Crunch Time by Diane Mott Davidson

Crunch Time
by Diane Mott Davidson

I have devoured each new installment of the Goldy Culinary Mysteries with abandon, ever since I was given a copy of Dying for Chocolate, the second book in the series.  Goldy is a caterer with a strong sense of curiosity and an innate ability to wheedle information out of people.  She owns and runs “Goldilocks Catering” (where everything is just right!) 

(Warning – these books may make you hungry.  The books are also filled with descriptions of delicious foods and recipes for many of the dishes that Goldy cooks as a caterer and for her family.  I’ve made one or two of the recipes and they came out just as good as they sounded.)

Goldy is a caterer but she just can’t resist asking questions when her friends are in trouble.  This time her friend and fellow chef, Yolanda Garcia, has had two residences burned down and her most recent employer, private investigator Ernest McLeod, was murdered.  As Goldy looks into Ernest’s open cases and Yolanda’s abusive ex-boyfriend, things get dangerous, but funny too with Yolanda’s cantankerous Aunt Ferdinanda.  Goldy will save the day in the end, but not without some bumps and bruises of her own. 

Goldy seems to me to be getting more and more cavalier about what she does that is outside the law.  I would love to see the author have her do something that puts herself in a compromising position which truly tests her relationship with her cop husband, where they could come out the stronger for it but have Goldy be a bit more cautious in the future.  I think it would be good for her growth as a character.

Crunch Time is subtitled a novel of suspense, instead of being numbered 14 in the Culinary Mysteries, as all the other books have been.  I have a suspicion that the publishers, the William Morrow imprint from HarperCollins, were hoping to make this novel a break out by asking for more from the author and not referring to it as part of the series.  Unfortunately, this really didn’t work.  The book is a bit longer than the others, but it feels that way.  Additional material that could have been cut was included and it makes the novel drag a bit toward the end.  I don’t know if her sales were beginning to slip a bit or the publishers just thought she could reach a wider audience but, to my mind, it’s better to be really great at what you are than try to be something you are not. 

Over all, I enjoyed this novel, just not quite as much as the earlier books in the series.  If you’ve never read one, I recommend, starting earlier in the series and working your way up.