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kloman's review against another edition
2.0
The funniest part about this book was the dog named Dammit. The mystery wasn’t really a mystery. There were some likeable characters but this book was about 100 pages too long for what it was. If you’re from the Memphis area, you’ll notice the name-dropping of some obvious landmarks (multiple times) but it’s basically like a book set in New York with only scenes in Times Square or Central Park. Memphis ain’t the Mayberry this book makes it out like. Left me with a hankering for pulled pork but not the second book.
kchinapps's review against another edition
1.0
I couldn't even finish this book. It's very jumpy and I'm not used to the style of writing the author uses. I would not recommend this book and I'm not sure if I'll even read something else written by the author.
akipper's review against another edition
1.0
Plot was okay. Way to many supporting characters. Never really knew who the main character was. The only character development or back story was about a relatively minor character. Finished it because I am a little OCD about not finishing a book I start.
tregina's review
2.0
I am still on my quest to find a cozy mystery series that I love. This was not it. At best, it made me hungry. (Actually, it makes me hungry just thinking about it.) But the POV drifted from head to head constantly, the characters were almost all one-dimensional, and there was no urgency to the murder mystery at all.
pkatrinaanne's review
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
mbbb72's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
cheesygiraffe's review against another edition
4.0
Excellent start to a cozy mystery. The characters were great and very funny. I loved the Graces, Lulu and the twins. It makes me want to go to Memphis and eat BBQ on Beale St. while listening to the Blues. W.C. Handy is mentioned and he was born where I live now in Florence, AL. There is a statue of him in the park downtown.
git_r_read's review against another edition
5.0
I have been perusing a couple of maps and seeing what DH thinks about a trip to Memphis someday. After reading this book, the start of this delectable series, I hope we can go soon. We will go on our wee tour of the best BBQ joint. Would that Aunt Pat's was a real place.
Until the trip, I will happily read more of this series and dream of ribs, spicy cornbread, coleslaw, red beans and rice.....sigh.....
Lulu is an older woman, has kids, grandkids, but the reader isn't left with any kind of certain age nor of any kind of age-related issues that would keep Lulu from finding the cause of the death of producer from the Cooking Channel. She knows it just could not be her restaurant, but where or who would do this?
Besides Lulu, my favorite characters are the Graces, docents at Graceland who come in on quite a regular basis. They are good friends and confidants and each has a spectacular personality and can't wait to read more about them in future books.
Five BBQ is AWESOME beans.....
Until the trip, I will happily read more of this series and dream of ribs, spicy cornbread, coleslaw, red beans and rice.....sigh.....
Lulu is an older woman, has kids, grandkids, but the reader isn't left with any kind of certain age nor of any kind of age-related issues that would keep Lulu from finding the cause of the death of producer from the Cooking Channel. She knows it just could not be her restaurant, but where or who would do this?
Besides Lulu, my favorite characters are the Graces, docents at Graceland who come in on quite a regular basis. They are good friends and confidants and each has a spectacular personality and can't wait to read more about them in future books.
Five BBQ is AWESOME beans.....
kairosdreaming's review against another edition
3.0
I am a big fan of BBQ. Really, I could eat it every day no problem. So of course a mystery novel that would involve BBQ would be an eye-catcher for me. Well I found this book ok, not as much food description as I would have liked and highly predictable, but still cozy all the same.
Lulu is the proud owner of Aunt Pat's Bar-B-Que located in Memphis, TN. She is especially proud this week because a food scout/reporter from the Cooking Channel is coming to interview her for a segment on best bbqs. Lulu knows her food is good enough, she has several regulars to prove it; like the old blues playing gentlemen and the Graces (bit odd women who are docents for Graceland and obsessed with all things Elvis). But what she isn't prepared for is how rude the reporter is and how insulting. It is no great surprise when this same reporter ends up dead of poisoning not long after. Unfortunately for Lulu though, it was right after eating some BBQ. Even though the police are on the case, Lulu is determined to catch the murderer, but isn't happy when a lot of the clues lead her to her friends and family.
The characters in this book are very two-dimensional. It seems the author chose an attribute for each and then pounds that fact into our heads without developing them further. For an example, Lulu has a chef son Ben and Ben likes to hunt. We only know this because it is about the only thing said about him, and after all that, I still don't think he ever gets to go hunting. In fact, Lulu herself is the only one who is really more developed than the rest. But that is probably because she occupies a good part of the novel and we spend the most time with her. It seems the author could have cut down on the characters some instead of having tons and not developing them fully.
The plot was very predictable. I knew who the murderer was about 1/3 of the way into the book despite the author's best attempts to lead me elsewhere. She just made it too easy. She did throw in one little surprise, but it wasn't enough to save the book from the easy guessing game. It was nicely written, very cozy and a good light read. But for being a foodie novel I was a bit disappointed with how often food was mentioned. Sure it redeemed itself a bit with including recipes in the end, but I still would have liked to hear more about the food.
It's not a terrible book but it could have been a bit more mysterious. I did like reading it and it was a nice easy read to get into. It just would have been better if it was harder to solve the mystery and included more food. I'll probably check out some of the others in this like-genre though.
Delicious and Suspicious
Copyright 2010
269 pages + recipes
Review by M. Reynard 2011
Lulu is the proud owner of Aunt Pat's Bar-B-Que located in Memphis, TN. She is especially proud this week because a food scout/reporter from the Cooking Channel is coming to interview her for a segment on best bbqs. Lulu knows her food is good enough, she has several regulars to prove it; like the old blues playing gentlemen and the Graces (bit odd women who are docents for Graceland and obsessed with all things Elvis). But what she isn't prepared for is how rude the reporter is and how insulting. It is no great surprise when this same reporter ends up dead of poisoning not long after. Unfortunately for Lulu though, it was right after eating some BBQ. Even though the police are on the case, Lulu is determined to catch the murderer, but isn't happy when a lot of the clues lead her to her friends and family.
The characters in this book are very two-dimensional. It seems the author chose an attribute for each and then pounds that fact into our heads without developing them further. For an example, Lulu has a chef son Ben and Ben likes to hunt. We only know this because it is about the only thing said about him, and after all that, I still don't think he ever gets to go hunting. In fact, Lulu herself is the only one who is really more developed than the rest. But that is probably because she occupies a good part of the novel and we spend the most time with her. It seems the author could have cut down on the characters some instead of having tons and not developing them fully.
The plot was very predictable. I knew who the murderer was about 1/3 of the way into the book despite the author's best attempts to lead me elsewhere. She just made it too easy. She did throw in one little surprise, but it wasn't enough to save the book from the easy guessing game. It was nicely written, very cozy and a good light read. But for being a foodie novel I was a bit disappointed with how often food was mentioned. Sure it redeemed itself a bit with including recipes in the end, but I still would have liked to hear more about the food.
It's not a terrible book but it could have been a bit more mysterious. I did like reading it and it was a nice easy read to get into. It just would have been better if it was harder to solve the mystery and included more food. I'll probably check out some of the others in this like-genre though.
Delicious and Suspicious
Copyright 2010
269 pages + recipes
Review by M. Reynard 2011