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Summary: Fun introduction to culinary whodunit.
Review: This was a a light, entertaining book and and fun murder mystery. The first book in the series, we are introduced to Goldy Bear (Whose real name is Gertrude Bear Korman). Goldy has started her own catering business, to support herself and her son, after divorcing her abusive ex husband. While catering a funeral, Goldy's ex father in law is poisoned, and Goldy's business is shut down. In order to clear her name and get her life back, Goldy decides to investigate the crime.
Chock full of interesting characters, a possible love interest and as an added bonus, some terrific sounding recipes. I can't wait to move on to the next book in the series.
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Summary: Davidson Books A Pleasure
Review: This was the first Davidson book I read, and have since read her entire collection. I love her sense of family and home - she is always most relaxed when she is in the kitchen cooking. I have also tried several of her recipes and my husband praises her dishes! Light, entertaining, and a good murder mystery in each story. Enjoy-
Rating: 
Summary: Weak Prose - Passable Plot
Review: This was the most unpleasant selection my monthly book club has nominated. The author seems like she is trying to follow a "Writer's Digest" formula as she unfolds her plot and the effect is just too predictable. The timeline is not paced well either. Sometimes we'll spend a whole chapter on a conversation and then we'll jump ahead three days in the space of a paragraph. The dialogue is cliched and the characters come off as shallow stereotypes. The writing reaches a definite low point as the author describes a "Amour Anonymous" meeting with five characters in attendance and skips from comment to comment so quickly it is hard to imagine how the conversation reaches such emotional highs and lows within the space of a few moments. The plot wraps up neatly and the recipes are an interesting addition (worth trying I hope!) - but these two positive attributes are not enough to save the overall writing.
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Summary: Left a Bad Taste in My Mouth
Review: To be honest upfront, I didn't get past the first few chapters of this mystery. I didn't care for Davidson's prose, nor did I find the characters compelling. Actually, I found the protagonist Goldy (could the name be any more precious??) a bit off-putting and not in any way believable. Goldy's a caterer whose ex-husband used to beat her -- and she goes out of her way to make sure she doesn't serve him tomatoes at a function she's catering, because he's allergic to them. Is it just me, or does that make her a complete doormat? Who wants to read about someone like that? Or her alcoholic mother-in-law? I don't know about you, but I've got to like the people I read about. For all I know, the ending of "Catering to Nobody" is brilliant, but I just couldn't see slogging through it to find out.
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Summary: Interesting Catering Mystery
Review: When Goldy (single mother to an 11-year-old boy, and a woman running her own business) gets a job catering a wake at her son's (Arch) favorite teachers funeral, she is not what you would call happy. Yes, she'll make a good amount of money, but she'll also have to be in the same room as her ex-husband. But when her ex-husbands father drinks coffee with rat poison in it, and she becomes the main suspect, she realizes that it's now up to her to find the murderer. In the meantime, Goldy has a guest staying at her house, Patty Sue, whom is undergoing treatment at Goldy's ex-father-in-law's OBGYN office, and, suddenly Arch is acting a bit obsessed with a role playing game. How much more does she need to handle?Overall this was a pretty good book. Although it was a bit cliched, and reminded me of an episode of "Diagnosis Murder." I knew who the murderer was almost the minute the first poisoning took place. Although, the clichedness is somewhat passable due to the likeness of the main character. Another hit for Diane Mott Davidson.
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Summary: Offensive and ill-informed
Review: While the story itself was interesting and the recipes were really cute, the character of Marla was poorly written and quite offensive. A size 16 and she is described as having "swirling tires of flesh" and can't be trusted around food. The way she is described as eating in the book she'd be a size 42 and weigh over 350 pounds! I don't think the author has ever met someone who was a size 16, and if you don't weigh 115 pounds and fit into a size 4, this character will ruin the book for you! The other annoying cliche was the pregnant girl is described as craving pickles and ice cream. Ooooo, I'd never guess that one!
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