Crunch Time by Diane Mott Davidson

Crunch Time: A Novel of Suspense 
A Goldy Bear Culinary Mystery
16th in the series
William Marrow
An Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers

Goldy Schultz, Colorado caterer, is in hot water again as she tries to help her friend, employee and fellow chef, Yolanda Garcia.  It seems Yolanda is having a bit of bad luck after breaking up with her "boyfriend".   The rental she is sharing with her great aunt Ferdinanda burns to the ground and arson is suspected.  Then they move in with cop turned private detective Ernest McLeod. Shortly thereafter Ernest is killed and his house goes up in flames.  Goldy, Yolanda, Ferinanda and nine puppies rescued from a puppy mill, barely escape with their lives.

Goldy takes them all in thinking that her house will surely be safe since her husband is a cop but they are not even safe there.  The house is almost burglarized but Golldy's son foils that attempt.  Then another body is found.

Goldy decides it is  Crunch Time and jumps from the frying pan into the investigation of the fires and the murders. Can she stay one step ahead of the killer and keep herself from being their next victim?

My Thoughts

I have enjoyed this series since Catering to Nobody (Goldy, Book 1) but by the 16th installment it must get harder to write for characters. I really had a hard time finishing this book.  The main plot and subplots were very good and I love these characters but the book seem so dragged out and really long. It is over 400 pages and 100 could have easily been cut. The last installment came out in April of 2009 which leads me to believe the author may have struggled a bit with this one and it shows.

An the positive side, Aunt Ferninada is hilarious, her little digs and her amazing wheelchair carried this story.

If you are a fan of this series you will want to read it to keep up with the characters you love but I recommend picking it up at the library unless you have the whole series collected on your keeper shelf.  It will be interesting to see if this is the last we read about Goldy Schultz or if the author brings back a new installment more like the previous editions I loved.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the Amazon Vine Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”