Monday, April 13, 2015

A to Z April: K Reviews - The Kachina Doll Mystery by Carolyn Keene/Killer Pancake by Diane Mott Davidson


To start off this week I've got a couple books to share that are part of a series. Neither of my choices are the first in that series. But one is one of my favorites from the series, and the other is my way from the few K books I've read to fit this series in during the month.


First is The Kachina Doll Myster (Nancy Drew #62) by Carolyn Keene.  I always credit the Nancy Drew series for being a part of my love of reading.  I remember exactly the time when my family was shopping at the local Sears Outlet store, and they had a bunch of the Nancy Drew books there to buy for very reasonable prices.  My mom let me pick up several, and from the minute I started reading them, I was hooked.  I know we had several trips to the bookstores throughout the next few years as I had to buy more and more.  This one was always one of my favorite ones, I think I read it many, many times.  Here is the blurb from Goodreads:
When Nancy arrives at the McGuire's fitness ranch in Arizona, she discovers that the future of the ranch is being threatened by unexplained accidents. Teaming up with a ghost, Nancy begins her search for a precious collection of ancient Kachina dolls and hunts for her elusive adversary, who is determined to prevent the ranch from operating.



Second is Killer Pancake (A Goldy Bear Culinary Mystery #5) by Diane Mott Davidson.  I first discovered this series when I started working at the B. Dalton bookstore at our local shopping mall.  I have never been a big mystery reader, not like these anyway. But as I paged through one and saw the yummy looking recipes, I decided to take one when it was a stripped book and I could try it for free. From that point on I had to buy them.  I'm ashamed to admit that I was lucky enough to get an ARC of the latest book this past year, and then I never got around to reading it.  My reading of adult books sadly gets pushed to the side for all the awesome YA books there are these days.  Here is the blurb from Goodreads for this title:
When Goldy, owner of Goldilocks' Catering, faces the challenge of whipping up a sumptuous lowfat feast for the Mignon Cosmetics' company banquet, she rises to the occasion brilliantly...only to discover just how ugly the beauty biz can be!

On the day of the banquet Goldy finds herself confronting an angry mob of demonstrators--"Spare the Hares"--who object to Mignon Cosmetics' animal-testing policies. As she struggles to carry forty pounds of lowfat fare from her van to the mall where the banquet is being held, she hears an ominous
squeal of tires and a horrifying thump. Seconds later, a Mignon employee lies dead on the pavement. And soon the police discover that this hit-and-run was no
accident.

Now Goldy is enmeshed up to her saute pans in a homicide investigation.  Could the murder have had something to do with Spare the Hares--or with the exotic flower found near the dead body? Though busy serving up Hoisin Turkey and Grand Marnier Cranberry Muffins, Goldy decides to start digging at Mignon's
million-dollar cosmetics counter. But when another murder takes place and Goldy herself is attacked, the caterer turned sleuth knows she must step up her
search for a gruesome killer. For this time was only a warning. Next time she'll be dead--and it won't be pretty.


Those are my two reviews for today.  Have you read either of these series?  Are you a mystery fan?  I guess without realizing it I featured two mystery series today.

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