Heavenly Pleasures
A
Corinna Chapman Mystery
Kerry
Greenwood
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-59058-426-0 (1590584260)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-426-2 (9781590584262)
Publication Date: June 2008
List Price: $24.95
Synopsis (from
the publisher): Baker Corinna Chapman is happy with her life. Jason,
the former addict she rescued from her alleyway,, is shaping into a
good apprentice. And her beautiful Israeli lover, Daniel, though away
for the last couple of weeks, is as enchanting as ever.
Corinna has no intention of doing any more investigative work. At least
until she bites into what should have been a lovely violet cream
gourmet chocolate and instead finds a chili-filled catastrophe.
Corinna doesn’t want to see Juliet and Vivienne
Lefebvre’s chocolate shop, Heavenly Pleasures, shut down. And
quite frankly, it is just a crime to ruin those gorgeous chocolate
confections. Is this tampering part of an elaborate and horrible joke,
or is it a warning that worse may yet happen?
In the meantime, Daniel has returned bruised and battered from an
encounter with a so-called messiah. Is the messiah somehow involved in
this chocolate crime? And just who is the mysterious man who has moved
into the upper apartment?
Review:
Kerry Greenwood's second mystery featuring Melbourne baker Corinna
Chapman, Heavenly
Pleasures, is a hodge-podge of crimes,
characters, and cats with a bit too much of each the result being a
less than satisfactory novel.
The mystery begins and ultimately ends in the building that houses
Corinna's business, Earthly Delights, and a number of other diverse
tenants including a self-proclaimed witch, a vegan who grows
greens on the rooftop, a wealthy elderly woman who has recently rented
an apartment, and a strange middle-aged man who will not talk
with anyone. Also in the building is a fantastic chocolate candy
shoppe, Heavenly Pleasures, owned by two sisters who make
divine chocolates. Someone has maliciously injected chilies into their
new violet crème flavor. Although not poisonous, it was
certainly a crime and could drive potential customers away from the
shoppe, ultimately forcing the sisters to close. What would this mean
to the other small shoppes along the street? Corinna’s lover,
Daniel, a private investigator, is asked to investigate. With
Corinna’s assistance they are drawn into other crimes taking
place in the area. There is a self-professed messiah taking advantage
of young girls. A bomb has exploded in the quiet man’s
apartment where the authorities find him tied up but alive.
Corinna’s fifteen year old helper at the bakery, once an
addict, is beaten and drugs forced into his system. Corinna
and
Daniel must get to the bottom of all this before it negatively impacts
her beloved
bakery.
Most of the problem with Heavenly
Pleasures is with the character of Corinna. She comes off
as somewhat cold and aloof, hard and cynical. She loves to bake, she
loves cats, and she loves Daniel, although it's never quite clear what
her
priorities are as on any given day she seems willing to give up one for
another. As with the first book in this series, Earthly Delights,
there is no discernable plot here and though attempts are made to
infuse some humor and make it more likeable, these efforts generally
fall flat. The supporting characters are undoubtedly intended to be
unique and memorable, but even this too largely fails to add depth and
texture to the book. All this is so much more disappointing as
Greenwood is also the author of the incredibly enjoyable Phyrne Fisher
mysteries, a series so different (and better) than this one that it's
hard to believe they are written by the same person.
Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of Heavenly Pleasures and to Poisoned Pen Press for providing a copy of the book for this review.
Review Copyright © 2008 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved.
Mysteries in this series ...
Earthly
Delights
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), June 2007
ISBN-10: 1-59058-393-0 (1590583930)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-393-7 (9781590583937)
Heavenly
Pleasures
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), June 2008
ISBN-10: 1-59058-426-0 (1590584260)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-426-2 (9781590584262)
Omnimystery keywords for Heavenly Pleasures
...
Location(s) referenced: Melbourne,
Australia.