Calculated Loss
A Madeline
Carter Mystery
Linda
L. Richards
Mira Books (Mass Market Paperback)
ISBN-10: 0-7783-2345-5 (0778323455)
ISBN-13: 978-0-7783-2345-7 (9780778323457)
Publication Date: September 2006
List Price: $6.99
Synopsis (from
the publisher): It's been years since former stockbroker Madeline
Carter bothered thinking about her gastronomically gifted ex-husband,
Chef Braydon Gauthier. Between quitting her soul-sucking career and
discovering what life is like during daylight hours she's been kind of
busy. But when Madeline learns Braydon took his own life, she drops
everything and hightails it to the funeral.
It doesn't take long to realize Braydon's death is more murder than
suicide. Madeline knows her ex would never have prepared himself a
poison-laced dinner of duck a l'orange -- let alone pair it with a big,
beefy Shiraz! The culinary star would have eaten fast food first.
So who's responsible? Madeline definitely has her suspicions, but one
thing's clear: in the pressure-cooker world of high cuisine and higher
stakes, a reputation is worth killing for.
Review: Calculated Loss is the third
mystery by Linda L. Richards to feature former stock broker and current
day trader Madeline Carter, this time leaving Los Angeles for Vancouver
to attend the funeral of her ex-husband, renowned chef Braydon Gauthier.
Though Braydon's death is ruled a suicide, his family is suspicious,
especially when leadership of his company is turned over the brother of
Braydon's current wife. When Madeline arrives in Vancouver she is asked
by Braydon's family to take a look at the corporate finances, and what
she finds concerns her. Though the company appears healthy, it has
recently been delisted from the major stock exchanges. Madeline's
subsequent investigation leads her to believe that Braydon did not die
by his own hand.
At one point in the book, Madeline muses, "And what, I asked myself,
did any of this have to do with me? Nothing, I told myself. Everything.
Old debts, new curiosities, and the curse of a personality that seldom
lets me leave well enough alone."
Richards effortlessly blends Madeline's reminiscing about her life with
Braydon and her current investigation into his death. It's frequently
very touching and, as the author mentions in a forward, very personal.
The background information required to explain some of the corporate
antics are appropriately detailed without weighing down the story. The
plot itself is well thought out and plausible, though Braydon's death
from the fruit of the "suicide" tree is a bit of a cliché. (And
it's never quite explained how he came to ingest it.)
has a more reasoned, better structured and focused story than Richards'
previous book in the series, itself the very appealing The Next Ex. As a result, is an
intriguing mystery that effectively combines high finance with haute
cuisine and is highly recommended.
Special thanks to Mira Books for providing a copy of Calculated Loss for this review.
Review Copyright © 2006 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Have you read Calculated Loss? How would you rate it?
Mysteries in this series ...
Mad
Money
Mira (Mass Market Paperback), December 2004
ISBN-10: 0-7783-2103-7 (0778321037)
ISBN-13: 978-0-7783-2103-3 (9780778321033)
The Next Ex
Mira Books (Mass Market Paperback), November 2005
ISBN-10: 0-7783-2240-8 (0778322408)
ISBN-13: 978-0-7783-2240-5 (9780778322405)
Calculated Loss
Mira Books (Mass Market Paperback), September 2006
ISBN-10: 0-7783-2345-5 (0778323455)
ISBN-13: 978-0-7783-2345-7 (9780778323457)
Omnimystery keywords for Calculated Loss ...
Location(s) referenced: Vancouver.
