Killer Mousse (Della Cooks Mystery)

Melinda Wells has cooked up a delicious murder mystery in the first book of a new series. As a culinary mystery fan, the recipes are superb--who can resist sampling "Funeral Salad," "Gangster Chicken" and of course, the yummy "Killer Mousse" of the title. Della Carmichael is a wonderfully warm, sexy heroine who stars as host and chef of a cable cooking show. On her very first day, someone dies on-air after sampling her chocolate mousse. Della is the prime suspect and sets out to find the killer to prove her innocence. What a welcome change to have a single woman in her 40's who is confident and capable as well as feminine and vulnerable--especially when it comes to juggling the men in her life. One relationship certainly turned up the heat in my kitchen! I don't want to spoil the plot, but suffice it to say KILLER MOUSSE is a fast-paced, tightly woven and witty ride. I couldn't put the book down and can't wait for the next one.

I am trying to find new Cozy Mystery series that will hold my interest. I have run out of British writers so I am into American. This book by Melinda Wells is the best first series book I have read in a l-o-n-g time. Please make this the first of a series.

I have to confess that, as much as I love mysteries (especially cozies) I've never been a great fan of the culinary type books. The recipes seem to be so complicated, or not even really essential to the story. I'm a convert now, though, at least to this first of a new series by Melinda Wells. Her characterizations are absolutely tops! All of the people in this book are so real! And most of them are the type of person you'd like to have for a friend. Della Carmichael, the main cook here, is a down-to-earth woman of 47. WOW! 47!!! She's capable. And she can still walk and talk and make love and do all kinds of things. Compared to Hollywood's fascination with `twinkies' that's truly incredible. She has a delicious sense of self to go along with her wry sense of humor, and these blend excellently well with her abundance of common sense. She's a woman after my own heart. She's now a widow, and freely admits to a few imperfections, but she's not a quitter, and truly when life handed her lemons, she proceeded to make marvelous tangy lemonade. I've not yet tried any of the recipes in the book, but they read easy, so maybe they'll make easy, too. We'll see. The premise is a dandy, too, for who among us hasn't hoped to be a TV star, even if only for five minutes? As a cable cooking diva, she shares a studio with a car mechanic, a crafter and a guy who specializes in rescuing and re-creating `stuff'. Seems reasonable to me. They're all just a wee bit loony, but great fun, and eminently believable. So is her dog, Tuffy, and rescued cat, Emma. And there's NDM. Scrumptious! But in the meantime, I can only hope for the speedy arrival of her next book, with all these marvelous characters we've just met, to see what sort of troubles Ms. Wells can stir up for them. Or they stir up for her. Whichever.

This is the first book in a new series about Della Carmichael, owner of a Cooking School and the new TV cooking star of the Better Living Channel. Her first live program ends suddenly when the former Cooking Diva of the Better Living Channel dies after taste testing Della's Chocolate Mousse. Della then has to try and prove her innocence and along the way expose some secrets about the others at the Better Living Channel. I enjoyed Killer Mousse and can't wait for the next book in the series. Did anyone else catch the connection between this book and the first book in this author's last series?

I bought this book and meant to save it for the weekend, but I started it and couldn't stop reading. It's a good mystery, but I liked the characters even more, especially the central one, Della Carmichael. I related to her problems. Also, her reactions to things that happened in the story seemed real, not "fiction-fake." Briefly: Della runs a cooking school in Santa Monica, California, but she's in debt. When she's hired to be on a cable TV cooking show, she thinks her bad luck has changed. Then somebody dies during her first TV show. Last night I made one of the recipes in the back, "Funeral Salad." Delicious. (Like this book.)