By Marsha Fottler.
I’m reading every one of Diane Mott Davidson’s books because for a food writer there is nothing more agreeable than climbing into bed on a rainy night with a beverage and a dish of trail mix and reading an absorbing mystery, unless that mystery book also includes recipes you want to get up and try as soon as the killer is determined.
Davidson’s 13th book, called Dark Tort, (2007) is once again set in Aspen Meadows, Colorado and features sleuth/caterer Goldy Bear Schultz, a petite bundle of energy who runs a catering business out of the home she shares with her cop husband, teenage son and mentee chef, Julian. Her best friend, Marla, usually figures into the crime-solving plot and they share a common bond. Both were once married to an abusive physician referred to the novels as The Jerk.
Most of Davidson’s titles indicate location, something about the victim or main characters and Dark Tort is no exception. The setting is a law firm and the victim of foul play is a young paralegal. Goldy is on the scene because she has a contract to cater the weekly breakfast meetings of the law partners. She trips over the body sending flour and batter flying. CSI would not appreciate the condition of the crime scene.
In some of her earlier books, a recipe followed each chapter. But now, they are all collected at the end of the book, like a mini-cookbook.
Davidson has a wry sense of humor, a practical bent, and I love being transported to her kitchen in Colorado. Her books are like comfort food – except for the murders.
Davidson’s two newest books are Sweet Revenge and Fatally Flakey. If you want to start at the beginning, get Catering To Nobody. In it Goldy stops being the victim of a bad marriage and resolves to live her life fearlessly as a woman who uses her cooking and organizational skills to start a business and rebuild her life. She’s resilient like a sponge cake.
-Flavors And More Magazine: July 2009