CRUNCH TIME: REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

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CRUNCH TIME
A Novel of Suspense
BY DIANE MOTT DAVIDSON 

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Colorado caterer Goldy Schulz cooks up big trouble as she tries to help her longtime friend and fellow chef Yolanda Garcia. When the rental house shared by Yolanda and her irrepressible aunt Ferdinanda is destroyed by arson, the pair move in with cop-turned-PI Ernest McLeod. But then Ernest is shot dead and his house is set on fire, nearly killing Goldy, Yolanda, Ferdinanda, and nine beagle puppies that Ernest had recently rescued from a puppy mill.

Concerned for her friends, Goldy invites them to stay with her while the sheriff’s department investigates. Yet even Goldy’s house isn’t safe, and after a failed break-in by an unknown intruder a cop is sent to keep an eye on things. Then a second body is found.

Swapping her chef’s hat for a sleuthing cap, the intrepid Goldy steps up the investigation. But she’s got to move fast. It’s crunch time to close in on a killer, before he can close in on her.

Filled with danger as well as laughs, wonderful food, and scrumptious recipes, Crunch Time is a delicious indulgence sure to satisfy all of Goldy’s fans.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

New York Times bestselling author Diane Mott Davidson wrote three novels before one was accepted for publication—when she was 41. She has since written 14 more mysteries, all featuring Goldy the caterer. In addition, she has written short stories and poetry for various publications. Davidson has won the Anthony Award from Bouchercon, and has been nominated for the Agatha, another Anthony, and the Macavity Award. In 1993 she was named Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers' Writer of the Year.

Davidson was educated at St. Anne's School in Charlottesville, Virginia, where her English teacher, Emyl Jenkins, encouraged her to become a writer. She attended Wellesley College, where she was named a Wellesley Scholar, before transferring to Stanford University, from which she graduated with a double major in Art History and Political Science. Several years (and one child) later, she received her MA in Art History from Johns Hopkins.

Davidson has volunteered for numerous organizations. She was a tutor in a correctional facility, rape-victim counselor, and served for 10 years on the Board of Examining Chaplains of the Episcopal Diocese of Colorado. For years she taught the adult Bible study at her parish, where she was also licensed to preach.

Davidson has been married to her husband, Jim, for almost 40 years. They have three sons, a daughter-in-law, two grandchildren, and a basset hound.

Photo by Richard Haber Photography

PRAISE FOR AUTHOR DIANE MOTT DAVIDSON:

“A cross between Mary Higgins Clark and Betty Crocker.”
—Baltimore Sun

“The Julia Child of mystery writers.”
—Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph

“Terrific.”

— Richmond Times-Dispatch on Crunch Time

“Fans who relished Davidson’s previous culinary mysteries will assuredly eat up this newest one, too.”— Booklist on Crunch Time

“Enjoyable.”— Publishers Weekly on Crunch Time

“Davidson’s fans will not be disappointed.”

— Kirkus Reviews on Crunch Time 

MY THOUGHTS/REVIEW:

CRUNCH TIME by Diane Mott Davidson is a scrumptious morsel of fun and an exciting escapade for everyone’s taste! Let me assure you that you don’t have to have read the earlier books in Davidson’s series as CRUNCH TIME stands alone just fine. However, you will want to go back and read them after meeting Goldy Schulz, the well known caterer and amateur detective. Trust me that Sleuthing 101 wasn’t a course taught at culinary school but Goldy still seems to wind up involved whenever there is any kind of criminal investigation going on. In her home of Aspen Meadows, Goldy is surrounded by people who just seem to always beckon to her for help, not just good food. Tom, her husband, is also a great cook but he wishes she would stay out of all these mysteries and just stay in the kitchen instead. 

When Goldy’s friend Yolanda, who lives with her Great Aunt Ferdinanda  are left homeless following a fire that consumed their home, Goldy is of course concerned. They wind up moving in with their neighbor, Ernest, a retired policeman, who is now a private eye, only to have the worst happen! Someone murders Ernest and then his house burns down with an arsonist, and possibly the murderer, surely the suspect now. Of course, Goldy and Tom insist they move in with them until this case can be solved.

There is so much background to these well developed characters that all naturally adds to the mystery: Aunt Ferdinanda is in a wheelchair because she was the target of a hit-and-run accident; Yolanda’s afraid of her former abusive boyfriend who she senses is stalking her, and then there are nine precious beagle puppies that become part of the plot! Can all this play into what is happening now? How can Goldy not be involved? As a victim of abuse from her own first marriage, Goldy knows what Yolanda is up against.

With Goldy catering the memorial dinner for Ernest, and Tom cooking for Goldy, there is some good food going on and readers have the bonus of some great recipes included in the book. My problem, is I am not Goldy nor do I have a Tom, so I can only WISH I was in Aspen Meadows! I think the turning point and when the case escalates, is when Goldy’s own home becomes involved. Now it is time for her to really take action! Will Goldy find out who the arsonist and murderer is before she becomes the next victim? Will she be able to help protect her dear friend Yolanda by getting to the bottom of this case? Will Tom keep cooking even as all this danger is surrounding them? Enjoy CRUNCH TIME by Diane Mott Davidson and you will find all these answers and more in this delightful culinary mystery.

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