Steamed (Gourmet Girl Series #1) [NOOK Book]

New Series

OK may or may not order the second in the series.

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A treat for both culinary and cozy mystery lovers

Chloe Carter dumps her boyfriend Noah when she discovers him getting to know another woman in the biblical sense. She decides to try an on-line dating service, using the name Gourmet-Girl and accepts a date with DinnerDude. Things seem to be looking up for Chloe- a guy who shares her love of food and a date to a nice restaurant that he is looking at investing in. Quickly, she finds DinnerDude is really a dinner dud, a pompous bore who loves nothing more than the sound of his own voice. As if things couldn't get any more awkward on a first date, he ends up murdered on the men's room floor.

Chloe ends up going to the funeral and meets the sexy chef Josh Driscoll. Finally, a man who has it all- good looks, personality and a great cook. Too bad he also has the attention of the police department, who see him as a main suspect in the murder. Chloe is determined not to keep her new man in her kitchen and out of the slammer by clearing his name and finding the real killer.

Chloe is someone you can relate to. I mean who hasn't tried to paint stripes on their walls and ended up with a hot mess? In my defense, I thought duct tape was just as good as painter's tape. And even though her friend Adrianna is drop dead gorgeous, she's too sweet for you to hold it against her. Josh is also instantly likable (the fact that he is hot and cooks doesn't hurt) and it is fun to see the relationships and inner workings of a restaurant kitchen through him.

There are plenty of possible suspects in this one to keep you guessing up to the last chapters. I was certain I knew who the murderer was until the real killer was revealed. Then I wondered how I could miss some of the clues and how soon I could get my hands on the next in the series. I suggest getting all 5 in the series at the same time because once you start in on this delightful series, you won't want to stop.

I have a new favorite author ...

Just finished this one and getting ready to start the second in this series. Jessica Conant-Park writes this along with her mother, Susan Conant, and it's a great, fun read.

Chloe Carter is a funny, witty, and charming character with a passion for food. She, at the urging of others, signs herself up for one of those internet dating sites, and goes on a "blind" date with someone that responds to her profile, only to find him murdered in the bathroom of the restaurant he takes her to. She becomes entangled in trying to solve the murder, especially when she meets Josh -- a handsome Chef -- and it is HIS knife that kills Eric, the one she met for the "blind date."

I chuckled throughout this book at the adventures and misadventures of Chloe ... it's a great read, and I finished it pretty quickly!

NO NO NO

I thought this book was AWFUL !!!! I love Susan Conant books usually,but this is NOTHING like her usual writing.This one is for the garbage.

Fun read

don't expect deep reading - this one is for fun

great

These were new authors to me and I thoroughly enjoyed the first four in the series. Am looking forward to many more episodes. bch

Extremely disappointing

This had the potential of being a good cozy mystery. I would love a good gourmet series. Most of this book was devoted to the main character's thoughts and actions about wanting to go to bed with men.

Delectable Concotion!

Ingredients:

Suspense
Amusement
Romance
Dating
Murder
Yummie Food
Laughs

Just toss it all together in a bowl, mix it up & you have a delectable concoction in Steamed!

Steamed isn't your classic cozy. It isn't your customary culinary mystery either. So, what exactly is it?

Enter the chick-lit mystery.

The mother-daughter mystery writing team of Jessica Conant-Park (daughter) & Susan Conant(mother) have created a fresh, fun, zesty series.


Jessica definitely inherited her mother's gift of establishing a charismatic story .

Susan Conant is best known for her delightful "Dog Lovers Mystery" series.

Together they created Chole Carter. Chole is an exhilarating, intelligent, snappy, chick. If you look up the word au courant don't be surprised if Chole Carter's name & photo appear under the definition.

Psst! I love the pop culture references!

Chole is refreshing. She isn't a caterer, chef, critic, or waitress. She's a foodie.

She is the real deal. She tells it like it is.

The plot flows & the writing is spunky.

This is a well-crafted mystery stuffed w/ plenty of motives & suspects.

The secondary characters are absorbing, delightful, lovable, quirky & add flavor to Chole's slightly neurotic, but riotous world.

This is a must for those w/ an appetite for murder!!!

Reviewed by Carrie Spellman for TeensReadToo.com

Chloe Carter is not exactly having the best week of her life. For starters, she's about to attend graduate school, studying social work. Not because she wants to but because that's the only way she can get her inheritance from her uncle. He didn't specify social work; it just seemed like a good idea at the time. Now that school is about to begin, Chloe's not so sure. Secondly, her downstairs neighbor/sometimes boyfriend is outside kissing some tiny blonde chick. Sure, he said he wasn't looking for a relationship, but that doesn't give him the right to parade around with the blonde. Well, maybe it does, but that's not the point! And she can't even use her backup date to make him jealous, since he has a girlfriend now! Not to mention the disaster her apartment has become since her last half-accomplished attempt to redecorate.

Chloe is desperate for something good in her life. It's time for drastic measures. It's time to try the Internet dating service her sister keeps pushing. It worked for her, she's married and has kids and is happy, so maybe it'll work for Chloe. That's the decision she comes to at 3am. A decision she regrets the minute she wakes up. What was she thinking? Normal people don't date through the Internet! Her membership must be cancelled and her profile deleted immediately! Though she could check the messages first, since the people did take the time to write them and all. Wonder of all wonders, there is a normal-seeming guy who seems to like food as much as she does. Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all. Chloe and "DinnerDude" agree to meet at a new high-end restaurant that he's thinking about investing in. If this works out, just think about all of the great free dinners!

First instincts are usually right -- this was a bad idea. Chloe's week is rapidly spiraling from bad to worse. Her blind date is rude, overbearing, and completely self-absorbed. And the food -- well, it started off great, and now it's starting to mirror her week. After waiting for what seems like forever for her blind date to return from the phone call he answered during dinner, Chloe decides to hunt him down. She finds him in the bathroom. On the floor. Dead. Talk about the worst blind date ever!

From the date, to grieving parents who seem to think that Chloe was about to be their daughter-in-law, to the cute chef at the dinner after the funeral (who happens to be the main suspect), Chloe's life has certainly altered drastically. She's just not sure which direction it's headed in!

Chloe is neurotically, obsessively hilarious! And the situations she gets herself stuck in are absurd, but possible. They really could happen -- you just hope they would never happen to you. The characters are all well-drawn. They're all a little bit odd, which makes them that much more lovable and easy to relate to. The story takes awhile to get moving, but when it finally does, it's a whirlwind. Plus, it has recipes! Good story, fun characters, lots of food, AND recipes? Count me in! My only real question is why no one seems to notice that Chloe has missed her calling. She should be a detective, not a social worker.

*Disclaimer for those concerned that this is a book for adults: The main character is in her 20's. Sex is discussed and alluded to, but never described. The murder doesn't come off as gruesome or graphic. There is a limited amount of swearing.

Pretty good Beach Read

While I agree somewhat with the author about our main character, i didn't find her annoying at all. Some of the scenes she writes about are very broad sketches of some of the characters I ran into as an undergrad majoring in Psychology and minoring in Sociology. Broad but VERY familiar(the Naomi Campbell type, the one professor in the class setting)and very funny(and flaky, admittedly, their hearts are in the right places. As for the scenes in the restaurant and in the world of culinary arts, the competition between chefs, rastaurant ownwers is amped up for literary enjoyment, but it's very present(not to the point of murder, but some screaming matches, fistfights and flying utensils aren't scarce either). There are also a lot of wannabes like the victim. Again it's exaggerated for fiction but the food world is littered with chef groupies, restaurant junkies and the like. I liked it because a lot of my experiences, both academically and culinary(I'm a pro baker), were lampooned heavily. I chuckled quite a bit at some scenes, laughed out loud at the loony pastry chef, and wished a darker haired, dark eyed version of Chef Dreamy would enter my life!

Dating, food, and murder

Chloe Carter is a food connoisseur. She's now a grad student due to a wacky clause in her uncle's will. Before she can touch her inheritance, she has to get a master's degree of her choice. When she gets burned by her neighbor and boyfriend, she signs up with an online dating service. She's known as GourmetGirl on the Internet. Reluctantly she accepts a date with DinnerDude. The food is good, but Eric's a bore. When he doesn't come back to the table, Chloe finds him stabbed to death in the men's room. When she attends Eric's funeral, his parents show up with the opinion that she was his fiancée. Not wanting to upset them at the funeral, she plays along. What she doesn't know is this isn't the only interaction she'll have with them! Her next date is with a yummy chef, but unfortunately Josh's the prime suspect. She doesn't think he did it, so she sets out to find the real killer. She has ulterior motives, because she wants Josh out of jail so she can continue to date him. Can she find the killer without becoming the next course? I really enjoyed this book. Chloe was such a fun character. The authors did such a great job that I often forgot two different people wrote this. Her interaction with her dates and sister were great. Plus her classes and her internship really added to the story. Don't read this when you're hungry. The food descriptions are yummy! Her many forays into the dating and restaurant scenes were entertaining. I found myself chuckling and laughing out loud when reading this book. This is a great light chick lit mystery. I highly recommend it.

A reviewer

This is an okay read, but the heroine is more than a little annoying. She is more concerned with looks and food than anything else. And it is never really clear where she is gets her knowledge of good food and the ability to discern what is cuisine and what is not. The character states over and over again she can't make coffee or cook, so her ability to take on the different levels of tasting is a bit overdone. Plus, she is a grad student in social work, but she barely even listens to people with real problems. It seems the author's' had a hard time deciding which way to go with their lead character. I think one author is sufficient for these kinds of books and maybe one should step aside.

refreshingly charming chick-lit mystery

To receive her inheritance, Chloe Cantor must receive a graduate degree and chooses sociology as her major. Her passions are excellent food and Mr. Right and even though she knows her downstairs neighbor Noah doesn¿t want a steady relationship. She is hurt when she sees a beautiful blonde leaving his apartment early one morning. She registers with an internet dating service as Gourmet Girl and meets DinnerDude. --- He tells her he is thinking of investing in a new restaurant in town, Essence and invites her to be his date that evening. She agrees to meet him there as they exchange real names. His is Eric and he throws his weight around at the place as he knows all the staff but when he disappears after getting a phone call, Chloe find him dead in the men¿s room. At the funeral reception she meets Josh the head chef of The Magellan restaurant. It is lust at first sight but before they exchange addresses and phone numbers he tells her he is a suspect in Eric¿s death because the knife was his and he has no real alibi. As Chloe spends more time with Josh, she is convinced he is no murderer and may be her ¿Mr. Right¿ so she sets out to clear his name ignoring the warnings of the detective and Josh¿s desire to keep her safe. --- Famous writer of mysteries involving cats and dogs Susan Conant teams up with her daughter to write a refreshingly charming chick-lit mystery. The heroine has a strength of character that allows her to do what she thinks is right and the support cast, made of her friends, care deeply for her, just as readers will because she leaves herself open to get hurt. There¿s no doubt about it this is the start of a great new series. --- Harriet Klausner

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