Devil's food: a Corinna Chapman mystery

Originally published in 2006 and making its first U.S. appearance, the third Corinna Chapman mystery finds the Australian baker and amateur sleuth trying to determine who's been distributing poison-tainted herbal teas and why. As usual, there are complications on the home front: Corinna's hippie mother, Starshine, has unexpectedly appeared out of nowhere after her husband, Sunlight, has left her for a younger woman. The Chapman novels take the best elements of the author's more popular 1920s-era Phryne Fisher series strong female protagonist, solid mystery, offbeat humor and transport them to the present day. Greenwood has a definite knack for character and story, and, while the Chapman series is a mere toddler compared to the longer-running Fisher novels, Corinna shows every indication of sticking around for a good long time.--Pitt, David Copyright 2009 Booklist

A missing parent, a lethal herbal tea and a sinister cult are a few of the mysterious ingredients in Greenwood's lively third cozy to feature cheerfully fat baker Corinna Chapman (after 2008's Heavenly Pleasures). Chapman's estranged hippie mother, who organizes her time by the phases of the moon, arrives on the doorstep of Melbourne's Earthly Delights Bakery to announce her spouse's disappearance during an apparent midlife crisis. Further complications for Chapman include a toxic tea imbibed by two of her employees and a strange group of monks. To assist in finding the tea's supplier, locating her wandering father and determining the monks' activities, Chapman has a devoted, if eccentric, cohort-a sexy PI lover, a weaver, a follower of Wicca, a grand dame, a dominatrix, a retired classics professor and a nun or two. While a glossary of Australian terms would've helped the American reader, this doesn't detract from the warmhearted message that it takes a village to solve a mystery. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Originally published in 2006 and making its first U.S. appearance, the third Corinna Chapman mystery finds the Australian baker and amateur sleuth trying to determine who's been distributing poison-tainted herbal teas and why. As usual, there are complications on the home front: Corinna's hippie mother, Starshine, has unexpectedly appeared out of nowhere after her husband, Sunlight, has left her for a younger woman. The Chapman novels take the best elements of the author's more popular 1920s-era Phryne Fisher series—strong female protagonist, solid mystery, offbeat humor—and transport them to the present day. Greenwood has a definite knack for character and story, and, while the Chapman series is a mere toddler compared to the longer-running Fisher novels, Corinna shows every indication of sticking around for a good long time. Copyright 2009 Booklist Reviews.

Welcome back to Corinna Chapman's Earthly Delights Bakery in this third series entry from Greenwood. Disturbed by a cult that eats only famine bread, Corinna tries to connect them to a malnourished corpse and weight-loss tea that led to numerous poisonings. Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.

A missing parent, a lethal herbal tea and a sinister cult are a few of the mysterious ingredients in Greenwood's lively third cozy to feature cheerfully fat baker Corinna Chapman (after 2008's Heavenly Pleasures). Chapman's estranged hippie mother, who organizes her time by the phases of the moon, arrives on the doorstep of Melbourne's Earthly Delights Bakery to announce her spouse's disappearance during an apparent midlife crisis. Further complications for Chapman include a toxic tea imbibed by two of her employees and a strange group of monks. To assist in finding the tea's supplier, locating her wandering father and determining the monks' activities, Chapman has a devoted, if eccentric, cohort—a sexy PI lover, a weaver, a follower of Wicca, a grand dame, a dominatrix, a retired classics professor and a nun or two. While a glossary of Australian terms would've helped the American reader, this doesn't detract from the warmhearted message that it takes a village to solve a mystery. (May)