to the book, it was handled realistically.

Unfortunately, the plot moved slowly. I can forgive the first few chapters for being slow since they are introducing the characters and situation. But there were times I got bored waiting for Goldy to find the next clue to move the story forward. Goldy gets some help from the police, and I had a hard time believing the police would share that much with her. Still, the plot did come to a believable and suspenseful conclusion.

As is customary in these types of books, there are recipes to be enjoyed after you've read the story. You can probably guess at the few of the recipes that are describe in the text, but there are three dessert recipes detailed over the course of the book.

Despite the flaws with the plot in Catering to Nobody, the rich characters will probably pull me back for a second helping of food and murder.