Catering to Nobody by Diane Mott Davidson

I enjoyed the one of these that I read recently, so I decided to go ahead and add Goldy Bear to my circle of murder mysteries. This is the first one, and although I am quite sure that I read it back whenever, I really didn't remember much about it at all. I guess I vaguely knew that she met Tom Schulz right away - but I didn't remember that he pursued her so intently from the very start. And I didn't remember the plot at all. I was surprised at every turn. I suppose one could wonder if the books I read are so bland or repetitive that they are not memorable. I think that it is a personal gift of my own, to remember so little that I can reread with enjoyment.

The basic framework is established in this book. There's Goldy, of course, and her fearless sidekick and fellow ex-wife, Marla. There is son, Arch - eleven and in the sixth grade at this point. There is handsome, charming, and abusive ex, John Richard Korman (AKA the JeRK), whom Davidson's publishers have forbidden her to kill (according to the foreword to this later edition) in spite of repeated requests from readers. I seem to remember that she does kill him several books down the line - he wasn't present in the later book which I read recently. Young Chef Julian is not yet present, but the young person present in this book is a total loser and cannot possibly return for another volume. The canine and feline inhabitants of the Schulz home have not yet put in an appearance - of course, it isn't the Schulz residence yet, although Schulz is very much a presence.

The book opens with Goldy catering the feed following the funeral of the woman who was Arch's teacher for both third and fifth grade, a supposed suicide. As experienced readers of murder mysteries, we know that it can't possibly be a suicide, she had to have been murdered. Someone attempts to poison Goldy's ex-father-in-law - and suspicion falls on Goldy, whose catering business is forthwith and immediately shut down - hence the title.
Goldy dives fully into the investigation, because she sees that as the only way to get back in business - and her personal pride depends on maintaining her independence. All the usual events, including the "deadly peril" episode - the resolution of which involves a molotov cocktail and a swarm of bees.

All good fun - now I have to go read another chapter on the history of curriculum in America. Actually, I am enjoying that, too. Even though it does interfere with my time for reading tripe. I am looking forward to this summer - I am not working for a change - and my goal is to read a book a day. There is this class that is being offered that sounds like fun though and ... at $5 per credit hour, it is hard to pass up the opportunity to live the dream. I always thought it would be fun to just hang around and take whatever courses sounded interesting - and now, finally, I can afford it.