Saturday, February 20, 2010

Killer Mousse by Melinda Wells

Published: 2008
Pages: 293
Genre: Mystery
Series: Della Cooks Mystery book 1
Della has just started her new cooking show "In the Kitchen With Della". On the day of her first live episode, the worst possible thing happens - a taste tester drops dead after eating Della'a chocolate "killer" mousse. Struggling to prove her innocence, Della discovers family secrets, greed, and the mystery behind the murder.

Who doesn't love a good murder mystery? And to top it all off, this one includes a cooking show! Those are two things that I enjoy, so Killer Mousse was a natural pick off the library shelf for me.

On the whole, this book was pretty decent. The writing is nothing special, and at times I found it to be cheesy. The dialogue was sometimes predictable, and I felt like a few of the characters were flat in terms of their personality. However, I didn't start this novel expecting to find exquisitely written phrases and perfection on every page, so this wasn't a huge deal for me. For what I was expecting, Killer Mousse delivered!

As for the plot, it was original and kept me guessing until the very end. Like I mentioned in my Midway Checkup, I honestly could not figure out the mystery on my own. There were many clues that pointed me in many directions, so I was always anxious to keep on reading! One chapter leads to the next, which leads to you not being able to slip that bookmark in and stop reading.

However, I do have one more complaint. The ending was really abrupt! Della has this huge speech about how she discovered the killer, and whithin the next page or two the novel ends. I would've preferred to find out what happens after she solves the crime, how her cooking show is going, and the criminal's punishment.

Final say: This is a solid start to a series that I hope will soon contain more books. If you enjoy mystery and are looking for an entertaining yet light read, consider Killer Mousse! As long as you don't have high expectations in terms of style and character development, you should be satisfied with this one.

14 comments:

WonderBunny said...

I keep thinking about picking this book up to read but haven't yet. Sounds like I should though, thanks for the review!

Tales of Whimsy said...

Excellent review.
I feel ya on the cheese factor. I think that is one of the things I love best about cozy mysteries.

Emidy @ Une Parole said...

Ruthann: Thanks for visiting! Yes, you should read this one for sure.

Juju: Thank you! I love it too, actually. It's a nice change from those heavy and deep books.

Literary Cravings said...

Great Review I'm interested in reading this book now!! Keep them coming!!!!

Christina T said...

Hi. I found your blog through The Saturday Network.

I like some modern mysteries but I prefer Agatha Christie. I saw on your profile that you like to drink tea. I love tea and usually have three cups a day. Anyway that reminded me of a mystery series involving a tea shop. I only read the first book but I remember that I liked it. The author of the series is Laura Childs and she usually includes tea recipes in the books.

Emidy @ Une Parole said...

Tania: Thanks so much! I'm glad you want to read this one.

Christina: I love Agatha Christie too! I have quite a collection of her books on my bookshelf.

Yay, another tea drinker! That mystery series sounds right up my alley. I'm going to the library soon so I'll try to find those books. Thanks for the recommendation!

Jeanne C. said...

Hi, I found your blog through bookblogs. I like your style. I just started my own blog and am trying to navigate through the rough waters of blogging! Any tips you could share?
Thanks, Jeanne

The Library Lurker said...

Looks like a nice, light read! Great review! By the way, you got an award on my blog!:
http://librarylurker.blogspot.com/2010/02/one-lovely-blog-award.html

Emidy @ Une Parole said...

Jeanne: Thanks so much! I'm glad you enjoy it. I'm pretty new myself so I don't have the same advice that a "pro" would have. But, I'll still go on over to your blog and try to share any tips I have!

Library Lurker: Aw, thanks so much! That's very nice of you!

The Sweet Bonjour said...

Nice review! This looks like an interesting book x

Athira said...

This sounds like a really interesting book! Something for me to check out!! Nice review!

Emidy @ Une Parole said...

Thank you both! I do recommend it.

Hazra said...

Awesome review! The book starts off in a pretty interesting way, and I love mysteries, so I'll look out for this one.

Emidy @ Une Parole said...

Hazra: Thank you! If you enjoy mysteries, I'd definitely recommend this one to you.