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Corinna Chapman #1
Earthly Delights
Baking is an alchemical process for Corinna Chapman. At four am she starts work at Earthly Delights, her bakery in Calico Alley.
But one morning Corinna receives a threatening note saying "The wages of sin is death" and finds a syringe in her cat's paw. A blue-faced junkie has collapsed in the dark alley and a mysterious man with beautiful eyes appears with a plan for Corinna and her bread. Then it is Goths, dead drug addicts, witchcraft, a homeless boy and a missing girl and it seems she will never get those muffins cooked in time.
With flair, chutzpah and a talent for kneading, Corinna Chapman will find out who exactly is threatening her life and bake some beautiful bread.
But one morning Corinna receives a threatening note saying "The wages of sin is death" and finds a syringe in her cat's paw. A blue-faced junkie has collapsed in the dark alley and a mysterious man with beautiful eyes appears with a plan for Corinna and her bread. Then it is Goths, dead drug addicts, witchcraft, a homeless boy and a missing girl and it seems she will never get those muffins cooked in time.
With flair, chutzpah and a talent for kneading, Corinna Chapman will find out who exactly is threatening her life and bake some beautiful bread.
239 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2004
352 people are currently reading
3228 people want to read
About the author
Kerry Greenwood
92 books2,507 followersKerry Isabelle Greenwood was an Australian author and lawyer. She wrote many plays and books, most notably a string of historical detective novels centred on the character of Phryne Fisher, which was adapted as the popular television series Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries. She wrote mysteries, science-fiction, historical fiction, children's stories, and plays. Greenwood earned the Australian women's crime fiction Davitt Award in 2002 for her young adult novel The Three-Pronged Dagger.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 546 reviews
February 10, 2021
I've read several of the books in this cosy crime series, but for some reason not this one, the first in the series. It was well worth going back to read it to find out how Daniel came into baker Corinna's life and how she first met her new apprentice Jason.
Corinna runs a bakery close to the centre of Melbourne where she caters mostly to the office workers, allowing her to close after the lunch rush and to have weekends off. Divorced from her feckless husband James she loves living above her bakery with her cat Horatio for company. She clearly also loves baking, even the early 4 am start to get the dough rising, and varies it by making a variety of different breads and muffins each day (lucky office workers!) Jason arrives into her life when Corinna rescues him from a bashing by a man in a suit and sunglasses. A street kid with a history of drug use she offers him showers, clean clothes and work and he eventually turns his life around to stop using drugs and get off the streets. The delectable Daniel comes to her through his work with a night food truck that takes food to the homeless, including Corinna's leftover bread, but he turns out to be much more than a handsome volunteer.
There are two mysteries running through the novel. One involving the almost daily death of junkies from very high quality heroin and the other involving threatening notes and graffiti to the residents of Corinna's building, 'Insula'. Both are eventually solved by Corinna, Daniel and the police but not before some unusual undercover work.
This is a really fun series with great characters. Corinna seems to take everything in her stride and Daniel is is the perfect romantic hero. The supporting characters and their lives and foibles fill out plots. Apart from Jason and his metamorphosis into a responsible young apprentice, Goss and Kylie the two young would-be actresses who help out in the shop keep the gossip flowing. The residents of Insula (including Mistress Dread, Meroe the witch, Professor Monk and a bunch of IT nerds) are an interesting, tight knit bunch who add interest to the plots.
Corinna runs a bakery close to the centre of Melbourne where she caters mostly to the office workers, allowing her to close after the lunch rush and to have weekends off. Divorced from her feckless husband James she loves living above her bakery with her cat Horatio for company. She clearly also loves baking, even the early 4 am start to get the dough rising, and varies it by making a variety of different breads and muffins each day (lucky office workers!) Jason arrives into her life when Corinna rescues him from a bashing by a man in a suit and sunglasses. A street kid with a history of drug use she offers him showers, clean clothes and work and he eventually turns his life around to stop using drugs and get off the streets. The delectable Daniel comes to her through his work with a night food truck that takes food to the homeless, including Corinna's leftover bread, but he turns out to be much more than a handsome volunteer.
There are two mysteries running through the novel. One involving the almost daily death of junkies from very high quality heroin and the other involving threatening notes and graffiti to the residents of Corinna's building, 'Insula'. Both are eventually solved by Corinna, Daniel and the police but not before some unusual undercover work.
This is a really fun series with great characters. Corinna seems to take everything in her stride and Daniel is is the perfect romantic hero. The supporting characters and their lives and foibles fill out plots. Apart from Jason and his metamorphosis into a responsible young apprentice, Goss and Kylie the two young would-be actresses who help out in the shop keep the gossip flowing. The residents of Insula (including Mistress Dread, Meroe the witch, Professor Monk and a bunch of IT nerds) are an interesting, tight knit bunch who add interest to the plots.
December 8, 2014
Corinna Chapman’s bakery, Earthly Delights, had been a huge success since she had opened it after leaving her two-timing husband James – even though it was situated in the seedier part of Melbourne she had customers rushing in on their way to work; on their morning breaks - until her stock was negligible when she closed at 2pm. So the morning she opened the back door at 6am after filling the oven with delicious pastries; the morning she discovered the body of a young girl and immediately began CPR, was the morning things began to go wrong in Corinna’s little part of town.
When the inhabitants of Corinna’s apartment block began experiencing nasty graffiti and particularly disturbing letters, she knew she had to do something about it. With the heroin addict problem plus the hatred directed toward the residents, something strange was definitely in the wind. Even her beloved cat Horatio had noticed something was amiss! But what, or better yet, who was the culprit or culprits? It seemed the police weren’t making any headway – could Corinna do any better?
This was an excellent mystery novel; the first in the Corinna Chapman series by Aussie author Kerry Greenwood. The characters are well fleshed out – varied and eclectic, they each play their parts well. The plot is full of intrigue and suspense, with some delightful twists to keep you guessing. I’m looking forward to reading the next in the series, and have no hesitation in highly recommending Earthly Delights.
When the inhabitants of Corinna’s apartment block began experiencing nasty graffiti and particularly disturbing letters, she knew she had to do something about it. With the heroin addict problem plus the hatred directed toward the residents, something strange was definitely in the wind. Even her beloved cat Horatio had noticed something was amiss! But what, or better yet, who was the culprit or culprits? It seemed the police weren’t making any headway – could Corinna do any better?
This was an excellent mystery novel; the first in the Corinna Chapman series by Aussie author Kerry Greenwood. The characters are well fleshed out – varied and eclectic, they each play their parts well. The plot is full of intrigue and suspense, with some delightful twists to keep you guessing. I’m looking forward to reading the next in the series, and have no hesitation in highly recommending Earthly Delights.
October 8, 2023
Halloween Bingo 2023
I’m still quite amazed at how much I've come to enjoy the cozy mystery genre. It's always a pleasure to enjoy the first book of a series and look forward to hours of future entertainment.
Corinne Chapman is a lovely main character. A divorced ex-accountant who now owns and operates a bakery in downtown Melbourne, she treats the neighbourhood like her own small town. She knows and likes the majority of the flat owners in her building. We get to meet the selfish ex-husband, who sets us up to appreciate the dark and mysterious Daniel, who has managed to integrate himself into Corinne's life.
As is typical in cozies, there are cats. Horatio, the house cat, plus Heckle and Jekyll, the Mouse Police. These three and the baking schedule gave Corinne's life a realistic structure. I think one of the reasons that I have warmed up to this genre is the starring role of independent women who run their lives to their own standards and take no guff. Romance is allowed, but it shouldn't require the main character to radically change her life.
If you're a cozy mystery fan I would recommend you try this novel.
I read this to match the Death Down Under square on my bingo card, as it is set in the city of Melbourne.
I’m still quite amazed at how much I've come to enjoy the cozy mystery genre. It's always a pleasure to enjoy the first book of a series and look forward to hours of future entertainment.
Corinne Chapman is a lovely main character. A divorced ex-accountant who now owns and operates a bakery in downtown Melbourne, she treats the neighbourhood like her own small town. She knows and likes the majority of the flat owners in her building. We get to meet the selfish ex-husband, who sets us up to appreciate the dark and mysterious Daniel, who has managed to integrate himself into Corinne's life.
As is typical in cozies, there are cats. Horatio, the house cat, plus Heckle and Jekyll, the Mouse Police. These three and the baking schedule gave Corinne's life a realistic structure. I think one of the reasons that I have warmed up to this genre is the starring role of independent women who run their lives to their own standards and take no guff. Romance is allowed, but it shouldn't require the main character to radically change her life.
If you're a cozy mystery fan I would recommend you try this novel.
I read this to match the Death Down Under square on my bingo card, as it is set in the city of Melbourne.
January 17, 2020
3 ½ stars
This was a pleasant surprise, it was my first Australian cozy mystery. It was considerably edgier than the American cozy mysteries I’m more accustomed to. Whats similar a cast of quirky characters, a successful main character who could be more wealthy if she hadn’t ditched her accountant job for that of baker. What’s different junkies, dominatrices, alcoholic, a main character who actually has sex, goths.
I’ll be reading more of this series.
Cozies Reading Challenge
This was a pleasant surprise, it was my first Australian cozy mystery. It was considerably edgier than the American cozy mysteries I’m more accustomed to. Whats similar a cast of quirky characters, a successful main character who could be more wealthy if she hadn’t ditched her accountant job for that of baker. What’s different junkies, dominatrices, alcoholic, a main character who actually has sex, goths.
I’ll be reading more of this series.
Cozies Reading Challenge
November 16, 2020
Earthly Delights is the first book in the Corinna Chapman series by Australian author, Kerry Greenwood. The audio version is read by Louise Siversen. I read the print version well before I was writing reviews, so I can only say that, except for the blood bit, which is a bit icky, this is an excellent introduction to a cast of characters, some of whom are instant favourites, others who endear themselves with appearances in later instalments. Corinna's body image attitude is refreshing, and her final line about never again getting involved in solving mysteries will amuse readers. It may be wise to eat before reading as the regular mention of delicious breads and muffins may stimulate the appetite.... This is just as enjoyable a read second time around.
September 13, 2015
Having already wasted time reading this, I don’t want to waste too much more time writing a review. It started out quite well, but had greatly deteriorated by the end. There were elements I liked about this, but unfortunately they were far outweighed by things I didn’t like - there were too many vampires, goths and witches. In addition, the writing felt choppy and seemed to jump from one thing to the next without any explanation.
I won’t be continuing on with this series - I’ll stick to the Phryne Fisher series, which Kerry Greenwood does very well.
I won’t be continuing on with this series - I’ll stick to the Phryne Fisher series, which Kerry Greenwood does very well.
August 1, 2014
What did I just read?
What is this thing?
As a fan of the Phyrne Fisher books, I ran across this one and picked it up. OK, yeah, yet another series behemoth, but same author, probably same sort of flavour....so not. The redoubtable Miss Fisher takes her lovin' where she can find it, but loves without loving, if you get me. This thing doesn't know whether it's chicklit or crime, romance or roughhouse. Well, no...one thing it definitely isn't, is rough. It's too superficial for that. Even with dying junkies all over the place and a Mafia hitman tracking a hapless baker's assistant, most of the rough stuff takes place off camera, or at least out of shot. Meanwhile the narrator witters on about her cats and rambles and wonders about anything and everything...often not even finishing her sentences. I teach ESL, and she couldn't pass her Advanced Certificate with all those fragments and poorly-structured musings that have nothing to do with anything as well as interrupting the narrative to no purpose. I love cats, but found myself sighing impatiently as the authoress shoehorned in a lot of "kitty love", whether it added anything or not--and it usually didn't. She'll have to watch herself or she'll be descending into tweedledom.
Someone is killing off innocent young junkies in Melbourne. Is it a psychopath trying to clean up the city, or just a drug deal gone wrong? Someone else is sending nasty anonymous letters to all the women in the apartment building. A different psycho, the same one, or just someone with issues?
We are told to "write what you know", and Ms Greenwood certainly has done that. Her personal biography is all over this text, and it doesn't help the story much. The witch has way too much to do with the story,in a way that doesn't really fit. How can Goths and vampires and dominatrices be so dull? I found myself trudging through the last 30 pages just to finish it. The romance novel thing didn't really fit with the "mystery" which doesn't feel like much of a mystery either. I got the impression she wasn't sure which way she wanted to go, whether to write an Agatha Raisin or an Anne Mather. It judders along somehow, and the happy ending was just....meh. Oh, and there are recipes in the back. ??? That to me is the mark of a mystery writer who knows their work will have limited appeal.
Will I read another? Only if I have insomnia again. It was anodyne enough...and that's the problem.
What is this thing?
As a fan of the Phyrne Fisher books, I ran across this one and picked it up. OK, yeah, yet another series behemoth, but same author, probably same sort of flavour....so not. The redoubtable Miss Fisher takes her lovin' where she can find it, but loves without loving, if you get me. This thing doesn't know whether it's chicklit or crime, romance or roughhouse. Well, no...one thing it definitely isn't, is rough. It's too superficial for that. Even with dying junkies all over the place and a Mafia hitman tracking a hapless baker's assistant, most of the rough stuff takes place off camera, or at least out of shot. Meanwhile the narrator witters on about her cats and rambles and wonders about anything and everything...often not even finishing her sentences. I teach ESL, and she couldn't pass her Advanced Certificate with all those fragments and poorly-structured musings that have nothing to do with anything as well as interrupting the narrative to no purpose. I love cats, but found myself sighing impatiently as the authoress shoehorned in a lot of "kitty love", whether it added anything or not--and it usually didn't. She'll have to watch herself or she'll be descending into tweedledom.
Someone is killing off innocent young junkies in Melbourne. Is it a psychopath trying to clean up the city, or just a drug deal gone wrong? Someone else is sending nasty anonymous letters to all the women in the apartment building. A different psycho, the same one, or just someone with issues?
We are told to "write what you know", and Ms Greenwood certainly has done that. Her personal biography is all over this text, and it doesn't help the story much. The witch has way too much to do with the story,in a way that doesn't really fit. How can Goths and vampires and dominatrices be so dull? I found myself trudging through the last 30 pages just to finish it. The romance novel thing didn't really fit with the "mystery" which doesn't feel like much of a mystery either. I got the impression she wasn't sure which way she wanted to go, whether to write an Agatha Raisin or an Anne Mather. It judders along somehow, and the happy ending was just....meh. Oh, and there are recipes in the back. ??? That to me is the mark of a mystery writer who knows their work will have limited appeal.
Will I read another? Only if I have insomnia again. It was anodyne enough...and that's the problem.
September 17, 2021
This was my first Kerry Greenwood book and it caught me completely by surprise - consider me a convert. I knew the story was the start of a series about an amateur sleuth in Melbourne and I thought, OK, it's Australia but a cosy mystery with a baker as the main character? I know how this goes. How wrong I was.
'Earthly Delights' was fresh and different. How many cosy mysteries start with having to give CPR to a blue-in-the-face and apparently dead junkie that our heroine finds at 5.00 am in the alley behind her bakery?
This is a cosy mystery - no graphic violence or sex, no gratuitous cruelty, no existential angst - but it's also firmly rooted in the world we all live in rather than some mythical village where everyone is nicer than us and our neighbours, except for the murderer who's faking it and the red herrings, who aren't.
I liked the main character, Corinna Chapman. She was pragmatic and focused but was also kind, open-minded and clever. She's a used-to-be who has built a life she loves. She used to be married to a feckless man she divorced. She used to be an accountant but found that her real passion was baking. She owns and runs a bakery in Calico Alley, a fiction little street in the heart of Melbourne. She loves the rhythm of her life: rising early to bake, making things worth eating and sell her wares, mostly to restaurants and hotels but also from her shop. She's passionate about baking but she'll also make what people want to buy, including 'healthy' bread that's had all the good bit taken out and tastes like nothing but penance.
Corinna gets on with her neighbours who run off-beat stores including an occult supply shop and a shop for fetish wear. She treats her staff, who are both out of work actors looking for roles in a soap, well while still imposing some discipline. She's willing to give a junkie a chance but has the good sense to keep a close eye on him and not expect too much.
One of the things that worked well about the book is that Corinna was not someone I'd expect to go looking for mysteries or to get involved in solving them. She isn't a closet Sherlock Holmes fan. She just wants to get on with her life. So the mysteries have to find her. There are two of them. One is that someone seems to be killing the junkies who hang out in her area, something she comes to know about from the junkie she rescues and from the tall, dark and not necessarily trustworthy soup kitchen guy who collects bread from her. The other is about threatening misogynistic notes being left for her and her neighbours.
As Corinna gets pulled into these mysteries, she builds some friendships, finds out more about her neighbours, has a mild romance and uses her analytical mind and pragmatic approach to sort everything out. She has some fun along the way. The whole story is peppered with humour, most of it based on close observations of people and the absurd things we all do.
Unusually for the first book in a series, the book ends with Corinna saying she never wants to get involved with solving mysteries again. She wants to bake and live her life. Which makes me wonder if this was initially intended as a stand-alone novel or if there was always a plan for a series? I think, given the time invested in creating the core ensemble cast, the series was always there but it's going to be about a baker being pulled into things, not about a wannabe PI. I like the sounds of that.
Kerry Greenwood is an Australian author and lawyer.
She is best known for her twenty historical detective novels centred on the character of Phryne Fisher.
She writes mysteries, science-fiction, historical fiction, children's stories, and plays.
May 6, 2012
It has to be said: Kerry Greenwood creates characters that are so two dimensional that you wonder if a computer composed them. To me this book is a clear example of an author writing about characters that she has no understanding of. When she writes about Taz the computer geek character, it is so obvious that this is the viewpoint of someone who is so far removed from this type of person or culture, that she is just using bland, (make that very bland) stereotypes.
You could argue that the lead protagonist is removed from these types of people or culture, but even that could not excuse how badly developed these characters are.
Another thing she doe to annoy the reader is to throw in big words, which are usually only vaguely related to the plot, and serve no real purpose, other than for her to say, "Look at me I read science manuals." Most of the words seem to come from a biology or science type background, and show just how insecure the author is about her intellect, hence the use of what she feels are impressive words. That shit doesn't fly with me, I see through that pathetic attempt at intelligentsia. An example of a word she uses is, lepidoptera.
I think Greenwood usually writes detective fiction, though I am not really sure, as I want to have as little to do with her fictive creations from now on. If this is the case, it just confirms to me, that crime fiction is probably a disposable writing genre, equivalent to mills and boon type romance. These types of books are for people whose deepness of thought, extends as far as wondering what it would feel like if George Clooney really loved them. I am not saying that there isn't engaging detective fiction or romance fictions, just that these genres are probably dominated by people who read for entertainment value only.
I read on the blurb that Greenwood has written other novels, that are in some way part of a series. It seems to me writers that have serialised their writings, are the equivalent of soap opera tv shows. By all means watch/ read this type of trash, but remember if you do; you are more than likely at the bottom of the gene pool – please don't have kids.
There are many other things that annoyed me about this book. All the pointless sentences about anything and everything. She will write a sentence about making bread, and it literally serves no purpose. It does not aid the plot, help develop character, or is informative in any way shape or form. She does this consistently throughout out the book. You read a sentence and you wonder why it is there. The answer is that Greenwood is wasting your time, with her lame attempt at fiction. It serves no purpose other than as some sort of ego boast for this (presumably low self-esteem ridden) author, who thinks that we treasure any words she commits to paper. I don't.
And reading about those two young girls that are Corinna's neighbours - Kylie and some other unmemorable name – made me feel like vomiting. How far removed is Greenwood from the young? Does she know nothing of how people under 30 converse? Once again a pathetic attempt at character. It makes me cringe to think of it. Thank God this is fiction, and not the real world, otherwise I would crave another suicide attempt, hoping for success.
I am probably being really mean in this review, and maybe I shouldn't be so harsh. It's just I recently went to a literary conference, and heard many established literary and press people talking about how they refuse to condemn a work of art. That is not real. I want honesty, especially in the press. If a work of art is shit, I want to warned so as to avoid it. We don't need sycophantic slobs, and outright liars, to create a world any more artificial than it already is.
So I rehash my early points, this book is crap in conclusion. Definitely not worth the read. I do like to end on a nice note though, but I will not contradict what I have already said. So my final words are that although Earthly Delights is a waste of paper, I have not read anything else by Kerry Greenwood, and I suppose it's possible her other books are readable.
You could argue that the lead protagonist is removed from these types of people or culture, but even that could not excuse how badly developed these characters are.
Another thing she doe to annoy the reader is to throw in big words, which are usually only vaguely related to the plot, and serve no real purpose, other than for her to say, "Look at me I read science manuals." Most of the words seem to come from a biology or science type background, and show just how insecure the author is about her intellect, hence the use of what she feels are impressive words. That shit doesn't fly with me, I see through that pathetic attempt at intelligentsia. An example of a word she uses is, lepidoptera.
I think Greenwood usually writes detective fiction, though I am not really sure, as I want to have as little to do with her fictive creations from now on. If this is the case, it just confirms to me, that crime fiction is probably a disposable writing genre, equivalent to mills and boon type romance. These types of books are for people whose deepness of thought, extends as far as wondering what it would feel like if George Clooney really loved them. I am not saying that there isn't engaging detective fiction or romance fictions, just that these genres are probably dominated by people who read for entertainment value only.
I read on the blurb that Greenwood has written other novels, that are in some way part of a series. It seems to me writers that have serialised their writings, are the equivalent of soap opera tv shows. By all means watch/ read this type of trash, but remember if you do; you are more than likely at the bottom of the gene pool – please don't have kids.
There are many other things that annoyed me about this book. All the pointless sentences about anything and everything. She will write a sentence about making bread, and it literally serves no purpose. It does not aid the plot, help develop character, or is informative in any way shape or form. She does this consistently throughout out the book. You read a sentence and you wonder why it is there. The answer is that Greenwood is wasting your time, with her lame attempt at fiction. It serves no purpose other than as some sort of ego boast for this (presumably low self-esteem ridden) author, who thinks that we treasure any words she commits to paper. I don't.
And reading about those two young girls that are Corinna's neighbours - Kylie and some other unmemorable name – made me feel like vomiting. How far removed is Greenwood from the young? Does she know nothing of how people under 30 converse? Once again a pathetic attempt at character. It makes me cringe to think of it. Thank God this is fiction, and not the real world, otherwise I would crave another suicide attempt, hoping for success.
I am probably being really mean in this review, and maybe I shouldn't be so harsh. It's just I recently went to a literary conference, and heard many established literary and press people talking about how they refuse to condemn a work of art. That is not real. I want honesty, especially in the press. If a work of art is shit, I want to warned so as to avoid it. We don't need sycophantic slobs, and outright liars, to create a world any more artificial than it already is.
So I rehash my early points, this book is crap in conclusion. Definitely not worth the read. I do like to end on a nice note though, but I will not contradict what I have already said. So my final words are that although Earthly Delights is a waste of paper, I have not read anything else by Kerry Greenwood, and I suppose it's possible her other books are readable.
August 13, 2017
Romantic-cosy-mystery-vampire-novel??? Is that a thing?
Corinna Chapman, x-accountant and now baker (in inner city Melbourne's business district (by day) and junkie haven (by night)) gets involved in a number of mysteries that are impacting on her normal routines. Enter Daniel Cohen, heart-throb and mystery man himself, Corinna is weak at the knees now and must get involved in investigating the crimes just to be near him.
A delightful story, even if its not my usual cup of tea, I do love bread and muffins!
Corinna Chapman, x-accountant and now baker (in inner city Melbourne's business district (by day) and junkie haven (by night)) gets involved in a number of mysteries that are impacting on her normal routines. Enter Daniel Cohen, heart-throb and mystery man himself, Corinna is weak at the knees now and must get involved in investigating the crimes just to be near him.
A delightful story, even if its not my usual cup of tea, I do love bread and muffins!
April 1, 2011
I started off with this author's 1920s crime novels about Phryne Fisher, beautiful,slim, rich, smart and good at just about everything except those things she doesn't want to be good at, like playing music or cooking. I look forward to each new one. They're great fun and show a Melbourne that is(mostly)long gone.
When this book came out, i didn't know what to make of the idea. It's still set in Melbourne, but in the present day, in a Roman-themed building where I'd move tomorrow if it existed. The heroine, Corinna Chapman, is as different from Phryne as it's possible to be. She's large, loves cooking and gave up her job as a high-profile accountant to become a baker. And she has a boyfriend, whom she meets in this first book, who looks like Angel. Yum! It's the boyfriend, Daniel Cohen, who's the private eye, specialising in missing children, but doing other things as well, and somehow Corinna gets caught up in it all.
In this one there is a missing girl, a lot of drug addicts dying, a young former drug addict who turns out to be pretty good at baking and a nightclub where some answers might be found. And baking - lots of baking!
I like this series a lot more than I do the regular run of "cosies" - you know, the novels where the amateur sleuth is a caterer, a tea shop owner, a seller of antiques, whatever. Especially the cookery-based ones. I like the characters and there are some quirky ones you'd love to know in real life. I get the feeling that some of them, at least, are based on Kerry's friends, and Corinna is a lot like Kerry herself, in build and enjoyment of cooking.
The recipes at the back of this book and the others that follow are real. You can make them easily and they don't have several pounds of butter and cream and "you must buy the top-quality chocolate to do this!"
This is because the author gives you recipes for food she makes herself, all the time, and keeps it simple. I still make her version of onion soup and the plum pudding muffins went in about five minutes when I took them to work.
When this book came out, i didn't know what to make of the idea. It's still set in Melbourne, but in the present day, in a Roman-themed building where I'd move tomorrow if it existed. The heroine, Corinna Chapman, is as different from Phryne as it's possible to be. She's large, loves cooking and gave up her job as a high-profile accountant to become a baker. And she has a boyfriend, whom she meets in this first book, who looks like Angel. Yum! It's the boyfriend, Daniel Cohen, who's the private eye, specialising in missing children, but doing other things as well, and somehow Corinna gets caught up in it all.
In this one there is a missing girl, a lot of drug addicts dying, a young former drug addict who turns out to be pretty good at baking and a nightclub where some answers might be found. And baking - lots of baking!
I like this series a lot more than I do the regular run of "cosies" - you know, the novels where the amateur sleuth is a caterer, a tea shop owner, a seller of antiques, whatever. Especially the cookery-based ones. I like the characters and there are some quirky ones you'd love to know in real life. I get the feeling that some of them, at least, are based on Kerry's friends, and Corinna is a lot like Kerry herself, in build and enjoyment of cooking.
The recipes at the back of this book and the others that follow are real. You can make them easily and they don't have several pounds of butter and cream and "you must buy the top-quality chocolate to do this!"
This is because the author gives you recipes for food she makes herself, all the time, and keeps it simple. I still make her version of onion soup and the plum pudding muffins went in about five minutes when I took them to work.
July 28, 2014
I really liked this book though in a way, I can't quite figure out why. It's a mystery, but really solving the mystery was more like the truth unveiled itself. I do know I liked the characters and the evolution of relationships a whole lot.
Corinna Chapman owns a bakery in modern day Melbourne Australia. She's divorced, having kicked her career as an accountant to the curb, kicked off her sexy kitten heels and apron, eschewed the rigid starvation diet and ended her marriage. Now she's gone from skinny and starved to curvy and a purveyor of good baked bread and the consumer of food and drink. She's definitely a very likeable woman with a good mind and a kind heart. She lives in this apartment building that was eccentrically built in the 1920s, with each flat and shop named after a Roman or Greek deity. The architecture and details are sumptuous. The residents are as eccentric of their apartment house and interestingly enough, something in their personality matches the name of their apartment. There's a dominatrix, a Wiccan shop owner, two anorexic girls, an alcoholic single man, and much more. Then there are the cats and the dog (who actually behave like cats and dogs and not detectives, a plus in my estimation).
There are a few mysteries intertwined having to do with street people, overdosing on heroin, murder in their midst, who is that guy who runs the charity soup wagon? The mysteries intertwine but don't always intersect (like real life) though the impulse is to draw connections where none exist.
I think the interesting thing about this lovely book are the people, their approaches to life and love, and the events that those approaches call. It all rises and consumes like a very good loaf of bread. A most excellent book, the first in the series. I like the author's other series very much but I like this one (so far) even more. Corinna is very likeable.
Corinna Chapman owns a bakery in modern day Melbourne Australia. She's divorced, having kicked her career as an accountant to the curb, kicked off her sexy kitten heels and apron, eschewed the rigid starvation diet and ended her marriage. Now she's gone from skinny and starved to curvy and a purveyor of good baked bread and the consumer of food and drink. She's definitely a very likeable woman with a good mind and a kind heart. She lives in this apartment building that was eccentrically built in the 1920s, with each flat and shop named after a Roman or Greek deity. The architecture and details are sumptuous. The residents are as eccentric of their apartment house and interestingly enough, something in their personality matches the name of their apartment. There's a dominatrix, a Wiccan shop owner, two anorexic girls, an alcoholic single man, and much more. Then there are the cats and the dog (who actually behave like cats and dogs and not detectives, a plus in my estimation).
There are a few mysteries intertwined having to do with street people, overdosing on heroin, murder in their midst, who is that guy who runs the charity soup wagon? The mysteries intertwine but don't always intersect (like real life) though the impulse is to draw connections where none exist.
I think the interesting thing about this lovely book are the people, their approaches to life and love, and the events that those approaches call. It all rises and consumes like a very good loaf of bread. A most excellent book, the first in the series. I like the author's other series very much but I like this one (so far) even more. Corinna is very likeable.
August 14, 2020
So, I loved Corinna. Takes no shit from her horrible ex, quit her boring job for something she loves, and is an overall nice and mostly open minded person. Daniel was awesome and his Jewishness was fabulous, and I liked all the other characters in here as well.
What I did not like: honestly, how many times do you have to use the word junkie? That is a terrible word when people are suffering from a mental health disorder. And it was in the book over and over and over. Additionally, I felt the book was overly pretentious regarding the building and all the “fun” little details about the gods and how each apartment or shop was named for so and so. It really made the first few chapters obnoxious for me. Also, I thought what they had on the letters for Mistress Dread was unnecessary and rude. Lastly, the blood stuff was really gross.
What I did not like: honestly, how many times do you have to use the word junkie? That is a terrible word when people are suffering from a mental health disorder. And it was in the book over and over and over. Additionally, I felt the book was overly pretentious regarding the building and all the “fun” little details about the gods and how each apartment or shop was named for so and so. It really made the first few chapters obnoxious for me. Also, I thought what they had on the letters for Mistress Dread was unnecessary and rude. Lastly, the blood stuff was really gross.
May 8, 2012
Earthly Delights is the first in contemporary series by Kerry Greenwood, author of the popular Phryne Fisher series. This one is set in modern Melbourne and our heroine is a chubby baker named Corinna Chapman. Corinna used to be a CPA but ditched her job (and her husband) to pursue her love of baking. She has moved into a wonderful building called the Insula in a not-so-wonderful part of Melbourne but the location is unique and her neighbors are interesting. All is going fairly well for Corinna until one morning when she steps out in the alley while we ovens are heating and discovers an over-dosed heroin junkie on her grate. She manages to call emergency and then performs CPR on the girl until they show up. As the girl is being led away by paramedics, a mysterious man shows up, calms the girl down, and thanks Corinna for her help. The man is named Daniel and he has the audacity to tell her she is beautiful before walking into the dawn.
Funny in parts, light on the mystery aspect. The only thing I struggled with were the references to Australian politics or pop culture but it was nothing to take me out of the story. Enjoyable, recommended for my cozy friends.
Funny in parts, light on the mystery aspect. The only thing I struggled with were the references to Australian politics or pop culture but it was nothing to take me out of the story. Enjoyable, recommended for my cozy friends.
May 23, 2023
Zany Australian mysteries that I can't stop reading. Great for rereading, too. I shouldn't like this book, as it has wiccans and goths and other elements I don't enjoy reading about. But it has more things I do like:
1. A great narrator I could listen to forever. But these books are also good to read.
2. The MC is an actual adult, who acts like one. She's not living her life in search of the perfect man or a size 2 body.
3. The hero is perfect. Absolutely perfect. :)
4. Their relationship develops. There's immediate attraction, but not instant love. They don’t jump into bed on the first meeting.
5. Melbourne and Insula are a wonderful setting. I feel like I've been there when I read one of these books.
6. The MC is a baker, and the author appears to actually know about baking bread. Time involved, care of yeast, etc., are all correct. I hate reading books about bakers full of silly mistakes.
7. These books are full of great minor characters. They have anorexia or they eat nachos for breakfast, some are young and some old, some have money and others don't - what a wonderful cross section of people! I love visiting them.
8. I don't have to wallow in tons of swearing or sex when I read these books. There's a little cursing but not much and the sex that happens is off screen.
9. This book is full of details that ring true. While I read them as a sort of alternate-fantasy series, perhaps because I first read the Christmas book which is quite unreal, it's a world that is firmly grounded in small details.
10. Corinna thinks she cares more about her cats than people, but she's really compassionate. She cares about the people around her and she's willing to act on their behalf. I like her a lot.
1. A great narrator I could listen to forever. But these books are also good to read.
2. The MC is an actual adult, who acts like one. She's not living her life in search of the perfect man or a size 2 body.
3. The hero is perfect. Absolutely perfect. :)
4. Their relationship develops. There's immediate attraction, but not instant love. They don’t jump into bed on the first meeting.
5. Melbourne and Insula are a wonderful setting. I feel like I've been there when I read one of these books.
6. The MC is a baker, and the author appears to actually know about baking bread. Time involved, care of yeast, etc., are all correct. I hate reading books about bakers full of silly mistakes.
7. These books are full of great minor characters. They have anorexia or they eat nachos for breakfast, some are young and some old, some have money and others don't - what a wonderful cross section of people! I love visiting them.
8. I don't have to wallow in tons of swearing or sex when I read these books. There's a little cursing but not much and the sex that happens is off screen.
9. This book is full of details that ring true. While I read them as a sort of alternate-fantasy series, perhaps because I first read the Christmas book which is quite unreal, it's a world that is firmly grounded in small details.
10. Corinna thinks she cares more about her cats than people, but she's really compassionate. She cares about the people around her and she's willing to act on their behalf. I like her a lot.
September 4, 2012
Having already sampled and enjoyed Greenwood's Phryne Fisher series, I looked forward to this book with anticipation, but found Earthly Delights to be very uneven. I loved the setting in Corinna's bakery, the descriptions of bread making, and the creation of new recipes for muffins and the like. Corinna's eccentric neighbors in the very unusual Roman-style apartment complex known as Insula were also interesting and brought a lot to the story what few times they appeared. The only real exception to this list of secondary characters was Jase the homeless boy, who did share the spotlight with Corinna more. Jase's skill in experimenting with food and his growing relationship with Corinna really lit up the book. Also, the feeling of contentment and well-being whenever Corinna talked about the life she'd made for herself was a plus. However, there were a couple of things that really dulled my enjoyment.
The only real Australian flavor in the book comes from an occasional slang term like "arvo" ("afternoon") and too many Australian political references at the beginning that meant absolutely nothing to me. There wasn't that much investigating done either-- partly as a result of Corinna's being tied to the bakery for long periods of time. The identities of the perpetrators in the subplots were rather easily guessed as well. This first book reads more like a character study of Corinna and her romance with a handsome stranger named Daniel. Perhaps it was because Corinna was so satisfied with her life, but Earthly Delights lacked any sort of real spark to engage me enough to continue with the series.
The only real Australian flavor in the book comes from an occasional slang term like "arvo" ("afternoon") and too many Australian political references at the beginning that meant absolutely nothing to me. There wasn't that much investigating done either-- partly as a result of Corinna's being tied to the bakery for long periods of time. The identities of the perpetrators in the subplots were rather easily guessed as well. This first book reads more like a character study of Corinna and her romance with a handsome stranger named Daniel. Perhaps it was because Corinna was so satisfied with her life, but Earthly Delights lacked any sort of real spark to engage me enough to continue with the series.
October 11, 2015
Woah woah woah. Hello favourite new series!!!
I am so happily surprised that I loved this book!
Corinna Chapman is such an awesome protagonist. I don't think I've ever read a voice like hers. She is at once fiercely independent, passionate and strong; yet she can also be vulnerable, sympathetic and absolutely freaking hilarious.
The baker turned reluctant investigator is a happily fat woman just letting life happen after a messy but amicable divorce when a junky overdoses on her hot air grate. Then a whole world of shit erupts around her.
She meets a mysterious stranger, who may be entirely gorgeous, employs an apprentice, is accused of being a scarlet woman and the whore of Babylon and she simply takes it all in stride until the neat Agatha Christie ending.
There are of course, soup vans, witches, earth children, vampires, goths, missing molestation victims, blackmail, riding crops, sex on tape and staunch police officers in between. Let your imagination do with that what it will... Or just read the book, because it's awesome and you'll love it.
I guarantee laughs, sympathy, cringing and fluffy love type feelings. All the good things. Contemporary semi-erotic mystery is probably the best way to classify this, I loved it!
I am so happily surprised that I loved this book!
Corinna Chapman is such an awesome protagonist. I don't think I've ever read a voice like hers. She is at once fiercely independent, passionate and strong; yet she can also be vulnerable, sympathetic and absolutely freaking hilarious.
The baker turned reluctant investigator is a happily fat woman just letting life happen after a messy but amicable divorce when a junky overdoses on her hot air grate. Then a whole world of shit erupts around her.
She meets a mysterious stranger, who may be entirely gorgeous, employs an apprentice, is accused of being a scarlet woman and the whore of Babylon and she simply takes it all in stride until the neat Agatha Christie ending.
There are of course, soup vans, witches, earth children, vampires, goths, missing molestation victims, blackmail, riding crops, sex on tape and staunch police officers in between. Let your imagination do with that what it will... Or just read the book, because it's awesome and you'll love it.
I guarantee laughs, sympathy, cringing and fluffy love type feelings. All the good things. Contemporary semi-erotic mystery is probably the best way to classify this, I loved it!
June 24, 2015
Earthly Delights by Kerry Greenwood is the first book in the Corinna Chapman mystery series. Melbourne baker, Corinna Chapman,helps to save a drug overdose victim and becomes involved in the investigation of several drug overdose deaths, as well as the investigation of who is targetting the women in her complex with vile letters and painted slogans. I enjoyed this entry into the series. I loved getting to know the various odd quirky characters in the complex. Corinna is a strong, sensible woman, smart and capable. I look forward to reading more of her adventures.
May 24, 2018
This is a 3.5 star book, which I've bumped to 4 because I found myself still up reading it at oh-very-dark hundred. It's not a fabulous book, but you immediately like the characters and the situation and want to find out what happens next. Very readable, obviously. Now I'm off to find the sequels.
August 18, 2012
I am a great fan of Australian mystery author Kerry Greenwood's Phryne Fisher series, which is set in a 1920s Melbourne. What a delight to read every book that features the unbelievably chic, unconventional and generous Phryne! So I was really looking forward to Greenwood's other series, which features the zaftig baker Corinna Chapman in present-day Melbourne.
To begin with, Earthly Delights contains common Britishisms (e.g., trainers for running shoes or sneakers, lift for elevator) and the occasional spot of inscrutable Australian expressions and slang (e.g., gum for incense, doona for duvet or comforter, rave for rant, stuffed up for "screwed up", arvo -- whatever that is). Yet, there aren't many, and most can be deciphered from the context. Don't let that put you off.
What might put you off is that Corinna is no Phryne. Perhaps it was unfair to expect Earthly Delights to measure up to the standard set by the Phryne novels, but the series debut, Earthly Delights, while enjoyable, just isn't as good -- even though it was a finalist for Australia's Ned Kelly Award for Best Novel in 2004. The divorced Corinna runs her own bakery, the eponymous Earthly Delights, and stumbles onto three mysteries: the abrupt increase in deaths among heroin addicts -- including a nearly fatal incident on her very doorstep, a profane vandalism spree aimed at female tenants in her building, and the missing teenage daughter of one of her neighbors. As with any good cozy, Earthly Delights tidies up all the loose threads and introduces a love interest for Corinna; however, Corinna lacks Phryne's sparkle. We just don't care as much about her as we do for Phryne and her oddball household.
I'll be reading the next book in the series, Heavenly Pleasures, but I'm not committing further than that.
Want to compare the two series? The Kindle versions of Earthly Delights and the first book in the Phryne Fisher series, Cocaine Blues, are both free. You can decide for yourself without spending a cent.
To begin with, Earthly Delights contains common Britishisms (e.g., trainers for running shoes or sneakers, lift for elevator) and the occasional spot of inscrutable Australian expressions and slang (e.g., gum for incense, doona for duvet or comforter, rave for rant, stuffed up for "screwed up", arvo -- whatever that is). Yet, there aren't many, and most can be deciphered from the context. Don't let that put you off.
What might put you off is that Corinna is no Phryne. Perhaps it was unfair to expect Earthly Delights to measure up to the standard set by the Phryne novels, but the series debut, Earthly Delights, while enjoyable, just isn't as good -- even though it was a finalist for Australia's Ned Kelly Award for Best Novel in 2004. The divorced Corinna runs her own bakery, the eponymous Earthly Delights, and stumbles onto three mysteries: the abrupt increase in deaths among heroin addicts -- including a nearly fatal incident on her very doorstep, a profane vandalism spree aimed at female tenants in her building, and the missing teenage daughter of one of her neighbors. As with any good cozy, Earthly Delights tidies up all the loose threads and introduces a love interest for Corinna; however, Corinna lacks Phryne's sparkle. We just don't care as much about her as we do for Phryne and her oddball household.
I'll be reading the next book in the series, Heavenly Pleasures, but I'm not committing further than that.
Want to compare the two series? The Kindle versions of Earthly Delights and the first book in the Phryne Fisher series, Cocaine Blues, are both free. You can decide for yourself without spending a cent.
August 5, 2020
I've been enjoying reading Kerry Greenwood's Phryne Fisher mystery series and watched the TV series as well. They were a joy to read and watch. Now I've finally tried her second mystery series featuring baker Corinna Chapman, who owns a bakery in Melbourne Australia. What can I say but I loved it!
Corinna runs a small bakery and lives in a fascinating apartment building attached to the bakery. The place is peopled by a group of the most interesting people; Meroe a wiccan who owns a witch store; Mistress Dread, a dominatrix; Kylie and Gossamer, 2 young ladies who take turns working in Corinna's shop and are budding actresses; the Lone Gunmen, 3 computer nerds who own a techie shop; Professor Monk, an aging... professor of course, etc.
Corinna is divorced, lives with her cat Horatio and Heckle and Jekyll, the Mouse Posse who keep her shop free from rodents. The story starts off with a bang; Corinna discovers a young girl, an addict dying of a heroin overdose on her doorstep when she opens her shop. Corinna manages to keep her alive until ambulance arrives. Daniel, a large, handsome man, who helps with a mobile soup kitchen, shows up and there is an immediate frisson between he and Corinna. Also another young addict, Jase, turns up and Corinna lets him work by cleaning and baking. Someone is trying to upset the women in the building; painting rude, derogatory sayings outside their shops, sending disgusting letters, etc.
So lots happening. Oh and Corinna's ex-husband has a proposal for her. Corinna is kept busy, trying to sort out who is sending the letters, helping Daniel solve the murders and developing a possible relationship with him. It all moves along smoothly and the characters are developed and presented to make you want to know more and to feel an attraction for them all; even the cats (and I'm a dog person.. lol)
It's a cozy mystery but it has such a lovely quality about it. A bit Tales of the City (the quirkiness), a bit #1 Ladies' Detective Agency. The locale is wonderful, the food makes you hungry and the characters make you want to meet them. I admit that I had figured out one portion of the mystery and it was all resolved very smoothly and quickly but I didn't care. I just enjoyed the whole experience. Book 2 is on my bookshelf. Can't wait to start it.. well, maybe after the next Phryne Fisher.. (5 stars)
Corinna runs a small bakery and lives in a fascinating apartment building attached to the bakery. The place is peopled by a group of the most interesting people; Meroe a wiccan who owns a witch store; Mistress Dread, a dominatrix; Kylie and Gossamer, 2 young ladies who take turns working in Corinna's shop and are budding actresses; the Lone Gunmen, 3 computer nerds who own a techie shop; Professor Monk, an aging... professor of course, etc.
Corinna is divorced, lives with her cat Horatio and Heckle and Jekyll, the Mouse Posse who keep her shop free from rodents. The story starts off with a bang; Corinna discovers a young girl, an addict dying of a heroin overdose on her doorstep when she opens her shop. Corinna manages to keep her alive until ambulance arrives. Daniel, a large, handsome man, who helps with a mobile soup kitchen, shows up and there is an immediate frisson between he and Corinna. Also another young addict, Jase, turns up and Corinna lets him work by cleaning and baking. Someone is trying to upset the women in the building; painting rude, derogatory sayings outside their shops, sending disgusting letters, etc.
So lots happening. Oh and Corinna's ex-husband has a proposal for her. Corinna is kept busy, trying to sort out who is sending the letters, helping Daniel solve the murders and developing a possible relationship with him. It all moves along smoothly and the characters are developed and presented to make you want to know more and to feel an attraction for them all; even the cats (and I'm a dog person.. lol)
It's a cozy mystery but it has such a lovely quality about it. A bit Tales of the City (the quirkiness), a bit #1 Ladies' Detective Agency. The locale is wonderful, the food makes you hungry and the characters make you want to meet them. I admit that I had figured out one portion of the mystery and it was all resolved very smoothly and quickly but I didn't care. I just enjoyed the whole experience. Book 2 is on my bookshelf. Can't wait to start it.. well, maybe after the next Phryne Fisher.. (5 stars)
October 6, 2012
I still don't know what I think of this story.
I read it all, relatively quickly.
With each press on the Kindle, I wondered why I was still reading it, but read it I did.
I think it was a romance. Well, "I love yous" were exchanged.
I think there was a mystery, people died and people almost died and people were arrested.
There were some vampires. They were fake, but they thought they were real.
There was some baking done. And recipes dutifully appended to the end.
These are all elements I usually enjoy, but...
I liked the characters. There was nothing to dislike about them. You saw the positive, not the negative. You saw what you were told, not what you could intuit. I guess this is a way of saying I saw no depth. I have no idea why the H would fall in love with the h, except of course for what he said, she looked hale and healthy and like she would age nicely as rounded as she was. Even the h is not sure why she fell in love with the H. I mean, as she said, she didn't know him.
The murders were solved, but they weren't so much murder as providing the weapon, heroin. Then there was an almost murder, but the murderer was found before the death occurred.
And then it ended and we were presented with recipes. Okay. Done. I guess everybody was just done.
So yeah, I liked it, I guess. I have never had to use the Kindle dictionary as much as I did in this one. I looked up words and gods and concepts and poets and constellation and Goth-isms.
Ms. Greenwood writes an intriguing story, but I wouldn't call it engrossing. Thought was provoked, but soon forgotten.
Yeah, I still don't know how I feel about this. I am not hitting "one click" on my Kindle so I guess that says a lot. I guess. Who knows. I never have written "I guess" so many times.
I guess, though, I am glad I read it. But I doubt I will read more.
I read it all, relatively quickly.
With each press on the Kindle, I wondered why I was still reading it, but read it I did.
I think it was a romance. Well, "I love yous" were exchanged.
I think there was a mystery, people died and people almost died and people were arrested.
There were some vampires. They were fake, but they thought they were real.
There was some baking done. And recipes dutifully appended to the end.
These are all elements I usually enjoy, but...
I liked the characters. There was nothing to dislike about them. You saw the positive, not the negative. You saw what you were told, not what you could intuit. I guess this is a way of saying I saw no depth. I have no idea why the H would fall in love with the h, except of course for what he said, she looked hale and healthy and like she would age nicely as rounded as she was. Even the h is not sure why she fell in love with the H. I mean, as she said, she didn't know him.
The murders were solved, but they weren't so much murder as providing the weapon, heroin. Then there was an almost murder, but the murderer was found before the death occurred.
And then it ended and we were presented with recipes. Okay. Done. I guess everybody was just done.
So yeah, I liked it, I guess. I have never had to use the Kindle dictionary as much as I did in this one. I looked up words and gods and concepts and poets and constellation and Goth-isms.
Ms. Greenwood writes an intriguing story, but I wouldn't call it engrossing. Thought was provoked, but soon forgotten.
Yeah, I still don't know how I feel about this. I am not hitting "one click" on my Kindle so I guess that says a lot. I guess. Who knows. I never have written "I guess" so many times.
I guess, though, I am glad I read it. But I doubt I will read more.
September 28, 2018
How have I got this far in my reading life and never read any Kerry Greenwood!
This is an old-fashioned style mystery that puts me in mind of Miss Marple. I actually wouldn't have thought this would be up my literary alley at all. But I found myself surprisingly drawn to the character of Corinna Chapman, baker extraordinaire and a some-time accidental sleuth.
Given that most of my mystery reading tends to be of a dark thriller nature, I actually found Earthly Delights a light-hearted and fun romp - though it did take some unexpected eye-raising turns!
I frequently curse my book club for the largest number of 1 stars they've given me to read but I have to say thanks to them for introducing me to Kerry Greenwood and I can't wait to see what new misadventures befall Corinna. And what storm of earthly delights she cooks up in her bakery kitchen.
This is an old-fashioned style mystery that puts me in mind of Miss Marple. I actually wouldn't have thought this would be up my literary alley at all. But I found myself surprisingly drawn to the character of Corinna Chapman, baker extraordinaire and a some-time accidental sleuth.
Given that most of my mystery reading tends to be of a dark thriller nature, I actually found Earthly Delights a light-hearted and fun romp - though it did take some unexpected eye-raising turns!
I frequently curse my book club for the largest number of 1 stars they've given me to read but I have to say thanks to them for introducing me to Kerry Greenwood and I can't wait to see what new misadventures befall Corinna. And what storm of earthly delights she cooks up in her bakery kitchen.
September 1, 2023
Well, that was certainly something.
Corinna Chapman is as fun an amateur detective as one could hope to read about, and the wealth of 90s SFF/ancient Greek/Celtic mythology/Terry Pratchett references certainly hit their mark. She is funny, she is clever, she is honestly un-obnoxious in a way I have come to treasure in first person narrators. I like her, I like her cats, I like her apartment building of misfit toys and collection of teenage Goths.
However. I did not realize I was signing up for vampires. So many vampires. An Israeli one, even. And as I suppose I should have expected, things got Weird towards the end. Weeeiiiirrrrd. Weird in a weird way. Which is fine, I am not here to judge, and the end of the 20th c. was certainly a time in which weirdness was encouraged to shuffle into the light and demand its place at the family dinner table. Or the neighborhood bakery, as the case may be.
Do I feel weird about the mysterious, deeply fetishized, demon-y Israeli guy? No, certainly not. I'm really glad he was here to be erotically ruthless yet submissive and validate our hero (even though she is -gasp- fat). David Boreanaz, the demon guy from Charmed, and honestly Tom freaking Cruise have a lot to answer for. Love that the real-world version of these characters is a Jewish man... oy. Never mind. This is fine. I'm just gonna slowly back away from this one.
My recent random foray into Baking Lady Mysteries is, I believe, officially over. We can all breathe a sigh of relief.
Corinna Chapman is as fun an amateur detective as one could hope to read about, and the wealth of 90s SFF/ancient Greek/Celtic mythology/Terry Pratchett references certainly hit their mark. She is funny, she is clever, she is honestly un-obnoxious in a way I have come to treasure in first person narrators. I like her, I like her cats, I like her apartment building of misfit toys and collection of teenage Goths.
However. I did not realize I was signing up for vampires. So many vampires. An Israeli one, even. And as I suppose I should have expected, things got Weird towards the end. Weeeiiiirrrrd. Weird in a weird way. Which is fine, I am not here to judge, and the end of the 20th c. was certainly a time in which weirdness was encouraged to shuffle into the light and demand its place at the family dinner table. Or the neighborhood bakery, as the case may be.
Do I feel weird about the mysterious, deeply fetishized, demon-y Israeli guy? No, certainly not. I'm really glad he was here to be erotically ruthless yet submissive and validate our hero (even though she is -gasp- fat). David Boreanaz, the demon guy from Charmed, and honestly Tom freaking Cruise have a lot to answer for. Love that the real-world version of these characters is a Jewish man... oy. Never mind. This is fine. I'm just gonna slowly back away from this one.
My recent random foray into Baking Lady Mysteries is, I believe, officially over. We can all breathe a sigh of relief.
December 24, 2019
I really enjoyed this voice.
I like reading about someone who is happy with their life, and willing to adjust things as circumstances change. Corinna was just a wonderful person and a very astute judge of character.
We learn a lot about baking in this mystery, and more than I wanted to know about Goths.
The inhabitants of Insula are besieged by nasty letters, insulting grafiti and dangerous assaults. When Corinna finds that her ex is trying to buy the building and tear it down, she thinks she has the solution. But she does not. She must do further investigating to find out who is really behind the attacks.
If Melbourne does not have a Soup Run, I hope they get one soon.
I borrowed a copy from the public library, and look forward to reading more in this series.
I like reading about someone who is happy with their life, and willing to adjust things as circumstances change. Corinna was just a wonderful person and a very astute judge of character.
We learn a lot about baking in this mystery, and more than I wanted to know about Goths.
The inhabitants of Insula are besieged by nasty letters, insulting grafiti and dangerous assaults. When Corinna finds that her ex is trying to buy the building and tear it down, she thinks she has the solution. But she does not. She must do further investigating to find out who is really behind the attacks.
If Melbourne does not have a Soup Run, I hope they get one soon.
I borrowed a copy from the public library, and look forward to reading more in this series.
January 10, 2023
I'd read a few of the Phryne Fisher mysteries, and this seemed to be a little bit of a different flavor. I loved the bakery setting and Corinna's narration and her thoughts of all the people (and animals!) around here. It was a bit sexier and darker than the average cozy mystery I read, but I think I liked it. I might explore more of this series.
May 27, 2021
I have no idea what the hell I just read - but I ended up loving it. This is one strange book but in this case it works. The characters are quirky and fun to read. This is the first book in a series and I felt that the author was getting to know her own characters in the first half of the book.
By the second half of the book things got going and everything seems to come together. There were two unrelated mysteries in this book and they actually worked really well together
This is a series I will continue with.
By the second half of the book things got going and everything seems to come together. There were two unrelated mysteries in this book and they actually worked really well together
This is a series I will continue with.
November 11, 2021
This one surprised me! I really enjoyed it! I'll be reading more of this series :)
April 21, 2021
Lovely light lecture with charming characters. Might make a devoted dog lover consider a career as an old cat lady!
May 5, 2019
This was quite a cute read about a baker who has a few mysteries to solve in between baking muffins.
It was predictable but a light read.
It was predictable but a light read.
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