Product Description

A month before Christmas, I saw a ghost...

Goldy Schulz is thrilled to be catering a holiday breakfast feast for the staff of the Aspen Meadow Library. But little does she know that on the menu is a large helping of murder.

While setting up at the library, Goldy spots a woman who bears a striking resemblance to Sandee Brisbane—the Sandee Brisbane who killed Goldy's ex-husband, the Jerk. But Sandee is supposed to be dead. Or so everyone believes. Goldy's suspicions mount when the body of Drew Wellington, a former district attorney, is found in a corner of the library with a map worth thousands of dollars stashed in his clothing. She's convinced that Sandee is involved. But the holiday madness is only just beginning for Goldy. Soon she's drawn into the dangerous, double-crossing world of high-end map dealing. And, like the ghost of Christmas past, Sandee keeps making an appearance. Could she be out to prove that revenge is sweet?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #467803 in Books
• Published on: 2007-09-01
• Released on: 2007-08-21
• Formats: Audiobook, Unabridged
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 10
• Binding: Audio CD

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Bestseller Davidson is at the top of her form in her 14th culinary suspense novel to feature Colorado crime-solving caterer Goldy Schulz (after 2006's Dark Tort). As the Christmas season approaches, Goldy is thrilled to be catering not only a breakfast for the local library but also an elegant dinner for Hermie and Smithfield MacArthur, rich Southern transplants to Aspen Meadow. But when the body of Drew Wellington, the disgraced former DA, turns up in the library, Goldy is once again forced to put her recipes on the back burner and find the murderer. Discovering that Wellington was dabbling in antique map collecting, Goldy must track down a priceless map and steer clear of Wellington's fellow collectors, ex-girlfriends and clients. Further complicating matters are sightings of the allegedly deceased Sandee Brisbane, the young woman accused of murdering Goldy's ex-husband and then supposedly perishing in a forest fire. Readers will happily sink their teeth into Goldy's latest case and come away hungry for more. 11-city author tour.
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About the Author

Diane Mott Davidson is the author of fourteen bestselling novels featuring the irresistible Goldy Schulz. She lives in Colorado with her family.

Customer Reviews

Can't believe it's the same author
I have read every book in this series and have enjoyed each and every one -- until now. The books have always been entertaining, fun and light-hearted. This one was slow-moving and full of filler. It seemed like the author needed to produce a specific number of pages and didn't have enough material to do so. The solution -- recap over and over what had happened so far in the story. While a summation at various points can be helpful to the reader, every few pages Goldy (the main character) would "review what she knew so far". That review was always good for filling up the page but did nothing to advance the story. I found myself extremely impatient with the device since I lost count of how many times it was done. Many pages were also devoted to taking her son Arch and his friends to the snowboarding recreation area. There are only so many times I can read about planning on going, preparing to go, driving to the recreation area, planning on picking him up, loading the equipment in the van and driving back home or arranging for someone else to take him since Goldy was busy. FYI -- if you got impatient with reading that last sentence, think about it taking pages throughout the book to describe !!

In addition, the characters weren't developed in any fashion. Tom (Goldy's husband) spent the entire book enveloping her in big bear hugs and fussing at her for interfering. Her son Arch spent the entire book making sarcastic comments and being a general irritant.

I don't know if Goldy has run her coarse and needs to be retired, but more books of this quality diminish what has been an outstanding series. Either improve the quality or end it gracefully !

recipe for story doesn't work well---ingredients need refining this time
I enjoyed most of the earlier mysteries tremendously, and I relished the recipes since I have a passion for baking and cooking like Davidson and Goldie.
However, in this book Goldie seems to repeatedly put herself into peril without exercising any discretion, or thinking of what would happen to son Arch and husband Tom if she were seriously injured or disabled. She exercises no regard for other people's property: Borrowing a car from her best friend, Marla, is acceptable, but commandeering a party guest's vehicle is not. In general, Goldie seems like the Energizer Bunny running around, fueled by double espressos, and not at all like a sane, friendly person you would want to know.
Here's hoping in the next offering, Davidson is back on track, describing a Goldie who is a little less manic and a little more mature.

Ugh.
This could very well be the worst Goldy mystery yet. Not only are the characters mere two-dimensional puppets, Goldy has turned into a narcissitic busy-body who I found myself rooting against. The supporting characters are merely that -- props that allow Goldy to to do whatever the heck she wants and then pull her out of trouble when she finds herself stuck.

How many times can one person put themselves in harrowing circumstances with no clear reason? How often can Goldy tromp over her friends and lie to everyone under the sun to stick her nose where it doesn't belong? How many map dealers could there possibly be in one small town? And how often can DMD use the phrases "white stuff," "two-step," and "quickstep?" The mystery itself doesn't make much sense, and Goldy vacillates from feeling sorry for Sandy to quaking in her boots at the mere mention of her name.

I used to love this series, but I'm afraid it just went onto my "don't waste your time list."