Chopping Spree

Written by Diane Mott Davidson

Narrated by Barbara Rosenblat

Her inventive recipe for mixing first-class suspense and five-star fare has made Diane Mott Davidson a favorite of mystery lovers and a mainstay on major
bestseller lists across the country. Now she has prepared another irresistibly tempting tale spiced with mystery and mayhem …

For Colorado caterer Goldy Schulz, business isn’t just booming—it’s skyrocketing. Her friend Marla is constantly warning her, “Success can kill you.”
But Goldy doesn’t take the warning literally until her next booking: a cocktail party for the Westside Mall’s Elite Shoppers Club.

While setting up, Goldy is nearly run down by a truck with no intention of stopping. Then she finds an old friend in a pile of sale shoes—stabbed with one of
Goldy’s new knives. Goldy must catch the real killer between whipping up Sweethearts’ Swedish Meatballs, Quiche Me Quick, and Diamond Lovers’ Hot Crab
Dip. Why was the victim carrying a powerful narcotic? Who hired a private investigator shortly before the murder? Goldy’s gourmet instincts tell her the final
course in this case will be a real killer.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Oct 24, 2014
• ISBN: 9781490647647

Diane Mott Davidson

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

Reviews for Chopping Spree

[Robin Rison-McCoy · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Narration is horrible- I tried it on two different apps, but couldn’t stand it. Skipped to the end to find out “whodunnit “ , because I’m listening to the whole series and don’t want to miss one, but due to eye dx. must use audiobooks.

[newsieq · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

When Goldy Schulz is hired to cater a jewelry-leasing event in the Elite Shoppers’ Lounge at upscale Westside Mall, she doesn’t count on stumbling over the body of her client and old college chum Barry Dean, the mall’s general manager. Readers count on it, though. After all, murder is all in a day’s work for Goldy, owner of Goldilocks’ Catering and heroine in ten of Diane Mott Davidson’s earlier culinary mysteries, all set in Aspen Meadows, Colorado. Never shy about nosing her way into police investigations, this time Goldy is particularly interested because 22-year-old Julian Teller, her catering assistant, close family friend and niece of Marla Korman – Goldy’s best friend – is in jail charged with the murder. Getting into a fist-waving argument with the victim just before the murder and being caught with his hands on the murder weapon don’t particularly help Julian’s case. Goldy knows for certain Julian couldn’t kill anyone and sets out to find who did. Goldy uncovers several people who had better motives to kill Barry Dean than poor Julian did. Shane Stockham, the mall’s “Gadget Guy;” Teddy Fury, son of another of Goldy’s employees, whom Dean banned from the mall for shoplifting; Ellie McNeely, a banker who was dating Dean and who was likely being two-timed; and Lucas “No-Toe” Holden, who quit suddenly as construction manager for the mall’s renovation project all come under Goldy’s scrutiny. Shopaholism is a peripheral theme in Chopping Spree – but the author isn’t judgmental and doesn’t go overboard into preachiness. The Elite Shoppers’ Lounge, for example, is a club of sorts for shoppers who spend at least $1,000 per week at the mall. And the jewelry-leasing event that precedes the murder features $100,000+ jewelry items being leased for $2-6 thousand per month. Goldy is amazed to learn the Elite Shoppers’ Lounge is home to regular meetings of Shopaholics Anonymous – kind of like an AA group meeting in a bar. Diane Mott Davidson is a tried-and-true mystery writer I’ve been reading since the start of the series in 1990. I’ve been disappointed with the plots of the last few, but with Chopping Spree, I believe the series is back on track. The author is a master at creating multi-dimensional characters and delightfully complex plots – and with Chopping Spree, she’s in top form. Chopping Spree’s pages are also interspersed with ten recipes – with such themed dishes as Shoppers’ Chocolate Truffles and Diamond Lovers’ Hot Crab Dip. First published in Mystery News, August-September 2002.

[rosalita_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Goldilocks' Catering is booming, and Goldy is frazzled by all the work she's getting. She's set to cater a party for rich shoppers at a local mall, and a few days later cater another party for the owner of one of the stores at the mall. Someone ends up dead, and Goldy's beloved one-time assistant Julian is jailed for murder. (At this point, I thought surely I had already read this one, but no.) Oh, and son Arch is about to turn 15, and has the sort of ridiculous demands for a gift that would have gotten me locked in my room until I was 25, rather than being indulged. Sigh.I really, really, really wish the author could control her cartoonish impulses to put Goldy into ridiculous situations that don't just strain credulity, they snap it off at the root. And while I know many teenage boys are jerks, could we just see and hear a little less of this one? Again, the recipes are the real stars here. The rest of it's pretty bad.

[tjsjohanna_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The plot for this mystery revolves around competition and jealousy. With multiple examples of over the top materialism and greed, the list of suspects seems pretty long. Leave it to Goldy to figure out the (literal) clues her friend leaves her. The title is a nice play on words as well, since shopping sprees are very much featured.

[bookczuk · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Goldy meddles, ignores police advice, figures out stuff (like who did it) and drinks a lot of coffee. And, oh yes, she caters, too.Interesting tidbit: too much caffeine can mess up a polygraph. Something to remember if you want your results to appear positive.Recipes far too rich and fattening for me, but I still would like her kitchen.

[pussreboots · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Chopping Spree by Diane Mott Davidson is the 11th book in the Goldy Bear catering series. It is also the only one not performed by Barbara Rosenblat. As I didn't want to revisit familiar characters with a different voice, I read the book in print.Goldy's catering service is taking off. It's the first time ever that she's earned enough money to think about splurging on things. Her now teenage son, Arch, has taken notice and has been bitten by the consumer bug. He wants an expensive guitar for his birthday. Goldy, feeling guilty for all their tight years as a single mother, agrees begrudgingly to get it for him after her catering gig at the new mall is complete.Goldy also needing to pick up her gratuity after the investors' dinner at the mall, stumbles upon her employer among a heap of shoes. Before she do anything about it (like call 911), she's clonked on the head.In fact, Goldy gets clonked on the head a lot in this book. When she's not being clonked on the head, she's drinking espresso — by the gallon it seems.The mystery here revolves around problems with the mall construction. I think the inclusion of a mega mall in the otherwise rural / ski and hiking oriented Aspen Meadow area made believing the events of this book less plausible. Maybe too, it was the change in medium from audio to paper.Then there was Arch's personality. He's usually a good, quiet kid who gets obsessed on his current hobby. Here, he's interested in music but he's so demanding. It's not like him and his personality change seemed mostly there for the sake of motivating the earliest chapters of the mystery.

[dukefan86 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Pretty fast, easy read. I didn't suspect whodunnit before the end.

[casabooks · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Some mystery
Some recipes (actually good ones!)
Some easy characters and reading.
Reading my way thru this series now and in future.
Read in 2004.

[bearette24 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was definitely my least favorite in the series. I enjoyed it - I mean, it's Diane Mott Davidson, how bad can it be? - but there were a lot of materialistic characters, the stakes were low, suspense almost nonexistent, and Goldy's son Arch was almost completely obnoxious (until the end). I kept waiting for some moralizing about the acquisitiveness of the characters, but Goldy almost seemed to be buying into it - going to great lengths to get Arch an expensive guitar, Palm Pilot, etc. - while gorging herself with food. I am pretty sure the series got back on track after this one, however.

[kymmayfield · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was another good one by Davidson, however it wasnt as quick of a read as the others in the series. It wasnt as captivation. However a good read, I would definatley recommend this book and series to others that love mysteries.

[chikkagrl · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I love this series. Great plot, you can't help but fall in love with Goldy and her sleuthing antics. Great recipes as well.

[msbeautiful · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Enjoy this character, love hearing about cooking/recipes