Book Review: No Reservations Required

Reviewed By: Woodstock - RAM

No Reservations Required     Amazon US PB Amazon Canada PB
Ellen Hart
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Culinary
Series: Sophie Greenway # 8
Fawcett June 2005

The community of Minnesota's twin cities is rocked when two men are found shot on the same evening, with the same gun. In a bizarre twist, one of the dead men was responsible for the traffic accident which killed the other dead man's wife a year earlier. An enigmatic 911 tape throws suspicion on two family members of one of the dead men. An elegant society watering hole and restaurant becomes the focus of much of the action as restaurant critic Sophie Greenway tries her hand at second guessing the police.

Sophie also copes with an exasperating former boyfriend, a bothersome step daughter, and elderly parents with too much time on their hands.

NO RESERVATIONS REQUIRED is a light, breezy read. A pair of cooks eager to experiment with menu selections which might be featured on contemporary reality TV were probably intended by the author to add to the occasional humorous passages, but their eventual role in the solution to the mystery didn't quite come off. Making a murder(?) or suicide(?) a joke just didn't seem very funny.

Woodstock - RAM

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Woodstock - RAM