Dark Tort: Diane Mott Davidson

By JULIETTE ROSSANT What do you read a murder mystery for? Delectable descriptions of culinary masterpieces or recipes? Why not! Especially if it is in a page-turner like Dark Tort (William Morrow 2006) from master murder mystery writer Diane Mott Davidson -- great read, fun recipes. The book is due out next month, so here is a preview. The first page of the book is a comic scene of the discovery of the body: The bag of flour I was carrying slid from my hands and exploded on the carpet. Two jars of yeast plummeted onto the coffee table, where they burst into shards and powder. My last bottle of molasses sailed in a wide arc and cracked open on the receptionist's cherry-wood desk. A thick wave of sweet, dark liquid befan a gluey descent across the phone console. My steel bowl of bread sponge catapulted out of my arms and hit the wall. (p. 1) Two jars of yeast and sponge? And how do you get molasses out of anything electronic? Don't dwell on either question since the fast-paced book doesn't dwell on the law firm where the body was found. Goldy eventually returns home where she and her detective husband and her assistant make a feast for the family of the dead girl, who live across the street: I surveyed our offerings: Julian's steaming, golden-crusted savory pie. Tom's precisely arranged tomato salad, the breadbasket with its pats of butter, my spicy apple Betty with its crumbly crust. Without realizing it, we'd all created concotions that demanded the precise cutting of vegetables and fruit, as if organizing food could somehow order experience and make life neat." (p. 61) As the mystery surrounding the murder unfolds, complete with paintings about recipes, and more deaths, Davidson seamlessly has her heroine cooking and serving food. To reveal more would spoil a wonderful read, but it is no spoiler to say that Dark Tort should prove to be a hot summer read. It's an ideal read: you get some fun mental exercise and leave the beach, thinking about not just who killed Dusty Routt but also a great idea for supper -- all thanks to caterer and amateur sleuth Goldy Schulz. Now, were a certain Food-focused television channel (or a competitor) serious about producing quality content, to further garner long-time audience loyalty, it might consider making Diane's books into a special TV series, to put the channel on a footing with PBS's Mystery! -- but that's just speculating aloud....... Book details: Publisher Amazon.com Barnes &Noble Previous articles: [Cookbook Reviews - complete] Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, blogging, food blogging --> back to superchefblog