Review - A Catered Valentine's Day
The Latest Culinary Mystery by Isis Crawford
"A Catered Valentine's Day," released in January 2007, is a delightful holiday cozy mystery, in the spirit of culinary authors like Diane Mott Davidson and Cleo Coyle.
A Catered Valentine's Day is the fourth culinary mystery novel by writer, Isis Crawford. The series features caterers and bake-shop owners Libby and Bernie Simmons, their ex-police father, and a host of eccentric friends. That they enjoy solving local mysteries just adds to their popularity.
The story begins when Libby's boyfriend's father, a local funeral director, comes to the two sisters with a desperate problem. He leads them to a remote area of the local cemetery where a body, thought buried weeks ago has turned up in someone else's grave. That the original deceased was burned beyond recognition and this body is not just adds to the confusion. Anxious not to be blamed for the mix-up, the funeral director asks the girls to find the truth to the situation.
"A Little Taste of Heaven"
In between investigating, Libby and Bernie run "A Little Taste of Heaven," a small-town New York bakeshop and caterer. For Valentine's Day, they are working with another local food store, "Just Chocolate," to prepare exotic chocolates and food for a fundraiser. That the proprietor of "Just Chocolate" happens to be the wife of the newly-found deceased just adds to the tension. Is she a victim too, or does she know more than she's telling?
Finding a Killer
Between preparing for the fundraiser, having a new oven installed, running the shop, and dealing with the antics of one errant boyfriend, the two sisters manage to root out more than a few secrets. But, will they be able to get to the heart of the mystery before someone else is killed?
A Catered Valentine's Day is a fun, cozy mystery with likeable characters and a plausible plot. What's more: the book includes four yummy-sounding dessert recipes at the end. I eager to read Crawford's other novels: A Catered Murder, A Catered Wedding, and A Catered Christmas.
About Isis Crawford
Isis Crawford has lived all over the world, the daughter of parents in the United States diplomatic corps. She spent her youth in Westchester County, where her parents retired and her mother opened a restaurant. She is the author of three other Bernie and Libby Simmons mystery novels and lives in Hastings-on-Hudson New York with her twin boys.
Related Links
- Shop for your own copy of A Catered Valentine's Day
- Dark Tort by Diane Mott Davidson, another culinary cozy
- Through the Grinder, a coffee mystery by Cleo Coyle
- Murder Most Frothy, another Cleo Coyle mystery
