This is probably my favorite Diane Mott Davidson novel so far. I really enjoy the castle/English type theme and it was definitely a more intricate plot with so many things going on. I did get frustrated with the novel when once again Goldy goes investigating while she is at a catering event! Any time I have worked with events like this, there is absolutely no time to go do anything else! ( )

#10 of the 17 book Goldy the Caterer series set in the Aspen/Denver area of Colorado. A fairly good mix of the author's standard characters along with a few criminal types and a bimbo or two. The far fetched plot is typical of this series. But a good romp with some medieval history, fencing and thematic recipes. ( )

There is a real old English castle just outside of Aspen Meadow, Colorado, owned by a rather eccentric family for whom Goldy Shultz is catering several banquets including her son’s Elk Prep School fencing team’s banquet. Godly’s Dectective husband, Tom, is out of town on a case involving the theft of extremely rare stamps. Goldy’s Ex is out on parole after only serving 5 months of a 2 year sentence. Godly’s living room window gets shot. Having nowhere safe to go, she is staying at her employer’s castle. While checking out the castle’s chapel for an event, she comes across the body of one of the suspected stamp thieves. She calls 911, and her husband meets her at the chapel. While checking on the body, Tom is shot. He is airlifted to a Denver hospital. Goldy’s world is becoming a very unsettled place. Her house gets broken into, the Jerk is making threats, the stamps are still missing, and the castle may be haunted. Goldy sets out to bring her life back to normal.

Not a bad story. There are lots of quirky and violent characters. Goldy is too snoopy for her own well being, which is very frustrating for me as a reader. But there is enough action and humor to keep my attention. ( )

For those familiar with Diane Mott Davidson's mysteries this follows the usual plot line of a murder or murders in which Goldie Schulz, a caterer by day and an amateur detective all the time, is somehow involved. While cooking up a storm and dealing with her ex-husband (the JERK), Goldie solves the mystery by the end of the book. In this case, Goldie is rudely awakened one morning by a shotgun blast to her living room window. Her husband, a real police detective, is out of town investigating a robbery/murder which involves expensive stamps. Goldie packs up her son and her catering supplies and seeks refuge at the castle in which she is scheduled to cater two functions. While checking out the chapel which is the location of the first function she finds a dead body. She recognizes the deceased as the person her husband is seeking. Her husband turns up almost immediately and is shot as he go to greet her. Although he is not seriously hurt, they still can't return home so everyone stays at the castle which may be haunted.

These cozies are a good light read (which I definitely needed after finishing Prozac Nation) and the recipes are mouth-watering. Bon appetit. ( )

This wasn't one of my favorites, maybe because the relationship between Goldie and Tom didn't feel very real in this book. Ms. Davidson tried to create a sense of jealousy and possible betrayal but it didn't really work. I also felt like the mystery part just didn't hang together very well. ( )