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Heavenly Pleasures

Heavenly Pleasures
A Corinna Chapman Mystery
by Kerry Greenwood
Published in USA Jun 2008,
248 pages.

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Rated 3 of 5 of 5 by Andrea
Heavenly Pleasures
A good book for a reader looking for diversion. Greenwood creates an interesting world surrounding her heroine, Corinna, the baker, but I felt the development of the mystery was weak. There were many inside references to Australian culture that I found hard to understand and made me feel I was missing much.

Rated 3 of 5 of 5 by Carol
HEAVENLY PLEASURES
A buxom baker and her handsome Israeli investigator boyfriend, Daniel, solve a series of crimes – that’s Heavenly Pleasures, the second installment of Kerry Greenwood’s series featuring, Corinna Chapman, a former accountant who has opted for the more sedate life of a baker. Having left her driven husband and high-pressure job, she opens Earthly Delights, a bakery in Melbourne. A unique Roman-style apartment house, Insular, provides lodgings for her, her cat Horatio and a diverse bunch of neighbors.

What do the house’s mysterious new tenants, a lady of taste and style and an ultra-private man, have in common with a case of sabotaged chocolates? Who is sneaking chili sauce into the chocolates at the nearby chocolate shop in an attempt to ruin the reputation of its two owners – sisters, Juliet and Vivienne Lefebvre? Corinna's old financial world contacts, Daniel's criminal world contacts, and the apartment’s helpful fellow tenants all come up with clues that help bring the case to a satisfying resolution. The fun here is simply watching a charming, rather amply bodied amateur sleuth solve a couple of mysteries and manage her hectic life.

The cast of characters is an eclectic, quirky, and entertaining bunch; however, this reader definitely felt at a disadvantage for not having read the previous book. It would have made getting into the "meat" of the book less difficult and certainly would have helped this reader to keep the charmingly quirky characters and the heroine’s beloved cats straight.

Rated 4 of 5 of 5 by Harriette
Heavenly Pleasures
Anytime a love of food and cooking is combined with a bit of mystery & danger, a good read is in store. I enjoyed Kerry Greenwood's very quirky characters although I did get a little confused occasionally by her slightly frenetic narrative. In the main, it was good and fast paced. I had no knowledge of this author, but will seek out more of her books.

Rated 5 of 5 of 5 by Vy
Heavenly Pleasures
If you like the following--cats, food, and romance-- you’ll love Heavenly Pleasures as author Kerry Greenwood combines her fascination with all of the above into a “gentle” mystery. I say gentle because even though someone is trying to sabotage the local chocolate shop, Heavenly Pleasures, by injecting chili into the violet cream chocolates and mysterious tenants are moving into Corinna Chapman’s apartment complex, the setting for this story is so charming and inviting, one reads not just to solve the mystery but to spend more time with these delightful characters.

Who could not like Corrina, an overweight and self-proclaimed frump who lives above the bakery she loves, aptly named Earthly Delights. Or her sweet and handsome Israeli lover, Daniel, who calls her Ketschele (Yiddish for kitten). As Corrina says, “No one ever called me kitten before. Fat women don’t attract diminutives”. Or Jason, the young recovering drug addict she hires who creates sinful baked goods (do not read this book while hungry) or the anorexic models or the Wiccan witch.
Mix in a few eccentric tenants and you have the makings of community that dishes up a delicious concoction of personalities. Add the following: Hector, Lucifer, Horatio, Heckle, and The Mouse Police, just a few of the furry felines who hang out in Calico Alley whose antics entertain throughout the story, but more importantly reveal the compassionate nature of Corrina.

Although the setting is Melbourne, Australia, it reminded me of another mystery series on the other side of the globe. If you like Heavenly Pleasures, you’ll probably like Still Life by Louise Penny, the first in a series set in the fictional village of Three Pines in Montreal. Also filled with people you’d like to spend more time with.

Heavenly Pleasures is the second installment in Kerry Greenwood’s Corinna Chapman series.

Rated 5 of 5 of 5 by Beth
Heavenly Pleasures
Heavenly Pleasures is a chocolate shop in a quaint little town in Australia, and Kerry Greenwood has created a delightful cast of characters in this second installment of the Corinna Chapman series. Corinna has left the world of accounting and has opened her own breadshop. Besides her love of baking, she also loves being a detective when a mystery pops up, especially when it involves her quirky friends, and her lover Daniel.

I found this book to be a delight and couldn't put it down. It is lighthearted (no blood and gore), funny, and down to earth, all at the same time.There should be a warning on the book -- you will absolutely want a fresh slice of bread or a chocolate truffle while you are reading. I opted for the latter and was even more surprised to find some recipes at the end of the book. I think this book will appeal to mystery lovers who like character development and a little lightheartedness, rather than those who want blood and gore. It left me wanting more and I'm off to get the first installment of this series.

Rated 4 of 5 of 5 by Helen
colorful mystery
I am passing this delightful book on to my mystery friends so they may enjoy the colorful characters, the unique neighborhood, the variety of one special corner of Australia....not to mention a carefully constructed who done it! Strong point...the variety of individuals weaving their way through the day, young and old, male and female, different nationalities, sharing their strengths and weaknesses. A human tapestry.
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