Tough Cookie

April 15, 2001
Our chef/detective brings us to new heights. Goldy Schulz has a new television show called Cooking at the Top!, which is broadcast at 11,000 feet in the Colorado Rockies. From this vantage point, Davidson (Prime Cut) describes the schussing society and serves up tasty treats as well as murder on the slopes. After the local health inspector closes her home catering business, Goldy agrees to prepare foods for a cooking show televised live once a week at The Bistro, a top-drawer dining establishment at the mountain peak of the ski resort. Needing money, she is willing to sell a pair of skis to her old antiques collector boyfriend, Doug Portmont, right after a cooking show taping. He meets her at the head of a ski run, and they will meet up at the trail's end to exchange the antiques for cash. Only the cash never changes hands; she discovers his dead, broken body instead. From here, the plot thickens, delectables are created, and the delicious menus are advanced with clues to solve the mystery. Barbara Rosenblat performs her magic once again as the voice of Goldy, along with the other characters who comprise this entertaining whodunit. Recommended for popular mystery collections. Kristin M. Jacobi, Eastern Connecticut State Univ., Willimantic

Copyright 2001 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 31, 2000
Chef/amateur sleuth Goldy Schulz returns for a ninth outing in Davidson's popular culinary mystery series. Goldy's home-based catering business in the Colorado high country is temporarily suspended by drain problems, so she accepts a stint on a PBS cooking show before the Christmas holidays. After a meeting with Goldy, Doug Portman, her wealthy ex-boyfriend, is found dead on a back country ski run, with thousands of dollars flying from his pockets. Goldy discovers that an old acquaintance, Nate Bullock, had also been discovered there after an avalanche in almost the same spot three years earlier, and she herself is a victim of misadventure when her van is nudged over a cliff. Determined to find the killer lurking on the ski slopes, Goldy unearths motives aplenty, possibly among her culinary friends in a mountain restaurant. Davidson's creative recipes, scattered liberally throughout the narrative, add flavor to this spirited tale, which follows Goldy from one life-threatening escapade to the next. The characters are sometimes too good to be true (such as Goldy's husband, who's a county sheriff), but others have a refreshing edge, like pink-haired coffee-shop owner Cinda Caldwell. The ending is cookie-cutter predictable, but overall this is hearty fare for those who like their murder with a bit of nosh on the side. Agent, Sandra Dijkstra.

Occasionally a narrator is perfectly matched to a story. While this is probably more difficult in a first-person narrative, it has been achieved with Cherry Jones's performance. Davidson's latest in the Goldy Schulz series features the caterer and amateur sleuth acting as TV chef while her business is closed for repairs. In order to help pay for the repairs, she agrees to sell a set of antique skis to a former boyfriend, but he is killed on the ski run. Naturally, Goldy becomes involved, while cooking, surviving a car crash, and facing danger at the hands of the killer. Jones captures just the right mix of humor, ironic wit, and warmth that are so much a part of Goldy's personality and Davison's stories. Her voice is rich, full, and capable of on-the-mark renditions of the other characters. Regrettably, recipes for the goodies Goldy mixes up are not included. M.A.M. (c) AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine