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    Fatally Flaky: A Novel
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    Fatally Flaky: A Novel
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    Fatally Flaky: A Novel
    Ebook393 pages5 hours

    Fatally Flaky: A Novel

    By Diane Mott Davidson

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    Colorado caterer Goldy Schulz encounters bridezilla—and murder—in another delectable novel by the New York Times bestselling author of Sweet Revenge, Dark Tort, and Double Shot.

    It's been a long, rainy summer for Goldy Schulz, who is engaged in planning wedding receptions for what seems to be all of Aspen Meadow. It's bad enough that Billie Attenborough, the bride from hell, has changed her menu six times and the event date twice. Now she wants to move the location to the Gold Gulch Spa just a scant two days before tying the knot to her doctor fiancé.

    Then Doc Finn, beloved local physician and the best friend of Goldy's godfather, Jack, is killed when his car tumbles into a ravine. At least that's what appears to have happened. But Jack thinks Doc was murdered because of the research he was doing at the spa—allegations that are confirmed when Jack himself is attacked.

    So Goldy dons chef's whites and goes undercover at the spa, where coffee is outlawed in favor of calming smoothies, and the fruit cocktail doesn't include fresh fruit. Add in the obstreperous owner, who years ago tried to sabotage Goldy's fledgling business, and she's got her hands full.

    Above all, there seems to be a clever killer on the spa grounds, watching her every move. After what befell Jack, Goldy knows that she might be next. Catering weddings, and cooking low-fat food, could be killing her—literally.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateApr 7, 2009
    ISBN9780061867385
    Unavailable
    Fatally Flaky: A Novel
    Author

    Diane Mott Davidson

    Diane Mott Davidson is the author of seventeen bestselling novels. She divides her time between Colorado and Florida.

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    Reviews for Fatally Flaky

    3.5/5

    248 ratings26 reviews

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    • 4/5
      I have read many of this series, and although they are getting a bit predictable, I still enjoy reading them. I like the characters and the way Goldy's relationships have progressed throughout the series.
    • 4/5
      Another enjoyable Goldy Schulz mystery. This time Goldy is catering a wedding at a health spa. The obnoxious bride-to-be, who is marrying one of the town doctors, is driving Goldy crazy with her constant last-minute changes. Then, days before the wedding, a beloved and retired Doc Finn, former medical partner of the groom, dies in a car “accident”. Goldy’s godfather, Jack Carmichael, who lives across the street from the Schulz’s and is good friends with Doc Finn, seems to know why Finn was killed, but is himself attacked before he can inform anyone. It is up to Goldy to discover the motive for the attacks and unveil the killer.Tom, Julian, and Marla are all here from the previous books in the series, though Goldy’s son Arch is largely absent this time. Goldy, as always, is cooking up a storm, and the several included recipes are mouth-watering. Goldy’s serious caffeine habit (four espresso shots!) may be the impetus behind some of her risky investigative adventures that always leave Tom shaking his head.The characters are likeable, the mystery entertaining, and the food details are fun to read. I enjoyed this book.
    • 5/5
      Book 15 in the Goldy the caterer mysteries. Goldy is busily planning a wedding for the bride from hell, when a doctor friend dies mysteriously in a car accident. If you've read any of these mysteries, you'll remember that nothing is by chance. Goldy gets involved in an investigation (which her homicide detective husband isn't too thrilled about) at a health spa where it's suggested that drugs are put in the fruit smoothies offered to the clients in the afternoon.
    • 4/5
      This series features the amateur sleuth, Goldy Schulz, who solves mysteries while cooking. Oftentimes, she jump-starts her morning with double shots of espresso mixed with cream and poured over ice. My kind of breakfast! Goldy is basically a grownup Nancy Drew and I find these books are a nice counterpoint to the blood and gore that I love so much. I'm addicted!
    • 4/5
      The summer wedding season is almost over and caterer Goldy Schulz is at the end of her rope. Not only is she dealing with the bride from hell, but she’s also consoling her beloved godfather, Jack Carmichael, when he loses his good friend Dr. Harold Finn. His death at first appears to be a tragic accident but when Goldy realizes her husband, police detective Tom Schulz, is on the case, our heroine knows it’s pretty certain Doc’s death was no accident. Then Jack is attacked and, in a semi-dazed state and unable to speak because of a tracheotomy, he writes Goldy a note with three cryptic words. Goldy and Jack have a long history of solving puzzles together and Goldy is sure he means her to solve one more for him – and that the clues lead to whoever attacked Jack and killed his friend. The clues lead her to nearby Golden Gulch Spa, where Goldy confronts a thoroughly obnoxious man from her past – Victor Lane, the spa’s owner. Diane Mott Davidson has writing mysteries down to a science. Her books are tightly plotted, smoothly written and contain a small cast of characters, all of whom are important to the story. Readers have been with Goldy for her ups and downs, and have watched her grow both professionally and personally – plus they like perusing (if not actually using) the recipes. Fatally Flaky is #15 in this culinary mystery series and just what fans expect. I won’t say the series is getting stale, but I would be overjoyed if the author would break out of her established pattern and really shake things up just once. By Diana. First published in Mystery News, Jun-Jul 2009 issue.
    • 5/5
      Diane Mott Davidson is phenomenal. Her books keep me guessing until the very end. I love the mysterious events and story lines she conjures up as well as the tasty recipes interlaced throughout her books. This latest book by Davidson was full of numerous emotions-sadness, happiness, humor, and above all else intriguing excitement! There is a murder and Goldy finds herself in the thick of the case. She must find out who the murderer is before it's too late and before she becomes the next victim. Goldy must endure an obnoxious, high maintenance bride and her outrageous demands as Goldy caters her wedding. All the while, Goldy must tread lightly around the owner of the wedding venue as there is a deliciously, scandalous past between the two. To top things off, someone close to Goldy is murdered and it is up to Goldy not to make herself the next target. I was guessing until the very end! I will be anxiously awaiting her next book!
    • 3/5
      My mom gave me this book as a birthday present (she said it looked like a book that I would like but I suspect she wanted to read it herself). This is the only book of this series that I have read and having said that I found that it was easy to understand what was going on and I don't feel like I missed out on anything.Goldy Schulz is a character that is easy to relate to and is very likeable. I found myself thinking the same thoughts as her (especially about how annoying Billie Attenborough was). I didn't have much of a hard time figuring out who committed the murders in this book and why they did it but I found that I didn't lose any interest in the book because of it.I would recommend this book, but just don't read it on an empty stomach because it will make you starving.
    • 3/5
      Not her best, but more action-packed than the last one I read. The narration got dull at times -- too many recaps and rhetorical detective questions. And I thought it too obvious who the murderer was. Beach reading.
    • 4/5
      I had taken a long break from this cozy series, but was easily able to pick it right back up. It was nice to revisit Goldy, Tom, Arch (though briefly), Marla and crew. There were some timing inconsistencies that were a tad distracting - a shower, yoga, brewing 8 shots of espresso and sitting down to read through some things while drinking 4 of those shots of espresso all in 15 minutes? All at 5am when you are moving at your very speediest?

      The Kindle formatting was a bit annoying. I've seen worse where it is riddled with machine language. This wasn't bad to that extent, but every compound word was split into two words which kind of detracted from the enjoyment of the story. Every "tonight" was "to night" and "wherever" was "where ever" and there were many occurrences of those two words through out and some other words with the same issue. Given that it was consistent I am assuming it was a problem with the conversion to Kindle formatting, but it is still annoying and I would have been very unhappy had I paid full price for the Kindle book.
    • 4/5
      Bridezilla Billie is getting Goldy ready to tear her hair out. The bride has changed the date three times, the menu twice, and now in the middle of catering another wedding, Billie informs Goldy that she has added 50 additional guests for her wedding 2 days away which means that there has to be a venue change as well more preparation cooking.In the meantime, Goldy's old doctor is found dead at the bottom a ravine, which leads her dear godfather to investigating the cause. When he is found mugged at the reception for Bridezilla Billie, and later dies, Goldy takes over. Lead by clues from her godfather and her overwhelming need to find out what happened to her friend and loved one, Goldy gets involved in intrigue surrounding fraud, drugs and murder.This was a quick read because the story kept drawing you further and further into the web as your intuition glistens. Davidson never fails IMHO!
    • 4/5
      Good, quick read. Once again a surprise as to the culprit. When you think you've got it figured out, it takes a different turn. Hoping that the next book Goldy learns from her past mistakes because it is getting a bit tedious and formulaic when she consistently goes against common sense.
    • 3/5
      Okay, I quibbled along the way at Davidson's broadly drawn and superficial characters, but what does one really expect or want from a quick read. I really adored her earlier novels, and her recipes, and the interesting social themes (spousal abuse,and all) woven through.

      It has been quite a while, though, and I picked this one up on whim, needing, I thought, a light read. I've grown more critical. But by the end of the book I was once more won over, and thought there was an emotionally sound note at last.
    • 4/5
      quite good for a quick read. Goldy is a caterer and is doing a wedding for bridezilla billie. Her uncle Jack lives across the street and has given her money for her start-up business. Her husband is a police detective. There are lots of bad guys, but who is doing the killing? There is also the Golden spa-----are there drugs there?
    • 3/5
      The most recent entry in the series of mystery novels featuring the caterer Goldy Schultz, brings nothing new to the dinner or buffet table. Perhaps the series is getting a little long and with the killing of Goldy's nemesis ex-husband, The Jerk, several titles ago, the books have gotten just a little too cute. Davidson always does her research and the catering tie-ins provide a nice basis for the stories, but this one just didn't really pick up any steam or drama. Still, the book delivers what is supposed to be, a nice easy series mystery, great for vacation (which is when I read it). Perhaps it is partially my fault that I read this immediately after Stieg Larsson's gripping (and 3x as long) "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo." This one couldn't help but leave me feeling flat.
    • 4/5
      Another wonderfully fun Goldy Schulz food filled mystery. This time the story centers around the wedding of Billie, the Bridezilla, who keeps changing plans, and thinks that the world does not revolve around the sun, rather she is the center of the planetary system. Goldy's godfather Jack, the town's retired Dr (old Doc Finn) and her effervescent endlessly rich friend Marla all play starring roles.As usual Davidson treats us to a good plot, fun characters and scrumptious recipes.
    • 3/5
      A fairly standard who-dun-it, but fun. The protagonist is a caterer, and so food is a central theme, and the book ends with recipes. The most entertaining character is the super-bitchy bride.
    • 4/5
      This was a good addition to this series if a bit predictable.I do wish that we would have had one book introducing the character of Jack before you killed him off.It would have been better if I was a little more invested in him.But over all a good book.
    • 4/5
      If you are a follower of Goldie Schulz, caterer extraordinaire, you will not be disappointed with # 15 in the series. I had read several of the early books in the series although, I must say that I that I realized I had fallen quite behind in the series when I saw this was #15.. I listened to this as an audiobook, and had read all the others. I have to first say the reader, Barbara Rosenblat, is a jewel. She does wonderful contrasting voices for all the characters. This is a series of mysteries that fall in what I would call cozy mysteries and yet Ms. Davidson still does a great job of holding your interest and keeping you guessing until the end. In this addition, Goldie has two weddings to cater and neither turn out as festive events. Along the way there are two murders, and Goldie must figure out if they are connected and who the culprit or culprits are without becoming the next victim. I always enjoy the recipes that accompany the book and that is the one thing that I missed about the audio version. I guess I will have to check a copy out from the library to copy some of the recipes that appealed to me.
    • 1/5
      I couldn't get into this book. The writing style was too complex to be interesting to me. In addition, I didn't find any of the characters to be interesting. Not my type of book.
    • 4/5
      You'd think Goldy would have learned by now not to take risks. But she continues to charge in to danger and fortunately seems to get out in the nick of time. I liked the style of this novel because the reader gets to look at the clues Goldy has to go on and try to figure them out along with her.
    • 3/5
      I don't know why I read the Goldie books. I've read most of them and I keep on reading them. Every time someone says to Goldie 'Don't do such and such' she goes and does it. And of course gets into trouble. Sometimes I think the author hates this character. She is always getting beaten, slapped, etc. In almost all of the books someone tries to murder her but in the course of these unsuccessful attempts, she gets damaged. Of course, this is the main way she figures out who the murderer is -- it's the person who attacks her. As in this book, the murderer explains all of the loose ends in the book before he/she attempts the coup de grace. I think I read the books for the food descriptions. They sound wonderful. I wouldn't actually make any of these dishes. They sound like a heart attack even on the page.
    • 3/5
      I like this book it is about this cater that help her detective husband solve cases. The story reminds me of the TV show murder she wrote.
    • 3/5
      A typical entry for this series. Entertaining, but somewhat predictable. Caterer Goldy gets involved in a murder mystery while catering weddings.
    • 5/5
      I have a book club friend who always brings in a small stack of audio books to swap. As I've just gotten into listening to audios and I tend to like what he reads, I grabbed Fatally Flaky, book 15 of the Goldy Schulz catering series, by Diane Mott Davidson. Fortunately the Goldy books seem to stand alone just fine and I didn't feel like I was missing out on anything by starting so late in the series.Fatally Flaky opens with Goldy trying to juggle weddings in one weekend. She has the wedding of a single mother who doesn't want her estranged father crashing the ceremony and then she has Bridezilla, a mid thirties brat who has changed everything more times than Goldy cares to count, including the date (and now the venue!) of her wedding.The weddings, though, are the least of her problems. Two men, near and dear to Goldy die within days of each other. I gather from reading other reviews, Goldy's depression in this volume is a departure from a more typical lighter tone expected from a cozy mystery. Being new to the series, though, I didn't notice the change and I completely felt for Goldy and could appreciate her stupid maneuvers, decisions made in the throws of grief.Barbara Rosenblat does a wonderful job of bringing Goldy and the other characters to life. I think listening to her performance of the book is what bumped the book up from four to five stars for me. I have decided to go back and listen to as many of the earlier books as I can.
    • 3/5
      Seeking light and fluffy, I opened the latest Diane Mott Davidson, Fatally Flaky, which I found … somewhere. These are most definite “cozies”, those strange murder mysteries where ordinary people (that is, not cops or PI’s or other people with some business investigating murders) keep tripping over bodies, and then end up finding the killer before the police. Davidson’s series has the distinction of being, I *think*, the first to have recipes in the text (because the heroine, Goldy, is a caterer) – so it’s all her fault.Hey, I can’t criticize these books too hard – one of my favorite recipes of all time came from Dying for Chocolate: Strawberry Super Pie. It’s responsible for a couple of the extra inches I’m carrying – I was making it pretty darned often for a while there. It’s amazing.But they’re not exactly Literature. They’re fun and undemanding, which is all I was looking for this week, and the recipes are often pretty terrific. And Fatally Flaky was one of the better books in the series, even if it did adhere pretty strictly to the “client is a flipping crazed bitca” formula. It was a cute story, it was interesting to see Goldy’s son suddenly 16 (I missed a couple of books in there somewhere), and, er, et cetera.
    • 4/5
      Billie Attenborough has finally set a definite date for her wedding to Dr. Craig Miller. Bridezilla Billie, as Goldy dubbed her, had changed dates, menus, wardrobe and anything else she could think of, millions of times. All seemed set for the event to happen at Goldy's own event center, but then came the changes: 50 more guests bumping the total to 200, and another change of venue to the Gold Gulch Spa. This with barely 48 hours notice! The real fly in the ointment was Victor Lane, owner of the spa. The same man who told Goldy "women can't cook" when she first started out.On the good side, Goldy's godfather, Jack Carmichael, had retired from his law practice and moved to Aspen Meadows to a house just across the street from Goldy. Jack had also made friends with Doc Finn, a retired and revered local doctor, and was enjoying life.The day of the wedding, Doc Finn was found dead in his car in a ravine. Jack felt that it was because of the research Doc was doing about Gold Gulch Spa. This thought seemed to be true when Jack was attacked. Goldy was once more on the hunt for the murderer. The question was would she survive and not become another victim.This is a fun cozy series to read. A bit of an escape for me. I also enjoy the recipes at the end of the book.