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Publication Order of Goldy Schulz Books
Publication Order of Goldy Schulz Non-Fiction Books
Diane Mott Davidson is an American mystery writer who was born in the year 1949, in Charlottesville Virginia. She was educated at St. Anne’s School in Charlottesville, where her English teacher encouraged her to pursue he dreams of becoming a writer.
After leaving her home town, she attended the prestigious Wellesley College, where she was named a Wellesley scholar. Eventually she transferred to Stanford University where she completed her studies in Art History and Political Science. She eventually continued her education and received a Masters Degree in Art History from the prestigious Johns Hopkins.
She settled down in Colorado where she taught Bible studies for adults and is license to preach. She has been married for over forty (40) years, has three sons and two grandchildren. Diane Mott Davidson’s work is interesting in that there is the constant theme of food.
Her novels all have food based phrases as their title, and the main protagonist is a caterer from a small town in Colorado who solves mysteries in her spare time. To make the food experience complete there are recipes in each book.
Goldy Shulz (née Bear): catering to mystery
The main character in all of Diane Mott Davidson’s novels is Goldy Shulz. Goldy is a caterer living in the fictional town of Aspen Meadows. She is recently divorced and trying to make a decent living for her and her young son.
Has the number of novels has increased so have the number of characters that interact with Goldy and affect her on a professional and personal scale. This makes Goldy an interesting and ever evolving character.
Catering to Nobody Published in the Year 1990
This is our first glimpse into the life of Goldy Bear (Shulz) and her son Arch. The novel involves Goldy catering the wake of her son’s teacher, not a great gig, but simple enough. The trouble begins when Goldy’s ex-father in law, Fritz Korman, drinks from a poisoned cup at the wake.
Goldy is accused of the act and decides to get to the bottom of the mystery herself. She meets a myriad of characters including the amorous Tom Shulz who courts her. In the end, with the help of her son Arch and by searching for connections between Fritz, the deceased teacher and almost all of the residents in the town, she solves the mystery.
Dying for Chocolate Published in the Year 1992
In the second installment in the series we are once more transported to Aspen Meadows Colorado. Goldy is worried that her abusive ex husband, Dr. Korman, or the jerk as Goldy likes to call him, will follow through on his renewed threats. This leads her to installing a security system, which causes her and Arch to move into the General Bo Farquhar’S mansion for the summer are a live in cook.
The General is an eccentric person retired munitions and terrorist expert. The novel also sees the introduction of a new flame for Goldy in the form of an old flame, psychologist Philip Miller. This puts Tom Shulz on the back burner, but soon enough Miller is involved in a horrible head on collision and perishes. Goldy, who was following Philip at the time, suspects foul play and uses her skill set to get to the bottom of the mystery.
Diane Mott Davidson’s heroine will once more set things right and provide excellent food in the process.
Recipes Abound: More about Diane Mott Davidson
There are many endearing qualities to the novels that Diane Mott Davidson produces. They are all easy reading, evenly paced, flowing works with quirky memorable character and an original heroine. This would be enough to get most readers to puck up one of her novels, but there is a hidden aspect to these books that make them that much more delectable.
Goldilocks catering is a working business. It is the catering company for the wealthy citizens of Aspen Meadows Colorado. The premise of the novels is based precisely on this aspect of her life. The thought of a mystery solving, single parent caterer, should be enough to get most people intrigued about the novel, but the fact that the dishes Goldy prepares are provided as recipes within the novel is wonderful.
This is a truly original idea, furthermore the recipes are really good. I’ve tried the mayonnaise and the guacamole from Catering to Nobody and found them both easy and delicious. Here we really get into the loves of the writer. Diane Mott Davidson not only weaves wonderfully entertaining stories, but manages to incorporate her love of cooking into her work.
Honestly attempting the recipes gives a different layer to the story. You are actually brought into the fiction somewhat by being able to taste that which the characters are enjoying on the page. This makes the process more that just a simple reading experience.
In a round about way it brings the element of taste to literature. This was a concept that was only accomplished though cook books, which lack the narrative quality of a good novel. There has been a change to the way in which these recipes are presented.
In the first 11 novels the recipes were woven into the story, but with the release of Double Shot they were compiled and placed at the end of the novel. Personally I enjoyed the discovery of a recipe within the story itself. Diane Mott Davidson has taken an idea and ran with it.
She has now published 16 books in the Goldy Shulz series and shows no signs of stopping. The novels have become must reads for most of her followers, some of whom have been following Goldy’s exploits since the year 1990.
It is incredible that an author can keep a character fresh and pertinent over a period of 25 years yet Diane Mott Davidson has managed to do just that. I am sure there a still a few mysteries to be solved in Aspen Meadows Colorado and I think we all know the perfect caterer to do so.
Book Series In Order » Authors » Diane Mott Davidson
