Her first big catering gig in weeks has Goldy Bear Schulz salivating. But before she can collect her Elizabethan-inspired recipes (Queen of Scots Shortbread, Damson-in-Distress Plum Tart) and hie herself to the restored English castle in Colorado where she's putting on a donor's luncheon in Hyde Chapel and a high school fencing banquet in the castle's Great Room, someone blows a hole in her living room window. No sooner has she unloaded her pots and pans at the catering venue than another someone--or maybe the same one--shoots a hole in her detective husband, Tom. To make matters worse, Goldy's ex-husband has just been released from jail, and he seems to have a few reasons to want to kill her, too.

Between trying to solve the riddle of the castle ghost, keep her son Arch and her wounded husband safe, and get the food on the table while it's still hot, Goldy is up to her elbows in trouble. The would-be lord of the manor still looks like a business-builder for Goldy, but his Swiss-born wife seems a little wacky. And even from a sickbed, Tom's got a crime wave on his hands that seems to involve Goldy's ex, his flashy new girlfriend, the castle owner, and the dead man Goldy found floating in the castle moat. Not to mention a woman Tom once loved, who seems to have returned from the dead and is causing Goldy no end of distress. But Diane Mott Davidson's gutsy, multitalented series heroine (Prime Cut, Tough Cookie) triumphs again--the proof is in the reading as well as the eating in this fast-paced, frothy dessert. --Jane Adams


From Publishers Weekly
Culinary sleuth Goldy Schulz finesses another catering job by the skin of her teeth in her 11th warm and fuzzy adventure from bestseller Davidson (Prime Cut, etc.). Goldy is preparing to cater two events at the baronial estate-cum-conference center outside Denver where she and her family are staying. While waiting for a delivery, she discovers the body of one of a gang of philatelic thieves and sees her husband, Tom, wounded by a sniper. A rich feast of false clues and red herrings follows. While Tom recuperates, Goldy is free to investigate the shooter. Embarking on a series of unpleasant and improbable personal encounters, as well as demanding meal preparations, she uncovers a string of clues that not only implicate her hosts, her son's coach and her ex (now out on parole), but raise questions about her marriage to Tom. Fortunately, the author grants Goldy a few brief respites in which to settle her thoughts, allowing the reader to regroup before taking off on the next hectic sequence. Davidson has garnished her story with a rich sauce of old feuds, double-dealing and marital secrets that overwhelms her basic ingredients of credible characters (adolescent son Arch, in particular, rings true), good food and an intriguing puzzle. In the end, Goldy gets her culprit, the guests get their meals and readers, perhaps not so much sated as stuffed, get several excellent recipes. The jacket which sports a teapot in the guise of a surly butler holding a gun will be instantly recognized by the author's devotees. Agent, Sandra Dijkstra. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Aspen Meadows caterer/sleuth Goldy Schulz (Prime Cut) prepares an Elizabethan feast for the owners of a reconstructed castle who hope to open a conference center, but murder interrupts. Lots of action, wit, and several good recipes. Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
Caterer Goldy Schultz is planning several Elizabethan style meals in honor of a huge castle brought over from England to Colorado--that is, if she can keep her head after a body is found on the castle grounds, and her cop husband is wounded, all at nearly the same time. Ensconced in the castle after a picture window is shot out at her house, Goldy is surrounded by a gaggle of characters that all have parts to play: Eliot, lord of the manor, who makes jams during his sleepless nights; the castle caretaker who is also Goldy's teen son Arch's fencing coach; Julian, the vegetarian college student who assists Goldy with charm and panache. The dark side of Goldy's life finds her ex-spouse just out on parole with a new girlfriend who may have ties to Eliot and even to the murder victim. Oh, and there are stolen stamps, too. Some of the bad guys are caricatures, some of the subplots are overstuffed, and there's even a ghost, but Goldy's an engaging companion and her recipes are divine--wait till you try the scones. GraceAnne DeCandido
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Review
“The suspense factor rises higher than a champagne soufflé.”
-People

“A rich feast.”
-Publishers Weekly

“[A] thrilling treat...[a] delicious whodunit.”
-Bon Appétit

“Today’s foremost practitioner of the culinary whodunit.”
-Entertainment Weekly




Review
?The suspense factor rises higher than a champagne soufflé.?
-People

?A rich feast.?
-Publishers Weekly

?[A] thrilling treat...[a] delicious whodunit.?
-Bon Appétit

?Today?s foremost practitioner of the culinary whodunit.?
-Entertainment Weekly




Book Description
Celebrated for her unique blend of first-class suspense and five-star fare, Diane Mott Davidson has won scores of fans and earned a place on major bestseller lists across the country. Now she dishes up another dangerously tasty treat of murder and mystery.

For Colorado caterer Goldy Schulz, accepting a series of bookings at Hyde Castle is like a dream come true. It’s not every day that she gets to cook authentic Elizabethan fare--especially at a real castle that was brought over from England and reassembled stone by stone in Aspen Meadow. Goldy is determined that everything will go right--which is why, she figures later, everything went terribly wrong. It begins when a shotgun blast shatters her window. Then Goldy discovers a body lying in a nearby creek. And when shots ring out for the second time that day, someone Goldy loves is in the line of fire. Suddenly the last thing Goldy wants to think about is Shakespeare’s Steak Pie, 911 Chocolate Emergency Cookies, or Damson-in-Distress Plum Tart. Could one of her husband Tom’s police investigations have triggered a murder? Or was her violent, recently paroled ex responsible? With death peering around every corner, Goldy needs to cook up some crime-solving solutions--before the only dish that’s left on her menu is murder.


From the Inside Flap
Celebrated for her unique blend of first-class suspense and five-star fare, Diane Mott Davidson has won scores of fans and earned a place on major bestseller lists across the country. Now she dishes up another dangerously tasty treat of murder and mystery.

For Colorado caterer Goldy Schulz, accepting a series of bookings at Hyde Castle is like a dream come true. It’s not every day that she gets to cook authentic Elizabethan fare--especially at a real castle that was brought over from England and reassembled stone by stone in Aspen Meadow. Goldy is determined that everything will go right--which is why, she figures later, everything went terribly wrong. It begins when a shotgun blast shatters her window. Then Goldy discovers a body lying in a nearby creek. And when shots ring out for the second time that day, someone Goldy loves is in the line of fire. Suddenly the last thing Goldy wants to think about is Shakespeare’s Steak Pie, 911 Chocolate Emergency Cookies, or Damson-in-Distress Plum Tart. Could one of her husband Tom’s police investigations have triggered a murder? Or was her violent, recently paroled ex responsible? With death peering around every corner, Goldy needs to cook up some crime-solving solutions--before the only dish that’s left on her menu is murder.

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review

When the sound of broken glass shatters her sleep, Colorado caterer and meddling sleuth Goldy Schulz doesn't know what to think. Is it a gunshot? A bomb? An earthquake? And where the heck is her husband, Tom, when she needs him most?

But Tom is away for the night, working a case for the Colorado police department. So Goldy's on her own and the timing couldn't be worse, with her first big gig in five weeks only a few hours away.

The job is a huge Elizabethan banquet, a luncheon at a Gothic chapel on a grand old English estate owned by nouveau millionaires Eliot and Sukie Hyde. And in spite of the late-night scare at Goldy's home, it looks like she just might pull the lavish event off without a hitch-until she discovers a disfigured body floating face down in the creek that winds past the chapel. To make matters worse, the body belongs to Andy Balachek, an on-the-lam suspect who Tom's been looking for in connection to a stolen stamp ring. When Tom arrives on the scene and gets shot by a sniper, Goldy can't help but wonder: What else could possibly go wrong?

She shouldn't have asked. Because with an angry ex-husband out of jail and out for revenge￯﾿ﾽa ghost haunting Hyde Castle and stirring up one disaster after another at the worst possible moments￯﾿ﾽtwo dissatisfied former clients determined to ruin her career￯﾿ﾽand Tom keeping secrets about a beautiful mystery woman from his past, Goldy's got more on her plate than any caterer can handle-even an invincible caterer like Goldy!

Bestselling author Diane Mott Davidson's got all the ingredients for a five-star mystery-including mouthwatering recipes for Castle Scones, Queen of Scots Shortbread, Damson-in-Distress Plum Tart, Shuttlecock Shrimp Curry and Shakespeare's Steak Pie-in this culinary whodunit, sure to satisfy her most discriminating fans.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Celebrated for her unique blend of first-class suspense and five-star fare, Diane Mott Davidson has won scores of fans and earned a place on major bestseller lists across the country. Now she dishes up another dangerously tasty treat of murder and mystery.

For Colorado caterer Goldy Schulz, accepting a series of bookings at Hyde Castle is like a dream come true. It’s not every day that she gets to cook authentic Elizabethan fare—especially at a real castle that was brought over from England and reassembled stone by stone in Aspen Meadow. Goldy is determined that everything will go right—which is why, she figures later, everything went terribly wrong. It begins when a shotgun blast shatters her window. Then Goldy discovers a body lying in a nearby creek. And when shots ring out for the second time that day, someone Goldy loves is in the line of fire. Suddenly the last thing Goldy wants to think about is Shakespeare’s Steak Pie, 911 Chocolate Emergency Cookies, or Damson-in-Distress Plum Tart. Could one of her husband Tom’s police investigations have triggered a murder? Or was her violent, recently paroled ex responsible? With death peering around every corner, Goldy needs to cook up some crime-solving solutions—before the only dish that’s left on her menu is murder.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Culinary sleuth Goldy Schulz finesses another catering job by the skin of her teeth in her 11th warm and fuzzy adventure from bestseller Davidson (Prime Cut, etc.). Goldy is preparing to cater two events at the baronial estate-cum-conference center outside Denver where she and her family are staying. While waiting for a delivery, she discovers the body of one of a gang of philatelic thieves and sees her husband, Tom, wounded by a sniper. A rich feast of false clues and red herrings follows. While Tom recuperates, Goldy is free to investigate the shooter. Embarking on a series of unpleasant and improbable personal encounters, as well as demanding meal preparations, she uncovers a string of clues that not only implicate her hosts, her son's coach and her ex (now out on parole), but raise questions about her marriage to Tom. Fortunately, the author grants Goldy a few brief respites in which to settle her thoughts, allowing the reader to regroup before taking off on the next hectic sequence. Davidson has garnished her story with a rich sauce of old feuds, double-dealing and marital secrets that overwhelms her basic ingredients of credible characters (adolescent son Arch, in particular, rings true), good food and an intriguing puzzle. In the end, Goldy gets her culprit, the guests get their meals and readers, perhaps not so much sated as stuffed, get several excellent recipes. The jacket which sports a teapot in the guise of a surly butler holding a gun will be instantly recognized by the author's devotees. Agent, Sandra Dijkstra. (Apr. 10) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

Caterer Goldy Schulz has a dream assignment and a couple of dilemmas. She is hired to create a series of Elizabethan meals to serve at Hyde Castle, a residence imported stone-by-stone from England to Colorado complete with medieval plumbing and ghosts. While her policeman husband is out of town on a case, someone shoots through her living room window early one morning. En route to the castle, Goldy sees a dead man in the creek; while she waits for the sheriff to arrive, someone shoots at her. A woman from her husband's past arrives from Vietnam, ostensibly for medical treatment. Why was the European-born fencing instructor arguing with Hyde Castle's owner? Why was the dead man fencing rare stamps? The subplots keep this a lively story, which is enhanced by Cherry Jones's energetic narration. For mystery fans. Nann Blaine Hilyard, Lake Villa Dist. Lib., IL Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

While her homicide cop husband Tom is off in New Jersey chasing a trio of lethal stamp thieves, caterer Goldie Schultz, the pride of Aspen Meadow, Colorado, has to vacate her house on the very day she's set to cook up an Elizabethan banquet for Eliot and Sukie Hyde-because an unknown sniper shoots out the front window. The Hydes offer Goldie and her son Arch temporary lodgings in their castle, brought over from England and reconstructed brick by brick, where a ghost roams, a stunning fencing teacher and daughter of the deceased caretaker shares a deep dark secret with Eliot, and the body of Andy Balachek, one of the stamp thieves, lies a-moldering by the rocks near the castle chapel. Tom flies back in time to get nicked in the shoulder by another sniper's bullet, and while he rests up in Goldie's castle quarters, his former fiancée, Sara Beth O'Malley, a nurse presumed dead in Vietnam, stakes out the Schultz house. Even worse, Goldie's ex, The Jerk, has been released from prison and is romancing Viv Martini, whose previous liaisons include both Eliot and a larcenous philatelist. The ghost pops in and out, former clients of Goldie stop by to criticize, a fencing demonstration goes awry, but Goldie still finds time to visit stamp-dealers, confer with her ex's other ex, cook up everything from steak pies to plum tarts, and sort through the wildly overstuffed plot. Like its nine predecessors (Tough Cookie, 2000, etc.), Sticks includes a batch of tasty recipes that make Goldie's cooking sound a lot easier to swallow than her adventures. Author tour