Goldy Schulz, caterer deluxe, returns in her 15th appearance in this series. It is summer in Colorado, and she is about to do a wedding for the bride from hell, who has already changed the wedding date twice, along with every other aspect of the nuptials, Bridezilla Billie, as Goldy thinks of her, is 36 years old, and getting married for the first time after having been jilted by two fiancés, and is also apparently a complete flake. The change of venue from Goldy’s own catering space to the Gold Gulch Spa, owned by her nemesis, Victor Lane, is the last straw. When the big day finally arrives, Goldy’s primary thought was a prayer that it would all be over quickly, an emotion I found myself sharing. [The minutiae of the planning was getting to be a bit much, for both of us.]
Goldy’s husband, Tom, is an investigator with the Furman County Sheriff’s Department, and he has his hands full when two days before Bridezilla’s wedding Doc Finn, the best friend of Goldy’s beloved godfather, Jack, is found murdered. Not long afterwards Jack himself, a 58-year-old “recovering lawyer,” is attacked and, after being taken to the hospital, dies from an apparent heart attack. Tom believes the two incidents are related. Goldy is burdened by guilt feelings: Jack had recently moved from New Jersey and bought the house across the street from her just so that they could re-establish their close relationship [in addition to his generous help and support after the break-up of her first marriage]. Just before he dies he gives Goldy a note that appears to refer to the spa, and Goldy arranges to work there to try to find out what Jack was trying to tell her.
There is apparently more going on at the spa, whose clients pay $7,000 per week for the privilege of eating impossibly drab food, than meets the eye. How else to explain why the place is always fully booked, all year long [in Colorado, mind you!], with a waiting list? Goldy’s investigation involves a lot of snooping, a lot of cooking [all gone into in great detail, recipes included at the end of the book], and a lot of danger to herself. I found myself wondering how even a small-town Sheriff’s Department could spare a deputy to not only guard Goldy but assist her in numerous ways in and around the kitchen. But the book is a light read that will be sure to please readers wanting some good cooking tips [and those recipes!] along with their mystery.
