Better than book one - holds together better as a story; the characters are less two dimensional. I wasn't expecting more than a bit of a romp, given the first one - detective noir/murder mystery, with protagonist whose two true loves are clothes and creating food. Oh, and a bit of a confusing romance aspect that was a little on the heavy handed side.

Having said that - I read it in one sitting, I ignored my family to do so, and I was fascinated by the way that the disparate aspects of the story pulled together. ( )

Slightly girly, crazy comic crime fiction is not my normal cup of tea, and add a plethora of recipes and this reader should, by rights, be groaning and moaning and whinging. But not with The Culinary Crime / Café La Femme series of which DROWNED VANILLA is the second book. (As opposed to THE BLACKMAIL BLEND 1.5 which is a collection of short stories).

Pitched at a very particular market this isn't indepth, psychological analysis of crime and consequences. If anything more time and effort is devoted to the search for the perfect Ice-Cream recipe than is expended on the death of the young woman, drowned in a lake. Which is a bit unfair, because in the middle of cars, vintage clothes, love interests and side distractions, ice cream recipes and baking muffins, there is a mystery that's resolved.

The style employed in writing these books is pitch-perfect for the audience they will attract. Silly and fun, there's enough of an edge in the death of this young girl, her time in The Gingerbread House, the connections between all the residents there, and the small town of Flynn to keep fans of cosier, lighter-hearted mysteries satisfied on all fronts. And some of the recipes, to be frank, are to die for, and yes they have been transferred to the cookbook for trying out. Some on the other hand should be consigned to the scrap bin as a matter of urgency.

Fans of more pointed, gritty books might find themselves overly distracted by the side-issues bought up in DROWNED VANILLA, and goodness knows Tabitha Darling's obsession with vintage clothes, shoes and handbags makes me wonder about my sanity when I say that these are very readable books, but let's face it - we're talking entertainment here.

DROWNED VANILLA, and it's predecessor A TRIFLE DEAD are really great examples of daft, funny, cosy, silly, culinary crime. They are deftly written, pitched for their target market perfectly. Whilst there's plenty of eccentricity in all of the characters, there's a refreshing lack of idiocy (particularly on the part of the women). There's some romantic tension of course, and that old perennial of the love triangle dilemma but it's more fun than angst-ridden and either choice of bloke would be fine with many readers. Of course it's a bit silly and there is nothing in the world wrong with a bit of silly every now and again. Especially when it comes with ice-cream.

http://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/review-drowned-vanilla-livia-day ( )

Drowned Vanilla by Livia Day is the second Culinary Crime novel, following A Trifle Dead which I reviewed last year. I think Drowned Vanilla is a bit less geeky, but I think I enjoyed the twists and turns of the mystery more. This isn't spec fic, by the way, it's firmly realistic crime/mystery.

It’s the beginning of a hot, hot summer in Hobart. Tabitha Darling is in love with the wrong man, and determined to perfect the art of ice cream. Playing amateur detective again is definitely not on the cards—not even when her friends try to lure her into an arty film noir project in the historical town of Flynn.

But when a young woman goes missing from a house full of live webcams, and is found drowned in the lake outside Flynn, Tabitha is dragged into the whole mess— film crew, murder victim, love life and all.

There were two girls using the internet pseudonym French Vanilla, and only one is dead. So where is the other one? Why is everyone suddenly behaving like they’re in a (quite specific) Raymond Chandler novel? And how the hell did the best kiss of Tabitha’s life end up on YouTube?

Even ice cream isn’t going to get them out of this one.

This is another mystery story in the same vein as A Trifle Dead. If you enjoyed that book, definitely read Drowned Vanilla. I believe this is what's known as a cosy mystery. Tabitha is called up by a friend of a friend to help find a girl who's mysteriously disappeared. The disappearance turns out to be only the beginning (of course) and soon Tabitha is haring back and forth across the Tasmanian country side trying to get to the bottom of things — or trying unsuccessfully not to get more involved.

As well as the mystery elements, the story involves Tabitha's quest to make all the ice cream flavours (except vanilla) and inflict them on her friends (several recipes included). And her ongoing love-life confusion. The love triangle set up in the first book continues to be a source of angst for her and slight confusion for the reader (or, well, me anyway). I don't find it an annoying addition to the story, but I found her choices odd (I'm on Team The Other One, is what I'm saying).

But basically, Drowned Vanilla was an excellent book and I pretty much read it in two sittings. There were only two things I didn't like: the dearth of dairy-free frozen deserts (somewhat inevitable), and the fact that the Greek family celebrated Christmas in December (with no comment as to why, which made me a bit sad). I feel confident most readers won't be bothered by either of those elements.

Drowned Vanilla is a gripping and entertaining read and I recommend it to anyone who likes crime novels, banter and/or Tansy Rayner Roberts' other writing. If you enjoyed A Trifle Dead, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

4.5 / 5 stars

You can read more of my reviews on my blog. ( )