The Cereal Murders

Media:	Mass Market Paperback
Author:	Diane Mott Davidson
Publisher:	Crimeline
Release date:	01 August, 1994
Our price:	$7.50

The Cereal Murders

Average rating: Stars

Class ranking can be deadly!

Keith Andrews is the valedictorian of Elk Park Prep School, where caterer Goldy Bear's son Arch attends. When Keith is found dead, the supposedly tranquil environment of the school is shattered. Goldy suddenly finds herself surrounded with frantic parents whose main goal in life seems to be to get their child into the best college possible. Dirty tricks abound as Goldy's house and vehicle are vandalized and her boarder Justin finds a dead snake hanging in his locker. Goldy's love interest, homicide detective Tom Schulz is concerned for her safety and he urges her to stop investigating the murder. As usual, Goldy ignores his advice and soon finds herself in danger. The characters in this series are being nicely developed in this third entry, and this book offers up the usual tasty read by author Davidson.

The Cereal Murders - Diane Mott Davidson

Good read-really 3 1/2 STARS

I've actually started reading the Goldy Bear Culinary Series in order, which is unusual for me, so this is my third, and so far my favorite. The characters, town and overall setting really come together. Major personality development with Julian and Arch, which is very satisfying and offers some humor. Less mean old ex-husband which is a nice change and the set up for more between Goldy and Tom will keep fans coming back for more in this series.

The only disappointment is the premise for the mystery is a bit far fetched -- who in their right mind would leave their kid in an "exclusive" prep school after 2 murders? Because the author writes this with humor and a bit tongue and cheek, most will get by this litle snag.

Diane Mott Davidson - The Cereal Murders

Okay, but ...

I relish my down-time from a high-stress job, I love novels and mysteries and fantasies, I love to escape into the pages of a well-written, intelligent, funny, engaging book, and okay, a bit of romance is just fine too, thank you. Having heard about the Goldy series from a friend as light diversion with yummy recipes, I took this book out of the library (a great source to check out books before I may want to purchase them and make them part of my personal library), and started with number 3 (which I ordinarily disdain) since numbers 1 and 2 were out. I did go into this with an open mind, and although I plowed through, wondering who the murderer was and where Goldy's relationship with Tom was headed, and would the kids be okay, I was generally disappointed in the prose and, finally, the mystery. The latter was a bit of a stretch, and the former just felt rather pedestrian. There were some good lines and evocative moments, and some of the culinary passages were tasty indeed, but perhaps my disaffection comes from having just whipped through the 4 truly erudite, hilarious mysteries by the late Sarah Caudwell, which kept me stimulated and entertained (AND I found that I had to consult my dictionary several times as well!). I am also a huge fan of Elizabeth Peters and the Amelia Peabody series----witty, clever, funny, romantic, and educational (I know a lot more about Egyptology, archeology, and turrn-of-the-century history than I did before reading those books). So, although there's NOTHING wrong with ligher, less challenging offerings, I found the Cereal Murders overall less satisfying (for me) as a mystery and as a novel than the books by Caudwell & Peters. If your tastes run more to the latter, Davidson may not be a writer you want to spend oodles of time with. Not bad, but not great. Me, I'm passing on any more Davidson books and opening up the new Kinky Friedman book...

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