I was reticent to read this book... I guess, because I've been so disappointed with the most recent Hannah Swenson mystery/recipes series. Which is quite unfair. Goldy (from this series) is quite her own person with her own history and surrounding characters.It was quite cozy to reconnect with Goldy, her detective hubby Tom, her friend Marla, and the rest of the Goldy world. In this book, the economy is at the forefront -- it's taken it's toll on the Denver area, and catering jobs are sparse. But an old friend, Yolanda (whom Goldy has worked with at the nearby Spa) is out of a job, and with her trusty sidekick Julian unavailable, Goldy has hired Yolanda to help with her few and far-between catering jobs. Except that Yolanda has been having a world of trouble lately: a rich ex-boyfriend is supposedly stalking her and may or may not be responsible for recently burning down her rental home, and the nice ex-detective Ernest that Yolanda and her great-aunt just moved in with has just been found - dead... murdered.Yolanda is frightened of her very shadow. With Ernest dead, she's scared out of her wits. So Goldy tries to help Yolanda by asking her and her great-aunt to move in to her house -- even though Tom's not so sure. But when Goldy takes Yolanda and Ferdinanda back to Ernest's house to pick up a few things and take care of the 9 puppies Ernest just picked up, an unknown bald man throws several Molotov cocktails into the house, burning the house down. Goldy was looking for the puppy chow, and happened to find it: sitting next to 6 marijuana plants in Ernest's greenhouse. But before she can process why Ernest is growing marijuana, the Molotov cocktails start flying. It's all she can do to get Yolanda, Ferdinanda, and the 9 puppies out of the house!As they track down Ernest's last cases, there are plenty of suspects and motives and mysteries. Luckily, Tom knows Goldy is going to do her own investigations, and he only asks her to be as cautious and as legal as possible. And despite the extra security provided by Tom's deputy, Boyd, Goldy and company still manage to endanger themselves several times -- including the Killer confronting Goldy in a cluttered garage with a gun! I didn't realize that I'd missed these characters until I started reading this book. When I finished, I was almost sad, because the next book likely won't be out until next year. I really want to know if Goldy & Tom are going to have a baby together!
