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Sweet Revenge: Goldy Culinary Mystery #14    by Diane Mott Davidson Amazon.com order for
Sweet Revenge
by Diane Mott Davidson
Order:  USA  Can
William Morrow, 2007 (2007)
Hardcover, CD, e-Book
* *   Reviewed by Hilary Williamson

A local police detective tells Goldy Schulz early on in Sweet Revenge - her fourteenth tasty escapade, set during the Christmas holiday season - that 'Trouble just follows you around, Mrs. Schulz, doesn't it?' Readers of this cozy culinary series will cheerfully nod their heads in agreement.

It all begins with Goldy seeing a ghost - that of Sandee Brisbane who jumped into a raging forest fire after confessing to the Jerk's murder in Double Shot. The police believe Sandee dead. Why then does she keep veering into Goldy's life? Next comes a murder at the breakfast that Goldy caters for local library staff and volunteers - the victim being former DA Drew Wellington, who was disgraced after a DUI incident. Wellington had his fingers in many pies, including the sale of antique maps, some of which he acquired by unorthodox - and illegal - methods. The DA also received more than his share of threatening e-mails.

In between cooking madly for her catering capers - including an elegant dinner for a wealthy couple who share the deceased's passion for map collecting - Goldy sniffs for clues, aided by her usual coterie of cooks and gossip lovers. Along the way she manages to crash Marla's sports car while wearing her mink, get arrested at a crime scene, and almost throttled by a killer. Through it all, Goldy receives incredible support from her saintly spouse Tom, who has a lot to put up with in her peripatetic investigative shenanigans - though I suppose her cooking makes it all worthwhile.

Fans will enjoy Sweet Revenge - and appreciate the ten recipes at the back, from Chicken Divine to Door-Prize Gingerbread - just as much as the thirteen previous episodes in this deliciously wacky series.

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