Book 11, 2019

[chez_jae]

The Sourdough Wars by Julie Smith

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Since bad weather has kept me home again (at least for the morning; we'll see what the afternoon brings), I was able to finish reading Sourdough Wars by Julie Smith. It's the second book in her "Rebecca Schwartz" mysteries. The main character is Rebecca, a proper Jewish, feminist lawyer.

Rebecca's friend and law partner, Chris, has been dating Peter Martinelli, a struggling actor. Over drinks one evening, Peter reveals that he still has the 'starter' for his parents' famous Martinelli sourdough bread, which has been cryogenically frozen to preserve it. Someone suggests he auction it off to raise money for the small theater he works for. Rebecca gets her boyfriend, news reporter Rob, to do an article about the proposed auction to raise awareness. It all seems like fun and games, until potential bidders begin receiving threatening phone calls, and someone is murdered. Rebecca can't help but feel somewhat responsible, and now that Rob has a real story, he drags her into some of his escapades as they attempt to find the culprit.

The premise was rather silly--people willing to kill for a frozen lump of dough--but the author made it seem plausible. Rebecca ended up in one unfortunate situation after another, and her misadventures were truly laugh-worthy. Characters were portrayed well, even the transient ones, and it was nice to revisit the regulars.

Favorite lines:
♦ Why do single men always have fake leather sofas? Do they think the Bachelors' Union will drum them out if they sit on velveteen or corduroy?
♦ While this was going on, I felt like a nematode. A drunken, derelict, tramp of a nematode, shunned, and rightly so, by all decent nematodes.

Fun and quirky, with some heart-pounding action thrown in for good measure. It also made me hungry for sourdough bread!