The Nantucket Diet Murders (Eugenia Potter Mysteries)

Rating:
Summary: "The Nantucket Diet Murders" is a must on a Rich menu
Review: I was first acquainted with the fictional sleuth Eugenia Potter through Nancy Pickard's "The 27-Ingredient Chili Con Carne Murders". Ms. Pickard was continuing the character that Ms. Rich had begun. Eager to backtrack, I discovered that Ms. Rich had written only 3 Eugenia Potter mysteries (in addition to the notes for "Chili") before her death. I was delighted to find this one still in print. Obviously carefully researched in the manner of Jane Langton, this book sketched a vivid portrait of a Nantucket winter, offering a range of characters to cheer for and despise. It was refreshing to see an older woman portrayed as the heroine, and what's more, anything but a reclusive widow. She keeps you guessing until the end, then throws in a little drama for good measure. I did not find the other two books, but did read "The Blue Corn Murders", the second Eugenia Potter book by Nancy Pickard, in which Ms. Pickard improves on her style and familiarity with Genia, exhibiting the same flair for research and complex character situations as did Virginia Rich.

Rating:
Summary: "The Nantucket Diet Murders" is a must on a Rich menu
Review: I was first acquainted with the fictional sleuth Eugenia Potter through Nancy Pickard's "The 27-Ingredient Chili Con Carne Murders". Ms. Pickard was continuing the character that Ms. Rich had begun. Eager to backtrack, I discovered that Ms. Rich had written only 3 Eugenia Potter mysteries (in addition to the notes for "Chili") before her death. I was delighted to find this one still in print. Obviously carefully researched in the manner of Jane Langton, this book sketched a vivid portrait of a Nantucket winter, offering a range of characters to cheer for and despise. It was refreshing to see an older woman portrayed as the heroine, and what's more, anything but a reclusive widow. She keeps you guessing until the end, then throws in a little drama for good measure. I did not find the other two books, but did read "The Blue Corn Murders", the second Eugenia Potter book by Nancy Pickard, in which Ms. Pickard improves on her style and familiarity with Genia, exhibiting the same flair for research and complex character situations as did Virginia Rich.

Rating:
Summary: Likable character. You want to get to know her better.
Review: Very good book. Sorry that this writer did not get to get on the bandwagon of recipe/mystery stories. Very pleased that Nancy Pickard has begun writing about Eugenia Potter. Would like to read the Cooking School Murders and the Baked Bean Supper Murders just to see how Virgina Rich was developing this character and if Nancy Pickard is keeping true to her form or is she developing a whole new persona for this character.