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theavidreaderandbibliophile's review against another edition
3.0
Éclair and Present Danger by Laura Bradford is the first Emergency Dessert Squad Mystery. Winnie Johnson is thirty-four years old and has inherited a vintage (1960) ambulance along with Lovey (the cat) from Gertie Redenbacher. Winnie was hoping to inherit some money that would help her keep her bakery, Delectable Delights, open. Her landlord has decided that Silver Lake is the next big thing and has raised the rents on all his properties. Luckily, Winnie comes up with the idea to use the ambulance to deliver desserts and call it Emergency Dessert Squad (clever idea). Renee Ballentine (her friend and employee) will be the “dispatcher” for the business. Winnie will make and deliver her delicious treats (with a rescue theme). Winnie and Renee work to outfit the ambulance and come up with unique desserts that work with the new theme. If her venture does not succeed, Winnie can always sell the ambulance to Greg Stevens (who they dubbed Master Sergeant Hottie) the new EMT in town. Business is slow at first but then it starts to take off. Winnie goes over to Bart Wagner’s house to deliver his peach pie (Winnie promised his wife, Edith—before she passed away—to continue to make Bart’s favorite pie every week). When Bart does not answer, Winnie goes inside and finds Bart deceased. Winnie lives on Serenity Lane which houses many senior citizens and Winnie loves it. She has found a family in the wonderful people on this street. Poor Bart was murdered. Winnie is determined to find out who hurt her friend. Winnie will be busy with her new business, investigating the murder, and a new love interest. You will just have to read Éclair and Present Danger to find out what happens!
The premise for Éclair and Present Danger is cute, but the novel does not live up to the title (or synopsis). The dialogue is awkward and the focus of the book was not on the mystery. I found the majority of the novel dedicated to Winnie’s new romance, her elderly neighbors, starting up her new business venture, and that awful cat, Lovey. The mystery definitely took a backseat. I found the pace to be slow. I liked Winnie’s bakery concept, but it seemed unbelievable that she could have her new business up and running within a few days. I know it is fiction, but there has to be some reality (like health inspections, permits, business plan). You cannot run a business (especially a food related business) without a health inspector and a business license (even in a fictional town) especially with Winnie baking the desserts in her apartment (and she has a cat in the kitchen which is not allowed). I got tired of the neighbor Mr. Parker and his hearing aids quickly (he turns them off and misunderstands what people are saying to him). Once or twice is funny. After that it is plain annoying. The same with the cat, Lovey (who dislikes Winnie). It seems to “escape” frequently and does not like Winnie (which was mentioned way too many times). I had a hard time liking Winnie. She would get distracted by a cute guy or thinking about a guy, and then say “focus focus” (yes, this happened multiple times). I thought that the mystery was a cinch to solve (more time is devoted to the dessert descriptions than the mystery). I give Éclair and Present Danger 3 out of 5 stars. I just expected more from Laura Bradford. Will I try the next book in the series? Yes. I will check it out to see if there is improvement.
I received a complimentary copy of Éclair and Present Danger from NetGalley in exchange for an honest evaluation of the novel.
The premise for Éclair and Present Danger is cute, but the novel does not live up to the title (or synopsis). The dialogue is awkward and the focus of the book was not on the mystery. I found the majority of the novel dedicated to Winnie’s new romance, her elderly neighbors, starting up her new business venture, and that awful cat, Lovey. The mystery definitely took a backseat. I found the pace to be slow. I liked Winnie’s bakery concept, but it seemed unbelievable that she could have her new business up and running within a few days. I know it is fiction, but there has to be some reality (like health inspections, permits, business plan). You cannot run a business (especially a food related business) without a health inspector and a business license (even in a fictional town) especially with Winnie baking the desserts in her apartment (and she has a cat in the kitchen which is not allowed). I got tired of the neighbor Mr. Parker and his hearing aids quickly (he turns them off and misunderstands what people are saying to him). Once or twice is funny. After that it is plain annoying. The same with the cat, Lovey (who dislikes Winnie). It seems to “escape” frequently and does not like Winnie (which was mentioned way too many times). I had a hard time liking Winnie. She would get distracted by a cute guy or thinking about a guy, and then say “focus focus” (yes, this happened multiple times). I thought that the mystery was a cinch to solve (more time is devoted to the dessert descriptions than the mystery). I give Éclair and Present Danger 3 out of 5 stars. I just expected more from Laura Bradford. Will I try the next book in the series? Yes. I will check it out to see if there is improvement.
I received a complimentary copy of Éclair and Present Danger from NetGalley in exchange for an honest evaluation of the novel.
kimdavishb's review against another edition
5.0
When I started seeing the promotions for ÉCLAIR AND PRESENT DANGER, I immediately knew I had to read it…the amazing cover and the incredibly clever title drew me in. I just love titles with word play and I was a huge fan of the original book and movie by Tom Clancy! When I received my advanced copy and started reading I immediately realized the cover and title was only the beginning of the fun and it continued non-stop for several delicious hours!
I’m embarrassed to admit that I haven’t read any books by Laura Bradford before this book. Sure, I’ve wanted to but that “to read pile” just keeps getting taller and taller and I never got around to it. Well let me tell you, Laura just gained herself a new lifelong fan! ÉCLAIR AND PRESENT DANGER is a smart, snappy read and I was struck over and over again how absolutely creative the author is. The clever plot and setting enhances the theme of caring…Winnie has a very kind heart and a soft spot for the elderly. While society and media promotes youth, and senior citizens are at best ignored or at worse ridiculed, the author weaves their valuable contributions to their community and Winnie into the story. The results left me craving more and I will certainly be reading other series by Laura Bradford.
There would not be an Emergency Dessert Squad without desserts and the author provides several delectable recipes at the back of her book. I made her recipe for You’re a Peach Pie...oh my goodness...absolutely delicious!
I’m embarrassed to admit that I haven’t read any books by Laura Bradford before this book. Sure, I’ve wanted to but that “to read pile” just keeps getting taller and taller and I never got around to it. Well let me tell you, Laura just gained herself a new lifelong fan! ÉCLAIR AND PRESENT DANGER is a smart, snappy read and I was struck over and over again how absolutely creative the author is. The clever plot and setting enhances the theme of caring…Winnie has a very kind heart and a soft spot for the elderly. While society and media promotes youth, and senior citizens are at best ignored or at worse ridiculed, the author weaves their valuable contributions to their community and Winnie into the story. The results left me craving more and I will certainly be reading other series by Laura Bradford.
There would not be an Emergency Dessert Squad without desserts and the author provides several delectable recipes at the back of her book. I made her recipe for You’re a Peach Pie...oh my goodness...absolutely delicious!
melanietalksbooks's review against another edition
3.0
It was fun but it was really predictable. I liked the characters so I will read the next one but I'm hoping it is less predictable than this one.
katreader's review against another edition
4.0
ÉCLAIR AND PRESENT DANGER By Laura Bradford
The First Emergency Dessert Squad Mystery
Winnie Johnson's life has taken an unimaginable turn. She has one last shot to save her bakery from closing due to the imposed rent hike, an inheritance from her elderly friend Gertrude. Cash is not on the agenda however, and instead Winnie leaves with a vintage ambulance and an ornery cat named Lovey. Ornery to Winnie, that is, and friendly to everyone else! Winnie's day gets even worse when she delivers a pie to a widower neighbor only to find him dead. Someone smothered the elderly man! Could it be the mother of the bratty girl who destroyed his flowerbed? Or a son too eager for his own inheritance? While Winnie ponders these questions and tries to reassure her neighbors she has an epiphany. Her building may be lost, but her business isn't! Taking advantage of the ambulance, she decides to create a mobile dessert service. After all, when things are bad baked goods always make you feel better. Winnie and her friends embrace their new theme coming up with pithy dessert names such as Dump (him) Cake, Hot Flash Fudge Sundae, and Don't-Be-Blue Berry Pie and the business starts to take off. But can her emergency dessert service make it? Will she be able to reassure her neighbors that they're safe? Will she discover who the murderer is? And, most importantly, will she get Lovey to like her?
ÉCLAIR AND PRESENT DANGER is a fun start to a new series. The characters are down to earth with real appeal. I'd be pleased to be Winnie's friend, even though she pulled a totally stupid move when she realized who the killer really was! My favorite character, however, has to be Lovey. Her life has drastically changed as well and I can't help but smile at how she deals with it! I appreciate Bradford illustrating the importance of the elderly in this world, and the joy our elders can bring as well as the humor! There's a never let life get you down attitude, even when life does get you down. However bad it gets, you never know what lies around the corner-it could be better than you ever imagined.
While I did truly enjoy this book, one thing really nagged at me. When Winnie lost the bakery she continued to bake and sell her items via her new business. But she baked in her home. Something tells me the health department would take issue with that-unless the home was already certified, but that fact was never mentioned. Still in all, ÉCLAIR AND PRESENT DANGER was a delightful read which brought many a smile to my face.
Recipes Included.
FTC Disclosure – The publisher sent me a copy of this book in the hopes I would review it.
The First Emergency Dessert Squad Mystery
Winnie Johnson's life has taken an unimaginable turn. She has one last shot to save her bakery from closing due to the imposed rent hike, an inheritance from her elderly friend Gertrude. Cash is not on the agenda however, and instead Winnie leaves with a vintage ambulance and an ornery cat named Lovey. Ornery to Winnie, that is, and friendly to everyone else! Winnie's day gets even worse when she delivers a pie to a widower neighbor only to find him dead. Someone smothered the elderly man! Could it be the mother of the bratty girl who destroyed his flowerbed? Or a son too eager for his own inheritance? While Winnie ponders these questions and tries to reassure her neighbors she has an epiphany. Her building may be lost, but her business isn't! Taking advantage of the ambulance, she decides to create a mobile dessert service. After all, when things are bad baked goods always make you feel better. Winnie and her friends embrace their new theme coming up with pithy dessert names such as Dump (him) Cake, Hot Flash Fudge Sundae, and Don't-Be-Blue Berry Pie and the business starts to take off. But can her emergency dessert service make it? Will she be able to reassure her neighbors that they're safe? Will she discover who the murderer is? And, most importantly, will she get Lovey to like her?
ÉCLAIR AND PRESENT DANGER is a fun start to a new series. The characters are down to earth with real appeal. I'd be pleased to be Winnie's friend, even though she pulled a totally stupid move when she realized who the killer really was! My favorite character, however, has to be Lovey. Her life has drastically changed as well and I can't help but smile at how she deals with it! I appreciate Bradford illustrating the importance of the elderly in this world, and the joy our elders can bring as well as the humor! There's a never let life get you down attitude, even when life does get you down. However bad it gets, you never know what lies around the corner-it could be better than you ever imagined.
While I did truly enjoy this book, one thing really nagged at me. When Winnie lost the bakery she continued to bake and sell her items via her new business. But she baked in her home. Something tells me the health department would take issue with that-unless the home was already certified, but that fact was never mentioned. Still in all, ÉCLAIR AND PRESENT DANGER was a delightful read which brought many a smile to my face.
Recipes Included.
FTC Disclosure – The publisher sent me a copy of this book in the hopes I would review it.
gracekitty's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
bookclubtrivia's review against another edition
3.0
I really wanted to try one of these recipe-themed cozy mystery books and see what the hype was about.
This one was cute; it had some lovable characters, a mystery full of red herrings, and some goofy dessert puns. And there are recipes in the back! Yay!
The writing itself was alright. The dialogue is a little cheesy and repetitive, especially in the beginning. The business sounds completely unrealistic, but it's fun to imagine. Winnie isn't the brightest when it comes to solving mysteries; she really should've involved the police more.
But I did spend the whole book convinced one person was the murderer, and I was proven wrong! The evidence for the real killer was hidden in plain sight. So it's a decent, fun mystery. There's also a cute little romance which is 100% clean, which I know my book club will appreciate.
This one was cute; it had some lovable characters, a mystery full of red herrings, and some goofy dessert puns. And there are recipes in the back! Yay!
The writing itself was alright. The dialogue is a little cheesy and repetitive, especially in the beginning. The business sounds completely unrealistic, but it's fun to imagine. Winnie isn't the brightest when it comes to solving mysteries; she really should've involved the police more.
But I did spend the whole book convinced one person was the murderer, and I was proven wrong! The evidence for the real killer was hidden in plain sight. So it's a decent, fun mystery. There's also a cute little romance which is 100% clean, which I know my book club will appreciate.
meezcarrie's review against another edition
4.0
Eclair and Present Danger is everything a cozy mystery should be! Laura Bradford has created the perfect recipe for fans of the genre – winsome characters, humor, quirky pet, cute small business, and a whodunit that isn’t immediately obvious. Plus, a dash of romance to make your heart flutter and a fun title to make you smile!
I loved Winnie, a baker in her thirties who lives on a street with mostly senior citizen neighbors – who were a hoot & the source of most of the book’s humor. Mr. Nelson and Bridget and their bantering (the way Bradford subtly wrote in a line where Bridget sticks her own finger in Mr. Nelson’s ear to turn up his hearing aid had me chuckling out loud), Mr. Nelson and his flirting, Mr. Nelson in general. Clearly, Mr. Nelson is my favorite character in the book!
The Emergency Dessert Squad business idea was super fun as well, and I loved all the dessert names Winnie and Renee came up with to treat those life emergencies that call for something sweet – stat! Names like “Hot Flash Fudge Sundae” or “Don’t Be Blue Berry Pie” or “You Are One Smart Cookie” or even “Worry No s’More Bars”. Besides making me drool and wish a dessert ambulance would pull up outside my own house, these creative names made me smile throughout the book.
Of course the key element to any mystery is … the mystery. I thought there was a nice realistic balance between Winnie’s life upheaval going on and the still-unsolved questions regarding the death of her friend Bart. She wasn’t focused on one to the exclusion of the other, nor did she suddenly morph into Nancy Drew overnight. Her crime-solving actions actually seemed “normal”, like something I would totally do in the same situation – not annoyingly foolhardy or surprisingly skilled, etc. Bradford did an excellent job of creating an amateur sleuth that could be any one of us … well, so long as we drive an antique ambulance decked out with an icing-dispensing IV pole.
Bottom Line: With Eclair and Present Danger, Laura Bradford delivers a fun, heartfelt cozy mystery full of well-written characters and great dialogue. The whodunit is just out of reach enough to keep armchair detectives on their toes, but it also stays enough in the background so as not to overwhelm the other storylines. All of the plots and subplots blend together perfectly in a delicious treat for readers!
(I received a copy of this book in exchange for only my honest review.)
Read my full review at Reading Is My SuperPower
I loved Winnie, a baker in her thirties who lives on a street with mostly senior citizen neighbors – who were a hoot & the source of most of the book’s humor. Mr. Nelson and Bridget and their bantering (the way Bradford subtly wrote in a line where Bridget sticks her own finger in Mr. Nelson’s ear to turn up his hearing aid had me chuckling out loud), Mr. Nelson and his flirting, Mr. Nelson in general. Clearly, Mr. Nelson is my favorite character in the book!
The Emergency Dessert Squad business idea was super fun as well, and I loved all the dessert names Winnie and Renee came up with to treat those life emergencies that call for something sweet – stat! Names like “Hot Flash Fudge Sundae” or “Don’t Be Blue Berry Pie” or “You Are One Smart Cookie” or even “Worry No s’More Bars”. Besides making me drool and wish a dessert ambulance would pull up outside my own house, these creative names made me smile throughout the book.
Of course the key element to any mystery is … the mystery. I thought there was a nice realistic balance between Winnie’s life upheaval going on and the still-unsolved questions regarding the death of her friend Bart. She wasn’t focused on one to the exclusion of the other, nor did she suddenly morph into Nancy Drew overnight. Her crime-solving actions actually seemed “normal”, like something I would totally do in the same situation – not annoyingly foolhardy or surprisingly skilled, etc. Bradford did an excellent job of creating an amateur sleuth that could be any one of us … well, so long as we drive an antique ambulance decked out with an icing-dispensing IV pole.
Bottom Line: With Eclair and Present Danger, Laura Bradford delivers a fun, heartfelt cozy mystery full of well-written characters and great dialogue. The whodunit is just out of reach enough to keep armchair detectives on their toes, but it also stays enough in the background so as not to overwhelm the other storylines. All of the plots and subplots blend together perfectly in a delicious treat for readers!
(I received a copy of this book in exchange for only my honest review.)
Read my full review at Reading Is My SuperPower
asanford's review against another edition
3.0
the characters in this series crack me up and I can't wait to get to know the old folks better over time! Fun setting, delightful characters, and yummy food names!
oriole22's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
auntbopp's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
What a charming book!
I love the characters, the concept, and the writing.
I love the characters, the concept, and the writing.