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mtbc's review against another edition
4.0
Cute start to the Goldy Bear series. Really liked Arch and Goldy's relationship in this one.
lvoorhies's review against another edition
5.0
Fun, "cozy" mysteries. The characters are quirky and wonderful. I love that the main character's best friend is the "other ex-wife" of their felon of an ex-husband. And, the recipes are excellent too!
tamfilley's review against another edition
3.0
Cute story however, I'm used to reading Joanne Fluke (clean books) and this book had more "Adult" situations and language that I could do with out.
thursday48's review against another edition
3.0
I grew up with this series and truly love it but whoa the characters haven't settled into themselves yet
aliseaymcmahon's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
kaylielongley's review against another edition
3.0
This one's for my grandma.
Somehow there are over a dozen of these 'mysteries' of Coloradan caterer/sleuth Goldy. While Book 1 was fun to read, the plot is convoluted, when it doesn't have to be: Goldy's blamed for poisoning her ex's father, thus losing her catering biz. This prompts her to try to re-open the case of an apparent suicide of her son Arch's teacher. She gets help from an attractive cop Tom.
Not once is there mention of conflict of interest, and it's one of many things that don't age well. There's a lot to say on gender roles, as many pages feature Goldy feeding folks, even creatively folding in recipes. It's a bit of a stretch to call this detective work, just her stealing keys or files or Goldy getting people to talk via sweets or alcohol.
Because it's framed from Goldy's pov, some folks get surface-level characterizations. She considers her ex-husband vindictive for remarrying twice but he has so little page space it doesn't matter much. There is a wholesomeness between Goldy and Arch, and their Dungeon and Dragons-esque scenes are charming. The plotline of taking care of Patty Sue feels tossed aside, to add page count. Plus she's intentionally dumb so I have no sympathy. And Goldy and Tom's relationship feels quite one-sided.
I don't know if I'll read more of this particular series, but it was fun to get in my grandma's head (book journal) for one of her many reading choices.
Somehow there are over a dozen of these 'mysteries' of Coloradan caterer/sleuth Goldy. While Book 1 was fun to read, the plot is convoluted, when it doesn't have to be: Goldy's blamed for poisoning her ex's father, thus losing her catering biz. This prompts her to try to re-open the case of an apparent suicide of her son Arch's teacher. She gets help from an attractive cop Tom.
Not once is there mention of conflict of interest, and it's one of many things that don't age well. There's a lot to say on gender roles, as many pages feature Goldy feeding folks, even creatively folding in recipes. It's a bit of a stretch to call this detective work, just her stealing keys or files or Goldy getting people to talk via sweets or alcohol.
Because it's framed from Goldy's pov, some folks get surface-level characterizations. She considers her ex-husband vindictive for remarrying twice but he has so little page space it doesn't matter much. There is a wholesomeness between Goldy and Arch, and their Dungeon and Dragons-esque scenes are charming. The plotline of taking care of Patty Sue feels tossed aside, to add page count. Plus she's intentionally dumb so I have no sympathy. And Goldy and Tom's relationship feels quite one-sided.
I don't know if I'll read more of this particular series, but it was fun to get in my grandma's head (book journal) for one of her many reading choices.
rebelbelle13's review against another edition
3.0
The plot was good enough in the first of the catering mysteries, but the characters drove me to drink (rather like Vonette). Goldy, the main character, was a walking contradiction. She seems driven, inquisitive and confident, yet she's clueless and clearly makes very poor and questionable choices. She says she adores her son Archibald (really? ARCHIBALD?) yet when he comes home from school bullied and beat up, she does nothing about it. He won't talk about his teacher's death, keeps to himself, acts really strangely, and collects dangerous objects, and she again does nothing. Great parenting, goldy. She married a man named John Richard. Any man that insists on going by two names is obviously a narcissistic D-bag. Why would she ever marry someone like that? The she literally caters to his needs (no pun intended), apologizes to him when he calls her a bitch, and tries to avoid him. When her ex-father in law asks her to board one of his patients, she agrees. Really? Not to mention Patty-sue is as dumb as a bag of bricks, and Fritz is most obviously the most vile man in existence and Goldy is oblivious to both. The mystery aspect of the book was good, but I'm not sure I can read the next installment because the characters drive me crazy.