Rating: 
Summary: Sub-standard Goldy
Review: I have always been a loyal and devoted fan of Goldy and her cast of close knit friends and relatives, but "Chopping Spree," was a book I had to stop reading after the first 50 pages. I found it lacking considerably from her other books. Arch turns into a demon of sorts, while his mother is trying to get hold of her caffeine/chocolate habit and .....where is poor Tom? I expected him to ask for a divorce in this book, because he always seems there for Goldy, but she is never there for him in any way, except as people who share the same house. I found Marla ...who I had dearly loved in the other books,....to be an annoying snob,...not in character for her. Mott-Davidson focuses too much on her ex-husband in her books. I am beginning to think she might do with some psychiatric help that she should have gotten in the beginning. Enough is enough. The "Jerk" is in jail. Her relationship with her present husband Tom needs to be more fine tuned. Sometimes you forget she is even married, but then someone has to nurse her back to health when she gets hit in the head, etc. Poor Tom. I don't think I will read anymore of her books until I can see some positive reviews....more 5 stars. I just looked at the reviews on her latest book and they were worse than this one. Maybe there is a time a writer should stop for a while and step back and re-evaluate her story character. Diane??
Rating: 
Summary: Chopping Spree
Review: I have stated in my reviews of some of Diane Mott Davidson's other books in this series that I have come to regard Goldy and her family, along with Marla & Julian, almost as real people as she has done such a good job of describing them and making their lives so realistic. I don't know what in the world has happened during the writing of this book. As I was reading this book on vacation with family, I told them a few times that if it were not for the dedication in the front of the book, I would almost believe someone else had written it. In this book, Goldy is completely irresponsible as a parent, Arch is a caricature of an angst-ridden teenager, Marla is in a few scenes and behaves like a rich snob towards everyone, including her supposedly best friend Goldy, Tom was nearly non-existenet except to make an occasional meal and pamper to Goldy's whining....and the list goes on. All of these anomalies were so distracting to me, that I really didn't care much who did what to whom with regards to the murder and other crimes. I hope the next in the series will be back to Ms. Davidson's writing standards.
Rating: 
Summary: Perfectly catered, tasty little bon-bon of a read
Review: In contrast to other reviewers, I find the plotting in this Davidson novel to be more complex and the suspicious characters to be better developed than in her previous books. The victim was a bad guy, a good guy, a two-timer, a lover who wanted (and maybe expected himself) to become faithful, a good friend, and an exploiter -- yes, all rolled into one interesting, attractive man. Likewise, the people who might have knocked him off hardly arouse indifference. Solve riddles, read recipes, go to a Shopper's Anonymous meeting, sigh at the mistakes we all make with our children: yes, indeed, you can get a lot done reading this book. It is also a great introduction to what passes for springtime on the eastern slopes of the Rockies and to the burgeoning (some would say out of control) commercial and residential development happening here. I had allowed myself to be put off by reviews here and finally picked up the book for a holiday weekend. I was not in the least disappointed -- except that it had taken me so long to get to it. The book engaged my brain, made me laugh out loud, and brought on ruminations about how life -- and our outrageous mistakes in it -- catches up with us all.
Rating: 
Summary: Loosen your belts
Review: It seems all they do in this book is cook and eat! This is the second only book I've read by this authour. I could care less about the receipes, I'm not going to try any of them. And those women that had nothing better to do with their time and husband's money than shop, shop, shop for so much stuff they had to rent additional storage places. I did enjoy the description of the scenery in the Aspen area, but that was about the only redeeming aspect of this story. Talk about spoiled kids and pampered wives, I'm glad I don't know any of them. I'll move on to others than can really keep me interested in their mysteries.
Rating:
Summary: Loosen your belts
Review: It seems all they do in this book is cook and eat! This is the second only book I've read by this authour. I could care less about the receipes, I'm not going to try any of them. And those women that had nothing better to do with their time and husband's money than shop, shop, shop for so much stuff they had to rent additional storage places. I did enjoy the description of the scenery in the Aspen area, but that was about the only redeeming aspect of this story. Talk about spoiled kids and pampered wives, I'm glad I don't know any of them. I'll move on to others than can really keep me interested in their mysteries.
Rating:
Summary: A LATEST MYSTERY OF GOLDY BEAR SCULTZ
Review: This is a really good book. This has wonderful recipes! This time Goldy is catering to a bunch of ritzy custermers at the malll. To her dismay her employer is an old coolage friend. When he is murderd JULLIRN TELLER (their border)is convicted her apprentice do i metion friend of the family. She sets out to find the real murder before the murder goes free anf JULLIEN goes to jail.
Rating:
Summary: MOTT SO GREAT
Review: This is the 11th book in the Goldy Schulz series, and aside from the always clever titles, this is not one of the strongest. Ms. Davidson continues to decrease her ability to create any type of suspense or as one reviewer, put it so nicely "dramatic tension." By the time you get through all the descriptions of the recipes (a gimmick that has gotten old in the last few books), you really don't have much in the way of believable characters or even a tidy mystery. Marla is not used much in this one at all; Tom is sidelined as a kind of "Father Knows Best" figure; and Arch continues to be a real pain in the butt. Goldy doesn't show much disciplinary skill at all in handling his smart mouth and surliness. Even if his behavior is indicative of our teens these days, he's becoming a real hard pill to swallow. The identity of the killer comes so unspectacularly that you scratch your head and say, why was so much focus put on the other suspects when this one is the culprit? I've read all the series and think Ms. Davidson has done well most of the time, but I sincerely think it's time to hang up the apron for a while.
Rating:
Summary: Murder, mayhem and great recipes!
Review: This latest in the generally excellent culinary mystery series by Diane Mott Davidson, is a little less inspired than some of her other works. Even the recipes are more mundane----a quiche recipe you could find in a lot of cookbooks, a roast beef with burgundy recipe that has also been around a long time. Goldy Schulz' teenage son Arch is in a difficult period now, and readers will miss his tractable sweetness of earlier books. Julian is in---catch this---JAIL as a murder suspect. Goldy's best friend Marla appears infrequently, as does her stalwart cop husband, Tom. For much of the book Goldy is on her own, trying to withdraw (without much success) from her twin pleasures of caffeine and chocolate, even as she suffers from various injuries incurred in the course of her investigation of the murder. If you're new to the series, read some of the earlier books first to get to know Goldy, Tom, Arch and company. This one's a lesser light among many bright books.
Rating:
Summary: not Davidson's best but still enjoyable
Review: This latest in the generally excellent culinary mystery series by Diane Mott Davidson, is a little less inspired than some of her other works. Even the recipes are more mundane----a quiche recipe you could find in a lot of cookbooks, a roast beef with burgundy recipe that has also been around a long time. Goldy Schulz' teenage son Arch is in a difficult period now, and readers will miss his tractable sweetness of earlier books. Julian is in---catch this---JAIL as a murder suspect. Goldy's best friend Marla appears infrequently, as does her stalwart cop husband, Tom. For much of the book Goldy is on her own, trying to withdraw (without much success) from her twin pleasures of caffeine and chocolate, even as she suffers from various injuries incurred in the course of her investigation of the murder. If you're new to the series, read some of the earlier books first to get to know Goldy, Tom, Arch and company. This one's a lesser light among many bright books.
Rating:
Summary: THIS JUST SHOULDA' BEEN CHOPPED
Review: This refers to the audio version of the book - I almost felt as though a ghost writter had written what I was hearing. The narrator was not at all as good as Cherry Jones and for some strange reason Diane has resorted to some less than nice language that was not in the earlier books (that I have read and I have not read them all). Too bad - this just doesn't rise to the level of her other books - a big disappointment.
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