The Grilling Season by Diane Mott Davidson
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In this series of Cozy Mysteries, protagonist Goldie Bear Schultz is a caterer and amateur sleuth whose husband is a cop. She becomes involved in murder cases where friends or relatives are accused of the murder. The stories take place in Aspen Meadows, Colorado, a fictitious small town in the Colorado Rockies. Everyone knows everyone else, especially Goldie because of her catering business. Goldie is surrounded by goofy friends, acquaintances and even roomers who live with her. It is the crazy personalities and lifestyles of the cast of characters that add to the humor of these mysteries. Goldie is the somewhat stable one, hard-working, but has a sense of humor and appreciates the humor in her life. The Goldie in the kitchen also adds humorous situations and makes the reader more involved in the book because of her excellent recipes that are added throughout. Goldie does her best thinking while cooking up delicious dishes for her clients, but is constantly interrupted to feed hungry friends, relatives or anyone that drops by to consult with her on the case at hand.
Davidson adheres to the standards and elements of the mystery genre. The reader, however, becomes emotionally involved in Goldie’s predicament and the other quirky characters in the book, so solving the case before she does becomes less important. Because of the humor in the dialogue and the personalities and lifestyles of the characters, the reader becomes empathetic to the main characters.
This was a fast, enjoyable read and I would recommend it to anyone who like cozy mysteries, humorous fiction, and good food.