Alene Baron is the proud owner of Whipped and Sipped, a café that offers healthful, delectable food and drinks. Her life consists of dreaming up new recipes, raising her three children, and arguing with her ex-husband–until her neighbor and close friend is murdered. She imagines nearly everyone she knows as a possible suspect. After a second attack, Alene is determined to find the true killer … … … before she, or her family, become targets.
About the author:
Already known for her imaginative baking and fabulous dinners, G.P. Gottlieb began writing throughout her varied career. After recovering from breast cancer, she turned to writing in earnest, melding her two loves, nourishment for mind and body in recipe-laced murder mysteries. She is also the host of New Books in Literature, a podcast of the New Books Network.
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Alene Baron runs Whipped and Sipped with her best friend, Ruthie Rosin. Together, the two have turned the café and coffee shop into a healthy choice with a loyal clientele. They serve only the best coffee, and most of their items are vegan, even the sweet treats, that is popular in their neighborhood in Chicago. Alene lives a few blocks away from the café in a condo she shares with her father and her three children. Her world is a little chaotic, but it gets more so when she finds one of her neighbors dead one afternoon. It is clear that he was murdered, and soon Alene is casting everyone in the role of killer. Since she knows everyone who might be a suspect, can she figure out what really happened?
This book has a couple of twists on culinary cozies that I enjoyed, the healthy food that is served and the large city setting. Author G. P. Gottlieb still manages to keep this book feeling cozy despite that setting, and I enjoyed spending time in a bigger city. There are a lot of characters, and their relationships are complicated. There is a list of characters before the book starts, but it didn’t take too long for the character’s personalities to come through and it became easy to keep them straight. There are some prickly characters in the book, and it was actually easy to root for one of them to be the killer. We get a bit of a backstory dump early on, which makes it a little slow to get going. We do need some of this information as the plot unfolds. Once the murder happens, we’ve got several good clues and red herrings. I thought I figured things out early, but I was surprised by the climax. There are a total of thiry recipes in this book, with them leaning toward the healthier side of things thanks to the vegan theme of the café. This book features a slightly different take on the culinary cozy mystery, one I ultimately enjoyed.
What a bit of delightful fun!
I do enjoy a good cozy especially if there is food involved and this book does not disappoint on the food aspect! Battered is set in a coffeehouse/cafe that servers vegetarian/vegan items and don’t worry, all of the recipes (or many of them) are at the end of the book and I’m sure you will want to whip up some of these dishes for yourself.
When you first start the book there is a list of characters with a brief bio on each of them (age, relationship, etc) and trust me when I saw that you will need this information because there are a lot of characters to keep straight in your head and how they are related to each other. But as you move through the book it will become easier to keep everyone straight. Despite the numerous characters, each plays a significant part in the storyline. They might be related to the deceased, or to Alene, or involved with the cafe. The personalities and traits of the characters are also varied and add some dimension to the story, even if it is a minor character. Alene tends to throw herself into the middle of the situation, which isn’t uncommon for a cozy. However, she tends to blurt out things that are supposition on her part and not fact. Not too uncommon when you have an amateur intent on solving the mystery.
There is a lot of information packed into this book. We learn the dynamics of Alene’s family, her friendship with Ruthie, the relationship with the neighbors and their dysfunctional families, and the story behind the employees at the cafe. You will find a lot of memories from Alene about events from the past that have an impact on where she is now in her life. I think some of the information would have been better doled out in future books to add to Alene’s background and further reveal how she ended up where she is today.
The mystery has some interesting twists that I did not expect before the killer was revealed. It all made sense when the details were laid out and there are a few clues that might get you to that point but probably not enough to point you in the right direction of the killer.
There is even a potential love interest for Alene, Detective Frank Shaw. The funny thing is that he was the police officer that took her to the hospital in the past when she gave birth to her youngest child since her (now ex) husband couldn’t seem to make it there.
I think there was only one thing that I didn’t quite understand. Ruthie is a vegetarian/vegan which would make sense since she is the chef at Alene’s cafe which is vegetarian/vegan. However, when Alene had a dinner for the family and friends of the neighbor that was murdered, she wouldn’t let anyone bring any meat products in so that Ruthie wouldn’t have to smell them. While that was a kind gesture, I would expect Ruthie to understand that some people do eat meat and wouldn’t have a problem with it being in the same room. She would obviously not eat that item.
Overall we enjoyed this mystery and look forward to the next in the series. We give it 3 1/2 paws.
Battered by G. P. Gottlieb is a good mystery with lots of talk about food and how our sleuth deals with what life throws at her.
Will Alene figure out who killed Gary, or will she be next on the killer’s list?
Alene
Alene is a mother, the owner of the Whipped and Sipped Cafe, and our sleuth. Alene is different from our normal sleuth in that she didn’t go looking for clues; she just couldn’t quit talking about it to everyone she knew. The killer seems to be targeting people possibly involved in an old embezzling scheme from an electronics company. Alene knew all of the parties involved, so between working at the cafe and taking care of her kids, she is talking about what happened. She has put most of the people on her list of suspects, especially her ex-husband.
Alene is a likable character, as she tries to do good in her community. For the most part, I like her, but honestly, she drove me crazy with her constant judgment of everyone. Then there were her incessant comments about vegan this and that. Honestly, I agreed with her brother in law when he told her she should treat all of her guests equal. Seriously, she needs to get some therapy to let go of the past and move on to the future.
Mystery
Ok, now I liked the mystery which combined an old embezzlement case, a missing person with the recent murder of Gary, and attacks on some other people. The way the author brought about the past pieces of the puzzle was wonderfully written and seemed cohesive. I like the police detective Frank. Oh, Gary’s murderer caught me off guard I totally didn’t catch that tie in until the explanation. Good job, Ms. Gottlieb.
Three Stars
While I enjoyed the mystery aspect of Battered by G. P. Gottlieb, the politics and attitude of the main character kept me from feeling a connection. Therefore, I am rating this story at three stars. However, I am not everyone, and I am sure there are a lot of people who will love Alene and her quirkiness. Also, there are some recipes at the back of the book; I actually plan to make the Orange Poppy Seed Muffins and maybe one of the dips.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the author. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Battered by G. P. Gottlieb.
This Guest Review is for Baroness’ Book Trove. Thank you for the opportunity to review this book on your site.
Until the next time,
~Jen
If you would like to see other reviews like this one, check out BaronessBookTrove.com.
I loved this light mystery. The recipes included in the book were very interesting. I hope to try some soon.
Alene Baron’s vegetarian bakery/cafe Whipped and Sipped is a hub of community activity–not always the kind Alene wants to see. Friends and neighbors wander in, a friend wants her to hire his son. There is some much going on, and so many characters it’s hard to keep track. Home isn’t much different. Her busy apartment in Chicago is home to Alene, her three children, and her father Cal. There are neighbors across the hall and down the hall, some have married and divorced each other and taken up with new people. Folks wander into her apartment and out. Again, it’s hard to keep track.
And then there is a murder. Right in the apartment building, as fate would have it. And everything and everyone suddenly come into focus. The reader realizes there are probably 20 red herrings running around, and one of them is the murderer.
Alene has been divorced for a while, and would love to meet someone interesting. Enter detective Frank Shaw. He gets her attention, but will she get his? What about the memorial for the deceased? And who’s doing what? Alene finds herself babbling every time she sees Frank. Her mouth moves way faster than her brain sometimes, but she’s no idiot and she’s going to find a killer. Just wait and see.
In this fun and fast-paced debut novel, Galit Gottlieb breathes new life into the traditional cozy mystery. Plus there’s the food–mouthwatering morsels coming at the reader from every direction. You’ll want to read Battered, and look forward to more from this new author! Thanks to the author for an ARC
Alene runs a nice cafe, Whipped and Sipped. She purchased it from Gary Vanza, who sold it to her undervalue with some stipulations. She must employe his sister Edith and his daughter Kacey. Both who have their own issues. After picking up Brianne Flynn at the airport, they find Gary’s body in her apartment. He is dead. Now, who would want to kill Gary? He was always helping everyone and was well-liked. Could it have something to do with Brianne’s husband’s death eight years earlier? Surely not, he died of a heart attack! Then who and why? You will have to read the book to find out. I received a free copy of this book from Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I love this book and the characters! Arlene is a wonderful amateur sleuth and chef with her wonderful and healthy recipes. I loved the action and could not put it down. I am looking forward to the next book.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Alene Baron is a thirty-something-year-old divorced woman with three young children. She has moved into her father’s lakefront high rise and after years has purchased the Whipped and Sipped Café. When a neighbor is found dead in another neighbor’s apartment, Alene is simply baffled but is determined to find out whodunit.
A week later, another neighbor is found battered and someone close to Alene is found holding the gun. Things are not adding up and before she knows it, Alene finds herself face-to-face with a murderer. Can her best friend Ruthie decipher the code words to rescue Alene in time?
This is a culinary cozy mystery with a great cast of quirky characters, lots of twists and turns, and a long list of potential suspects to keep you guessing as to whodunit.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.