| Title | : | Killer Pancake (A Goldy Bear Culinary Mystery, #5) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0553095889 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780553095883 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 276 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 1995 |
Killer Pancake (A Goldy Bear Culinary Mystery, #5) Reviews
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Book Review
3 of 5 stars to the fifth entry in the "Gold Bear Culinary" mysteries,
Killer Pancake, written in 1995 by
Diane Mott Davidson. As we've all come to expect, Goldy's off searching for the killer in another crazy story line. In this one, she delves into the seedy cosmetic business where too much pancake makeup (just kidding, sort of) has claimed the latest victim. And this time, it's the girlfriend of my favorite character, Julian. So much death, such a small family. How does this happen time and time again? Oh, that's right... it's fiction, to I really shouldn't give that a second thought. Reliable author. Good characters. Decent story, but a bit weak from a reasoning and character likability perspective. Goldy's getting a little too narrow-minded and preachy about a few things, and I wish this would have gone a little more open-minded and fresh, but it's still always a fun read. But I want more with Marla! She brings the laughs.
About Me
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Diane Mott Davidson -
The book was a delight, a cozy mystery where the main character was a caterer and despite her investigator husband warning her to not put herself she does exactly that and snoops around while catering and cooking low fat meals. What was incredible about this book was that there were list of recipes given which were mentioned in the book. For eg, if she is serving cocoa fudge you can find the recipe on the next few pages with detailed instruction which gave a more realistic feel to the food being cooked.
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Okay. I just need to stop reading this series. I realize many people love this series, but it's just not working for me. A cozy mystery (for me) should have a great setting that I'd like to live in, unique characters whom I'd like to visit, and a fun mystery--not stellar, just fun. This series has none of those things, as far as I can tell.
You may wonder why I've read 5 of the books in this series if I dislike it so much. The answer is threefold: 1) I'm terribly OCD and feel compelled to finish any series I start; 2) I kept hoping that as the author wrote and time passed the books would be better written and less dated (that never happened); and 3) I bought the whole damn series at a used book store several years ago. I felt obligated to read it.
I just don't get the series. The characters are quite unlikable--I actively dislike pretty much all of them. The plot developments are awkward at best, puzzling at worst. (Goldy's ex-husband basically breaks into her house and breaks things . . . while she's married to a large detective who carries a gun? That detective/husband basically sabotages her catering event to "keep her busy" at the job so she won't sleuth around?) And I never want to visit this strange town.
If this series works for you, that's cool. But I think I need to step away. -
Good addition to the series… I always enjoy reading these stories.
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By book five, readers come to expect certain things within a series. In the case of the Goldy Culinary Mysteries, we expect both delicious sounding recipes, one of Goldy's loved ones to be suspected of murdering a fairly new character and Goldy getting involved way beyond what's considered acceptable and yet still managing to help solve the murder (thus clearing the loved one's name.) In Killer Pancake, the recipes are slightly less delicious sounding than usual. Maybe it's my personal bias against "healthy" food or maybe Turkey Curry and Raisin Rice and Hoisin Turkey with Roasted Pine Nuts in Lettuce Cups sound rather disgusting. Either way, the recipes were a disappointment for me. Goldy's assistant, Julian, is suspected of killing his pretty new girlfriend. Goldy gets nosy and ultimately saves the day. No huge shocks there. The mystery itself wasn't shocking, but I'll admit I didn't see it coming. Overall, Killer Pancake didn't quite work for me. The recipes set the tone in culinary mysteries and I couldn't make myself interested in food I would never ever eat.
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It is getting harder to read these books. This will be my last. I get more irritated with Goldy and her narcissistic behavior, her son, Arch, and her live-in catering helper, Julian with each book. The books are very dated and I feel like I am listening to my mother and grandmother. I have been listening to the audio versions of the books and I think the individual chosen sounds like my very snooty mother. Goldy is very judgmental of the wealthy and constantly berates their behavior but never fails to mention that she went to boarding school and college and was once married to a wealthy doctor. Bitter much? Not my cup of Earl Grey.
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I liked this book. I am really enjoying this series. In this book, Goldy has a catering job with a cosmetics company. Her assistant Julian has a girlfriend who works at the company and then she is found dead, run down. Goldy goes undercover and gets covered up in foundation. The only thing I didn't like was the way the recipes were put in the middle of the chapters. I thought it was distracting. The recipes should go at the end of the chapters like they do with the Chocolate Chip Cookie series.
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When Goldy caters an event for a cosmetics company, one of their top saleswomen is killed. The murdered women was Julian's girlfriend, so of course Goldy feels compelled to help out the police with their investigation, much to Tom's chagrin. She takes a few chances this time and gets herself into some trouble, but luckily everything works out, although there were some dangerous moments Goldy finds herself in. Goldy's catering jobs with the menu she creates as well as how she prepares the food makes my mouth water. In this book Goldy is finding low-fat recipes, both for the cosmetics firm as well as for Marla who has been in the hospital.
The characterizations of the wealthy indulgent cosmetic-buying women was very funny. The whole characterization of the cosmetic industry with its big promises with little effect had a lot of truth in it. Underneath the humor and mystery were some good lessons about family, good marriages, friendship, not-judging others, kindness & caring, and the blessing of good food. I like my cozies like this. -
Too preachy. Author picks a theme and creates a narrative, last time college admissions, this time cosmetics. I think I’m done!
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It's been quite awhile since I read the first few in this series, and I don't think I'm going to wait as long to read the next; this book was solid, fun, and a perfect read for a stormy day! The characters were wonderful. I love Goldy and her sometimes dysfunctional family and friends. The mystery was excellent, the killer wasn't very surprising, but there weren't many suspects, so I don't think I would've been surprised regardless. Overall excellent, I just bought the next one!
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Not my favorite cozy mystery. I’m not a huge make up fan and everyone who knows me knows that low-fat food does nothing for me. I could have guessed whodunit as it seemed pretty obvious. But I just didn’t care enough to give it much thought. I do still, however, enjoy the characters in this series. There’s not even one noticeably detestable one in the bunch.
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I usually have enjoyed the books in this series before this one but this go-around the dialogue and story line were just over the top and unrealistic/unbelievable. Hopefully this was a fluke and the remaining ones in the series will be as good as the first four.
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Not my favorite Davidson Mystery but it wasn't the worst. Still would recommend giving it a try.
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ᗩ Ŧ𝐑𝒶𝓳ⓔĐЎ 𝓘ᶰ ᵗн尺𝓔𝐄 คᶜⓣs 😺
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Goldie has such a sarcastic wit.
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I always feel very torn after reading an installment of the Goldy Bear mysteries. I love the writing (for the most part), the pacing, and the mystery, but I really can't stand most of the characters. Julian and Tom are really the only bearable characters in the entire cast. Everyone else is fake, conniving, miserable or nasty. Goldy's ex John is beyond abusive, and I can't imagine why he isn't in jail or why she doesn't have a restraining order against him. Every scene with him makes me cringe. Goldy's son Arch is annoying beyond reproach, and acts like a 6 year old instead of a 12 year old. Everyone else, from Goldy's clients to her neighbors, are nosey or simply unpleasant.
The mystery was rather engaging, and enough red herrings were thrown in to keep me guessing who the murderer was until the very end. The conclusion happened a little too quickly for my taste, and there was hardly an epilogue; but besides that, I was satisfied. The theme of cosmetics and facials really didn't hold my interest, but luckily Goldy's cooking and serving did. That being said, the recipes included didn't sound like anything I would want to make. Issues aside, it was a smooth, quick read and I did enjoy the mystery, if not the characters.
Quick heads up for those who might take offense to this- there are many, MANY mentions of overweight people and how they looked, with a condescending nature. -
3.5 rating. This was a fun story - when I need a lighter book I enjoy Diane Mott Davidson's culinary mysteries. The many references to foods and flowers are enjoyable. This was a good mystery that wasn't easily figured out by the reader. More information was needed, and given as it went along. The reader discovered the truth right along with Goldy, the caterer. I liked Goldy, Tom, and Julian. I found the characterizations of the wealthy, over-indulgent, expensive cosmetic-buying women to be amusing. The whole depiction of the cosmetic industry as big promises with little effect had a lot of truth in it. Underneath the humor and mystery were some good lessons about family, good marriages, friendship, not-judging others, kindness & caring, and the blessing of good food! The audio reader, Barbara Rosenblat was excellent. My only criticism is that her voice puts her in the over 60 age group and sounded too old to be Goldy, who is telling the story and who is near 40.
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I’ve binge read too many of these without writing specific reviews and can’t remember the details of each one enough to write it’s own review. So below is a blanket review I’m giving to all of the books I’ve read so far.
These are a cute little series. I can’t say I love them, but apparently I like them enough to keep buying the next one. My biggest complaint on some of the books, is that the story follows Goldie around running her errands, and while I know it’s important for her to talk to people to build the story sometimes it’s tiring listening to her tedious errands. Also the books make me hungry all the time because she’s always going into great detail about food which is not a good thing when you’re trying to diet. -
This series is really going downhill for me. Goldy once again is in the middle of a murder that she HAS to solve. Never mind that her very capable husband is on the job. I wonder how she would feel if he started taking over her catering assignments. She's so annoying, ditzy and judgmental. And I swear if she doesn't trip or fall over something at least 5 times a book then I'm not reading the same series. The writer can't seem to find anything sensible to do with the character. And again with the Tom Schulz. Why is she still calling him by his full name. By book 5 I'm sure someone would have pointed this out.
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I was in between 2 stars and 3 stars with this book. So, essentially I will give it 2.5 stars. The more books I read into the series, the more I am not sure if I want to continue on. In this book in particular, there were a lot of random facts thrown in at the very last minute (or chapter) to make the reader focus in a little more on the murderer. There were so many things going on and people with similar names, that I couldn't keep up with who was a suspect, who was murdered, and who was cleared. If the series continues on this way, I likely will not continue.
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I liked this book, but didn't love it. This particular book showed that the author didn't do much research on procedures. I do get that this book was wrutten in the mid 90s, but that's just it. The hospital procedures described were totally out of date by then, even at some of the most backward hospitals.
No witnesses for a hit and run in a CROWDED mall? I was disgruntled enough that it took me away from the enjoyment of characters and mystery. -
These books are really cringeworthy (Julian has that "wise, Navajo healer" spirit, really?!) And what's with Marla calling the doctor "white man?" And why does the author point out that Harriet is waiting on a black woman? It was of zero importance. And the 12 year old son acts and is rewarded like he's about 6. But the mysteries themselves are ok. Not great fiction by any means. Oh, and it'd be great if she stopped describing people by their sizes (over and over and over).
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Another helping of delicious mystery and humor awaits in this serving of Diane Mott Davidson’s series. Goldy’s encounters are riddled with intrigue, social political rifts, and scientific discoveries. I enjoyed all of the vivid locations and minor characters that were introduced as the plot unfolded, and this mystery kept me guessing until the very end. Barbara Rosenblat continues to wow with her performance.
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I've read two others in this series, and I liked them. This one just did not do it for me. For one thing, I noticed how the author kept repeating "important" info to the mystery. This happened so much, I started to wonder if the target audience was meant to be quite old (no offense). It was just weird.
The story was fine. It was a little far fetched, bit a clever idea. -
This series starring the accessible caterer Goldy, with recipes to go with each installment, and her abusive ex-husband "the Jerk", her son, his friend, their dog, and ultimately her new husband is a good series, each one enjoyable, no noticable deterioration over time, and the emphasis on food isn't perfect but it is very good
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This mystery was more light hearted than previous books. I found it interesting that circumstances of eating overly fattening food was discussed with Marla. I still find the relationship with John Richard odd. The character of Julian was once again a focus, with a great deal of time devoted to him leaving too. Wonder what that means.
