TRICK OR TREAT by Kerry Greenwood, Book Review
Book 4 in Kerry Greenwood’s Corinna Chapman’s Murder Mysteries Series
Trick or Treat Synopsis:
Corinna Chapman, amateur sleuth, baker extraordinaire and proprietor of the Earthly Delights Bakery, returns for her fourth criminally entertaining and delicious adventure.
When a cut-price franchise bakery opens its doors just down the street from Earthly Delights and crowds flock to purchase the bread, Corinna Chapman is understandably nervous. Meanwhile, the gorgeous Daniel’s old friend Georgiana Hope has temporarily set up residence in his house, and it doesn’t take Corinna long to work out that she’s tall, blonde, gorgeous and up to something. Daniel is making excuses and Corinna is worried about his absences and also the strange outbreak of madness which seems to be centred on Lonsdale Street.
Will Corinna win through a maze of health regulations, missing boyfriends, sinister strangers, fraudulent companies and back-alley ambushes? Or will this be the end for the Earthly Delights Bakery?
(Allen & Unwin, 2007)
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BOOK REVIEW
This book made me hungry! Greenwood’s main character and narrator Corinna Chapman is a baker and simply loves food. The detailed descriptions of every meal were mouth-watering but sometimes a little distracting from the mystery story itself which involved surprisingly heavy and historical subject matter.
I do however give Greenwood credit for trying a mix of Aussie chicklit and amateur detective in one novel – that unusual mix is indeed what attracted me to this audiobook from my library in the first place. Also to be commended is Greenwood’s creation of a down-to-earth, gutsy and mature female lead, who cares a lot for people, but little for appearances. To that end, she has provided a great female role model.
Set in Melbourne, this story has a lovely multicultural feel about it and Greenwood introduces the reader to many interesting and quirky characters whose paths Corinna (amateur sleuth) and her PI boyfriend Daniel, cross in trying to solve the mystery. At times however I found the sheer number of characters a little difficult to keep track of and some elements of the story’s conclusion just didn’t quite sit right.
I do commend the ambitious task Greenwood set herself in writing this novel but she didn’t quite ‘nail it’ for me. Despite my reservations about the story itself, I appreciated Greenwood’s prose and still found it an enjoyable read/listen.
I look forward to reading one of the titles in her Phryne Fisher Series which I’ve heard great things about in the future.
UPDATE: I have since enjoyed her novels Queen of the Flowers and Murder on a Midsummer Night.
BOOK RATING: The Story 3 / 5 ; The Writing 3.5 / 5
Get your copy of Trick or Treat from:
Book Depository | Amazon | Kobo | Booktopia(Aus)
Genre: Mystery, Crime-Detective, Romance, ChickLit
About the Author, Kerry Greenwood
Kerry Greenwood is the author of forty novels, six non-fiction works and the editor of two collections. The first three books in the Corinna series are Earthly Delights (2004), Heavenly Pleasures (2005) and Devil’s Food (2006). Previous novels in the Phryne Fisher series are Cocaine Blues, Flying too High, Murder on the Ballarat Train, Death on the Victoria Dock, Blood and Circuses, The Green Mill Murder, Ruddy Gore, Urn Burial, Raisins and Almonds, Death Before Wicket, Away with the Fairies, Murder in Montparnasse, The Castlemaine Murders, Queen of the Flowers, Death by Water and Murder in the Dark. She is also the author of several books for young adults and the Delphic Women series. When she is not writing she is an advocate in Magistrates’ Court for the Legal Aid Commission. She is not married, has no children and lives with a registered Wizard.
