Customer Reviews (6) 
A Lesson in Knives leads to Murder
Eugenia Potter is "at home" in Iowa where a famous food expert is in residence writing a new cookbook. She organizes a diversion for her friends in THE COOKING SCHOOL MURDERS, but three murders ruin the evening in a small town where murder never happens.
Virginia Rich created the fun and easy to identify with sleuth of Eugenia Potter and was the first to include recipes in her mysteries. The series by Mrs. Rich consists of three books, but was continued by Nancy Pickard.
An excellent choice of an anytime read and experimenting in your own kitchen.
Wolves in the Kitchen. Cupboards Beware.
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R126BB8AKVQ82B As much as I've looked forward to ordering, owning, and reading this rare book, I'm happy to say that it's even better than I thought it would be. I wasn't factoring in the richness of the time frame of its conception and composition, which appears to have been the end of the 70's, moving into the bare beginning of the 80's, that satisfying time before shock and speed had stolen the essence of sensuality, when Robert B. Parker's Spenser series had established its market call with its first five or six novels, at least through THE JUDAS GOAT (# 5 in series with a 1978 Copyright), and maybe through LOOKING FOR RACHEL WALLACE (# 6 in series with a 1980 Copyright).
Hailing from that cultural setting, this novel was not as soothingly cozy as I had anticipated from my current New Millennium reading perspective. Instead, the opening scene of this novel had a delicately noir mood, somewhat like Sidney Sheldon's novels' steps-out from The Literary Gateways.The flap copy on the hardcover dust jacket of THE COOKING SCHOOL MURDERS referred to Nero Wolfe fans, and announced that this was the pilot to a mystery series beaconing to gourmands. This was not yet the time of the call to pull up bar stools to the kitchen counter top of the home based catering business of Diane Mott Davidson's heroine (see my Listmania of that series, and my reviews of DARK TORT (Goldy Culinary Mysteries, Book 13) and DOUBLE SHOT (Goldy Culinary Mysteries, Book 12)).
I believe that the historic branching off from heavy moods etched in the dark sides of realism, into the breezier cozy offerings in amateur sleuth mystery series, especially those in the culinary category, may have had to do partially with relatively young female authors establishing a solid footing on the literary mystery stage, with Sue Grafton's phenomenal success with her early offerings in her Alphabet series, and with the establishment of Sisters in Crime. Actually, Sue's pilot to her series, "A" IS FOR ALIBI (The Kinsey Millhone Alphabet Mysteries), came out the same year as COOKING SCHOOL MURDERS, 1982. However, Grafton was probably a few decades younger than Virginia Rich.In that 70's to 80's transition time frame, those decades of age difference and cultural background diversity mattered greatly, due to the surging initiations of humongous leaps of cultural change revolving around three massive factors.
-- A huge shift in male/female role adaptations.
-- A huge shift from manual/electric typewriters to the PC (personal computer) era.
-- Earthquake cracks which began unraveling ancient tapestries of ethical perspectives and social strata frameworks.
I feel I shouldn't take additional time here away from the novel I'm currently reviewing, to go further into these earth splitting contemplations. So, I'll exit this mine field with only a few prime picks of bombs diffused. Tread cautiously into further ruminations, if you wish.You might cross lines of fire from active battles between the sexes about who's rescuing or not rescuing whom, and who's pulling the toughest end of the Macho rope (which you could hang yourself with if you're not careful; see my review on RB Parker's LOOKING FOR RACHEL WALLACE). You might even find yourself lost in The Matrix or The Relativity of Rules.
If you do venture further into this cultural growth battle arena as it broke ground into literature, keep in mind a particular time factor which until recently had been concretized for at least a century, possibly even earlier, from the establishment of the printing press. That factor is the backtrack distance between copyright/publication dates, and the conception and beginning composition of a novel, a distance which has (on average) normally been from one to three years.
Commonly, it takes a year for an author to compose and edit (through several drafts) a manuscript for a novel, though some prolific writers can rush the first draft of a novel in a few weeks (I've done that a couple times, though a couple months for a first draft has been my norm). Other more methodical, contemplative authors will take 10 years to finish a work of fiction. Once a novel is contracted by an established publishing house, the process of editing, formal copyrighting, printing, distribution and publication takes, on average, 6 months to a year.
A glitch in that timing is how long it can take from a manuscript completion by an author, to that author's getting the novel contracted (with or without a literary agent) with a legitimate (that term, too, is evolving) publishing house. This time lag can be as short as having a contract in hand (with an advance on future royalties in the bank) prior to pen touching paper, or as long as the 40 years it took Frank Herbert to get his weighted ms (manuscript) for DUNE (was mesmerized by the book and the movie) contracted for publication.
Returning to the historic significance of Virginia Rich's individual life and path, which was, as noted, well into its final chapter when she began this series, with wisdom gathered and garnered; I'll postulate that Virginia Rich may have had a sense (which was more than a hope, and possibly partly subliminal), of how far this series might go.I wonder if she knew at the time of writing COOKING SCHOOL MURDERS that she had only a few years left to live....
[This review will be continued in comments below, with hyper-links included to other books in the series.]
With greatest appreciation for landmark literature,
Linda Shelnutt
wonderful debut of Eugenia Potter series
Eugenia Potter has returned to the small town in which she grew up.At once she is a stranger to the place as well as intimately familiar with the people with whom she grew up.Potter finds herself contacting a visiting celebrity chef and convincing him to hold a cooking class while he's in town.She's relieved when she meets her commitment to get 12 students for the class, but that doesn't last long when not one, but three, of the students are found dead the next morning -- one an apparent murder, one an accident and one a suicide?Small town law enforcement (Pete and the twins) mean well but could be in over their heads, so Mrs. Potter decides to do a little investigating of her own ....
What sets this cozy mystery apart is the writing.The chronology is more complex than usual and the writing, both for content and style, is terrific.Much is revealed as we observe through our protagonist's eyes; we are simultaneously knowledgeable about these interesting characters, and surprised by them.I look forward to others in the series.
a great series of books for winter or summer reading
these books are a gem! great characters, no wild bedroom scenes, just good old fashioned detective work by a 60 something year old woman who knows how to entertain her friends. Great development of scenes in 2 states. enjoyable. i re-read her books every year.
Wolves in the Kitchen. Cupboards Beware.
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R2WPQ2X6RWMY83 As much as I've looked forward to ordering, owning, and reading this rare book, I'm happy to say that it's even better than I thought it would be. I wasn't factoring in the richness of the time frame of its conception and composition, which appears to have been the end of the 70's, moving into the bare beginning of the 80's, that satisfying time before shock and speed had stolen the essence of sensuality, when Robert B. Parker's Spenser series had established its market call with its first five or six novels, at least through THE JUDAS GOAT (# 5 in series with a 1978 Copyright), and maybe through LOOKING FOR RACHEL WALLACE (# 6 in series with a 1980 Copyright).
Hailing from that cultural setting, this novel was not as soothingly cozy as I had anticipated from my current New Millennium reading perspective. Instead, the opening scene of this novel had a delicately noir mood, somewhat like Sidney Sheldon's novels' steps-out from The Literary Gateways.The flap copy on the hardcover dust jacket of THE COOKING SCHOOL MURDERS referred to Nero Wolfe fans, and announced that this was the pilot to a mystery series beaconing to gourmands. This was not yet the time of the call to pull up bar stools to the kitchen counter top of the home based catering business of Diane Mott Davidson's heroine (see my Listmania of that series, and my reviews of DARK TORT (Goldy Culinary Mysteries, Book 13) and DOUBLE SHOT (Goldy Culinary Mysteries, Book 12)).
I believe that the historic branching off from heavy moods etched in the dark sides of realism, into the breezier cozy offerings in amateur sleuth mystery series, especially those in the culinary category, may have had to do partially with relatively young female authors establishing a solid footing on the literary mystery stage, with Sue Grafton's phenomenal success with her early offerings in her Alphabet series, and with the establishment of Sisters in Crime. Actually, Sue's pilot to her series, "A" IS FOR ALIBI (The Kinsey Millhone Alphabet Mysteries), came out the same year as COOKING SCHOOL MURDERS, 1982. However, Grafton was probably a few decades younger than Virginia Rich.In that 70's to 80's transition time frame, those decades of age difference and cultural background diversity mattered greatly, due to the surging initiations of humongous leaps of cultural change revolving around three massive factors.
-- A huge shift in male/female role adaptations.
-- A huge shift from manual/electric typewriters to the PC (personal computer) era.
-- Earthquake cracks which began unraveling ancient tapestries of ethical perspectives and social strata frameworks.
I feel I shouldn't take additional time here away from the novel I'm currently reviewing, to go further into these earth splitting contemplations. So, I'll exit this mine field with only a few prime picks of bombs diffused. Tread cautiously into further ruminations, if you wish.You might cross lines of fire from active battles between the sexes about who's rescuing or not rescuing whom, and who's pulling the toughest end of the Macho rope (which you could hang yourself with if you're not careful; see my review on RB Parker's LOOKING FOR RACHEL WALLACE). You might even find yourself lost in The Matrix or The Relativity of Rules.
If you do venture further into this cultural growth battle arena as it broke ground into literature, keep in mind a particular time factor which until recently had been concretized for at least a century, possibly even earlier, from the establishment of the printing press. That factor is the backtrack distance between copyright/publication dates, and the conception and beginning composition of a novel, a distance which has (on average) normally been from one to three years.
Commonly, it takes a year for an author to compose and edit (through several drafts) a manuscript for a novel, though some prolific writers can rush the first draft of a novel in a few weeks (I've done that a couple times, though a couple months for a first draft has been my norm). Other more methodical, contemplative authors will take 10 years to finish a work of fiction. Once a novel is contracted by an established publishing house, the process of editing, formal copyrighting, printing, distribution and publication takes, on average, 6 months to a year.
A glitch in that timing is how long it can take from a manuscript completion by an author, to that author's getting the novel contracted (with or without a literary agent) with a legitimate (that term, too, is evolving) publishing house. This time lag can be as short as having a contract in hand (with an advance on future royalties in the bank) prior to pen touching paper, or as long as the 40 years it took Frank Herbert to get his weighted ms (manuscript) for DUNE (was mesmerized by the book and the movie) contracted for publication.
Returning to the historic significance of Virginia Rich's individual life and path, which was, as noted, well into its final chapter when she began this series, with wisdom gathered and garnered; I'll postulate that Virginia Rich may have had a sense (which was more than a hope, and possibly partly subliminal), of how far this series might go.I wonder if she knew at the time of writing COOKING SCHOOL MURDERS that she had only a few years left to live....
[This review will be continued in comments below, with hyper-links included to other books in the series.]
With greatest appreciation for landmark literature,
Linda Shelnutt
... Read more |
'The Magic School Bus Gets Baked' is questionable
Kitchen Chemistry Fizzes
Looks great, but not amazing
Recipes use unhealthy refined flour, rice and oil