Sticks and Scones

By: Diane Mott Davidson

Narrated by: Cherry Jones

For Colorado caterer Goldy Schulz, accepting a series of bookings at Hyde Castle is like a dream come true. Goldy is determined that everything will go right - which is why, she figures later, everything went terribly wrong.

It all started before dawn on the day of the first Anglophile lunch, when Goldy had just about the rudest awakening possible: a shotgun blast through her living room window. With her home now a crime scene and her cop husband, Tom, out of town searching for a fugitive hijacker, Goldy has no choice but to show up for work at the castle - six hours early. And it doesn't take her long to realize that her early morning wake-up call was only the beginning...

While out checking on tables for the luncheon, Goldy spots something strange lying in Cottonweed Creek. Upon closer inspection, she can see that it is a body, clad in flannel and shot through the head. Goldy quickly dials 911, but before the police arrive, shots ring out for the second time that day - and this time, someone Goldy loves is right in the line of fire.

Now Goldy has to face some tough questions: Was the victim killed by his partners in crime to keep him quiet - and would they go so far as to target Goldy herself? Could Tom's investigation have triggered a murder? Or could the shots be completely unrelated, perhaps coming at the hands of Goldy's violent and recently paroled ex-husban?

With her own life in peril, the last thing Goldy wants to think about is Shakespeare's Steak Pie, 911, Chocolate Emergency Cookies, or Damson-in-Distress Plum Tart. But with death peering around every corner, she has no choice but to cook up some crime-solving solutions - before the only dish that's left on her menu is murder...

©2001 by Diane Mott Davidson (P)2001 Random House, Inc. Bantam Doubleday Dell Audio Publishing, a Division of Random House, Inc.

Entertaining but not one of her best

We love the mix of mystery and culinary art in DMD's books and therefore expected a bit more than the thin and rather convoluted tale that she spun in this book. You get the sense that the publisher said, "Diane, it's about time for another...now." and she produced "another". We actually have heard the other stories that follow this most of which are much better told and give the characters a little more color and the action a lot more meaning. Still, all in all, if you're a DMD fan, you'll forgive Goldie for an occasional half-baked scone because she has presented so many other much more elaborate and tasty novels since then.

GREAT AS ALWAYS

GO GOLDY, LOVE THE STORY LINES AND ONGOING CHARACTERS.

New Jersey accent?

The story is okay. But Colorado people don't tend to have New Jersey accents.