Tough Cookie

Written by Diane Mott Davidson

Narrated by Cherry Jones

A deliciously deadly novel by the New York Times bestselling author of Prime Cut.

Diane Mott Davidson's unique blend of first-class suspense and five-star fare has won her scores of fans and propelled her onto major bestseller lists across the country. Now she returns with her hottest entree yet, serving up another tantalizing menu for murder....

When caterer Goldy Schulz is offered a temporary stint hosting a cooking show for PBS, she jumps at the chance. After all, she could use the money -- not to mention the great exposure. Plus taping the shows at Colorado's posh Killdeer Ski Resort will be fun. A little cooking, a little chitchat. What could go wrong?

The answer: everything! When Goldy has to do one of her shows live for a PBS telethon, the broadcast is riddled with culinary catastrophes -- from the Chesapeake Crab Cakes right down to the Ice-Capped Gingersnaps. But the deadliest dish of all comes after the cameras go off -- and a baffling accident claims a life. Then a series of suspicious mishaps places Goldy's own life in jeopardy, and she knows she'd better whip up her own crime-solving recipe, and fast -- before a deadly dash of danger ends her cooking career once and for all....


From the Paperback edition.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio
• Release date: Jul 5, 2000
• ISBN: 9780553750638

Diane Mott Davidson

Diane Mott Davidson is the author of seventeen bestselling novels. She divides her time between Colorado and Florida.

Reviews for Tough Cookie

[tjsjohanna_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Sometimes the murderer is exactly who you think it is, even though you are trying to give people the benefit of the doubt instead of going for first impressions! As always the food sounds delicious, and Goldy gets herself involved in the latest murder case in spite of herself.

[whybehave2002 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I love these cozy mysteries but for some reason I am hungry the entire time I am reading ;)

[bookczuk · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

An old book on tape that I listened to while up in the cabin, working on some art projects and household maintenance that needed to be done. It's got Goldy. It's got Tom. It's got Marla, and it's got Arch. It's got bad guys, and a whole lot of things happening that normal ski towns and police departments don't have. And the audio version doesn't have recipes. Sigh. Rounded up to 3

[pussreboots · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Tough Cookie by Diane Mott Davidson is the ninth in the Goldy Bear Culinary Mystery series. It's winter again. Goldy's catering catering business is suffering because her kitchen doesn't have an up to date drainage. To keep busy, she's taken on a cooking show on the local PBS, which is filmed at the top of the nearby ski resort.Goldy in her usual well meaning way, ends up in the middle of an old mystery — an avalanche death. In fact it seems lots and lots of people seem to have trouble getting down the mountain uninjured (or alive).Toss into the mix the usual colorful characters who all have a reason or two to want to go on a killing spree. Of course, Goldy ends up being both the focus of the investigation, and the prime target!

[bsquaredinoz · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The 9th book in the Goldy Bear Culinary series finds Colorado caterer Goldy Schulz (nee Bear) performing for a TV cooking show and looking for work as a personal chef because her commercial kitchen has been closed by the health inspector. A man she used to date and is now trying to sell some antique skis to dies on the ski slopes and when Police decide he may have been murdered Goldy looks a likely suspect so she investigates to clear her name. At the same time she starts looking into the deaths of two people who died in separate incidents on the same ski slopes three years earlier.

Perhaps it’s because I’ve read so many of these (there are 15 in the series and I’ve read 10 though not in order) but it was all fairly predictable. There are the requisite number of mis-directed suspects, red-herrings and scenes of turmoil for the plucky protagonist but there wasn’t a single surprise in it for me. The description of food preparation is, as always, hunger inducing but not really enough to sustain a book. In fact if I hadn’t found such a perfectly comfortable reading spot I’d have been tempted not to bother finishing simply because I felt like I’d read it all before.

I am a little tired of the characters too. All the men in Goldy’s life are too one-dimensional to be believable: her ex-husband is evil incarnate and her current husband is so perfect that neither seems particularly realistic. Goldy’s friend Marla is the only character I actually like as she has a sense of humour and also seems more credible than the rest of the cardboard cutouts that populate the book.

I think perhaps I’ve reached my saturation point with this particular sleuthing caterer and it’s time to look elsewhere for my cosy reading.

[willowone_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Goldy Schulz, caterer extraordinaire, has been shut down by the health department. In an unexpected visit to her home several violations have been found and in order to resume business these items must be fixed. Goldy begins working for a PBS cooking show to try and make enough money to make renovations. Goldy's husband Tom decides that he could sell some of his military memorabilia to help out and that is were is all unravels. Tom has an old pair of skis that are supposedly worth ten thousand dollars. Goldy finds a buyer, who happens to an old acquaintance. What Goldy doesn't know is how this man connects to many parts of two previous mysteries and how this is just the start of a very tangled web.I was impressed with Mrs. Davidson's mystery writing ability. I liked the fact that she did not gush about her recipes through her characters and I was captivated and kept guessing until the very end.

[caroren_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Culinary mystery, filled with lots of fun and recipes, plus an exciting plot. Goldy Schultz is trying to get her catering business up and running again, while making some extra cash doing a series of cooking shows at an Aspen ski resort, where a dead body is found.

[krissa_6 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This series has grown, and I like the changes it’s making. Not only has Goldie and her family grown and changed, she has ‘matured’ too. She doesn’t do (as many) stupid things as she used to (I equate it to the girl that goes by herself down in to the dark basement in a horror movie.). I think Tom has been a good influence on her. And yet they are not less interesting, and there is not less action. For a caterer she gets sucked in to a lot. I like that they are light, fast reads. It bothered me a little that this one (and I think the last one) were ‘out of town’. But I guess there can only be so many murders in one small town before it get hokey. And it’s as good of way as any other to get new blood (no pun intended) into a series. Definitely and addict, and will definitely be finishing the series. =D

[kingsportlibrary · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The main character in Diane Mott Davidson's Tough Cookie is a caterer, meaning the book is riddled with cooking metaphors and references. It also contains several recipes which is a neat twist. Any fellow cookbook-for-pleasure readers will enjoy this book. The mystery part of the book is a bit too obvious and somewhat unbelievable, but the book is worth reading for someone looking to read a quick, easy book for fun.

[msbeautiful · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Enjoy this character, love hearing about cooking/recipes