Hot Dish Heaven

Hot Dish Heaven Mystery #1

by Jeanne Cooney

In the first book of this new cozy mystery series, cub newspaper reporter Emerald Malloy is assigned to travel from Minneapolis to a small, rural community in the Red River Valley of northwestern Minnesota to gather church-food recipes from the owner of Hot Dish Heaven, a local café. Upon her arrival, she learns of an old, unsolved murder. Confident that solving the case will catapult her from newspaper "gopher" to investigative reporter, a/k/a heralded woman sleuth, Emerald questions the quirky townspeople while attending a benefit dinner-dance at the VFW. By the end of the night, she has consumed lots of "funeral food" while talking to an array of colorful characters, from the Irish-Catholic priest who lives among these Scandinavian-Lutheran farmers to the café owner's eccentric aunts. She has also met--and fallen for--a hunky deputy sheriff. And she's even learned some tough life lessons about herself. But the question remains, Will she live long enough for any of it to matter?

This book is a delicious culinary mystery, complete with recipes for hot dish, bars, and Jell-O salads. It also serves up nicely as a contemporary romance that features a sharp-tongued, yet endearing, young female sleuth who's smitten with the local deputy sheriff. And when it's all said and done, this story will leave you, the reader, certain you weren't offered leftovers but, instead, were provided--as the humble Scandinavians would say--a "pretty darn good" humorous mystery about life in rural Minnesota. Oh, yah, you betcha!

Lois Greiman, author of the zany and highly acclaimed Chrissy McMullen mystery series, says of Hot Dish A Murder Mystery with Recipes, "It's chockablock full of Garrison Keillor type characters and tasty Midwest flavor. Ms. Cooney's novel, complete with must-try recipes, will keep you intrigued from start to finish."

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Adult Fiction, Book Club

256 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2013

About the author

Jeanne Cooney, a native of Minnesota’s northern Red River Valley, presently lives and works in the Twin Cities but is eager to return to the northland when she retires from the U.S. Department of Justice. Jeanne holds a bachelor’s degree as well as a master’s degree from the University of Minnesota, where she studied public affairs and writing.

When not at work, Jeanne enjoys reading and writing cozy mysteries. Her favorite authors are Janet Evanovich (the Stephanie Plum series), Sarah Strohmeyer (the Bubbles series), and Lois Greiman (the Chrissy McMullen series). She also enjoys baking and has won a number of ribbons for her cookies and bars at the Minnesota State Fair. But mostly, Jeanne loves time with family and friends, particularly her children and granddaughter. These times are especially treasured when spent at her lake cabin in central Minnesota.

When asked about her experience as a newly published author, Jeanne said, “A few years back, I started writing a quirky family cookbook. It turned into my first novel, Hot Dish Heaven: A Murder Mystery with Recipes. And now that, in turn, is becoming a series. Granted, it’s not the great American novel. People won’t learn the meaning of life by reading it. But they might laugh away an afternoon or discover a simple comfort-food recipe for supper. And that’s not so bad now, is it?”

(from her website)

Reviews

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story seemed like it was trying to be funny but it just missed. Emerald wants to be a reporter and is sent to a small town to interview and get recipes from the owner of the Hot dish heaven cafe. She hears about a unsolved murder in the town and sets out to solve it, hoping it will impress her boss and be moved up to full time reporting.

[Leona · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review of Hot Dish Heaven by Jeanne Cooney.
Book Description from back of the book.
Publication Date: June 1, 2013
Cub reporter Emerald Malloy is assigned to gather “church food” recipes from the owner of Hot Dish Heaven, a café in a small town in the Red River Valley. Upon her arrival, she learns of a local unsolved murder. Confident that solving the case will catapult her from newspaper “gopher” to investigative reporter, she questions the locals while attending a benefit dinner-dance at the VFW. By the end of the night, she’s consumed lots of hot dish and bars while talking to everyone from the Irish-Catholic priest who lives among these Scandinavian Lutheran farmers to the café owner’s eccentric aunts. She also meets a hunky deputy sheriff and learns some tough lessons about herself. But the question remains, will she live long enough for any of it to matter?

Leona's Review

I checked out this book from my library. I have been reading more mysteries based in Minnesota lately.

Emerald, Emme, is a reporter for a newspaper in Minneapolis and her assignment is to get recipes from a local cafe in Kennedy, Minnesota. When talking to the owner, Margie Johnson, talks about a murder that was never solved. Emme begins her search for the murderer and so this leads the reader to the suspects and what their reason might be to kill Samantha Berg.

I did not care for some of the language that included the a*** and s*** words. Somehow I did not expect these words to be used by some ladies I have met on Minnesota.

It was an easy read and this book does include lots of "hot dish" recipes .I call them casseroles but they are "hot dishes" in Minnesota.

The recipes call for white Crystal sugar because this is from the beets they harvest in this part of Minnesota.

Some recipes are:
Tater-Tot Hot Dish
Cheeseburger Hot Dish
Hester's Favorite Jell-O
Three- Bean Hot Dish
Nut-Goodie Bars


Recipe for Hester's Favorite Jell-O
"1 can cherry pie filling
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup hot water

1 large box of cherry Jell-o
1 can coca-cola

Dump the first 3 ingredients into a kettle and bring to a boil. Add cherry Jell-O. Stir and let cool. Add the can of regular soda and stir until the bubbles disappear. Chill until firm. Cover with Cool Whip. I know this sounds like a weird Jell-O recipe, with soda pop and all, bit it's actually very good."

I am giving it a 3 star rating. I will probably read the next book, Hot Dish Heaven: A Second Helping of Murder and Recipes.

Jeanne Cooney may be reached at http://www.jeannecooney.com

Leona Olson
www.mnleona.blogspot.com

[Mary Aalgaard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this folksy, down home murder mystery. It's set in the Northern part of the Red River Valley of the North, a river that flows north between the states of Minnesota and North Dakota. I'm from a similar town, a bit south of Hallock, where the author is from and the setting of this story. I felt like I was reading about my home town, sitting in the local café, and enjoying the home-grown cuisine, like tater tot hotdish and pumpkin bars. My mouth watered throughout this book! Jeanne included recipes at the end of all the food mentioned. It's a cozy mystery about a journalist, Emerald Malloy, who comes up from the cities to write a food article about local cuisine and the head chef, Margie. Emerald learns about some unsolved murders and can't resist the urge to be an investigative reporter. She makes a few mistakes, ticks off a few locals, and endears herself to others. The Deputy is a hunky guy who just happens to be single, and in the right place at the right time. The mystery has a satisfying ending, with the promise of more stories to come. This is Cooney's first novel in the series. Her latest book, "It's Murder, Dontcha Know?" released this month. Our book club will be reading it and visiting with the author!

[Betsy Marvin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well.... this is a cute, partially predictable story. The predictable part is the characters: loveable cafe owner, hunk of a law enforcement man, odd old ladies, insecure young newspaper writer., etc. The young writer digs up information about an unsolved murder in a small rural Minnesota town, eventually causing the exposure of the perpetrator. That was not as predictable, so it keeps you reading. The prose is sharp with a nice turn of phrase here and there. Scattered among the chapters are titles of hot dishes and dessert bars, the recipes for which are all in the back of the book. The recipes are as predictable as the characters but on reading seem to lack adequate seasoning to make them worth trying. Some don't even have salt and pepper, let alone garlic, oregano, thyme, or celery, carrot, etc! In fact many read as reasons we have a significant weight and diabetes problem in Minnesota! Yes, she instructs you to rinse the browned ground beef, but loads of canned soup, butter, sugar, pasta and even candy used to make a "salad? " Ugh!
In spite of this I'm starting the next book in this series. I guess I'm as shallow as a 10x15 pan!

[Linda Reinhart · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wanted to read this book because it takes place in my home town of Kennedy, MN. Kind of fun to begin with but, in my opinion, the characters were overdone 'don't ya know' and it was 'gettin' on my nerves. Also, I ordered this 2nd hand and all the recipes had been removed from the book! :D

[Cassie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cheesy but funny story. It was fun reading as it took place in the cafe where I spent most of my childhood. I spent many summers working with the authors sister in the Kennedy community garden, ironically referred to as the “garden girls”

[Meanie · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is very amateurish and unrealistic. Not for me.

[2hoots · Rating 5 out of 5]

nice cozy mystery with a down home Minnesota flare

[Libraryassistant · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hey, at least I finally got a recipe for Tater Tot Hot Dish!

[Molly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read this because of one county one read suggestion...

[Evelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun cozy for me because it takes place in Minnesota where I visited. And it includes some amazing Hit Dish recipes.

[Susan Pinneke · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun look at small town Minnesota. Recipes included.

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

Misspellings, misused words (rein vs reign) (wattle vs waddle)

“Squiters”, not “skeeters”?

“Eerie” is misspelled as as erry
Misused wack. Should have been whack
Deep-seeded vs. deep-seated

Hated the fake Minnesota dialect.

[Andrea Eklund · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming little read- I’ve been in every one of these towns and I could hear every accent, see every character, and taste every dish.

[Susan Budziszewski · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very fun book

[Allison · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanted to love this book, but instead it drove me crazy. It reads as if written by a 15-year old--very thin plot devices, plodding writing, very staged "and now I'm incorporating a recipe" references... Ugh! And the editor--if there even was one--should be fired; not only are there are a number of typos in the book, but the font is a poor choice (chosen for appearance rather than readability). It is sad that the most positive thing I can say about this book is that it was short (~200 pages) and a fast read, so I only wasted a few hours of my life on this book. (I finished it hoping that it would eventually get better. It didn't.)

I read a LOT and read a wide variety of books, but do not generally consider myself a book snob. As a native Minnesotan with a great sense of humor, I am one of the first to poke fun at the "MinnySOtah aksent" doncha know ("Fargo" is one of my absolute favorite movies), but even that got incredibly tiresome in this book as it was very one-note.

I have zero desire to read the second installment in this series.

[Kira Gimm · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It's a really easy read that you don't need to think about. If you are looking for a book like that, this is it. It's about a Minneapolis food reporter who goes to Northern Minnesota to write an article about hot dishes, while she is there she unexpectedly gets involved in a murder investigation. A classic "who dun it" novel. It really did have me guessing all the way to the end as to who actually committed the murder. Bonus: The novel includes actual hot dish recipes featured in the book at the end. This book is apparently going to be the first in a series of novels, and I look forward to reading the next one when it comes out this summer. Word of advice, if you read the book it must be done with a very heavy Minnesotan accent.

[Michelle Rosenau · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It was light reading set in the area I live and grew up in and the recipes at the end were a bonus. Warning: You will get hungry for a good hot dish and some bars while reading this book! I am anxious to read the second and third books. The Author was in the town I live recently with copies of her 3rd book. People could have their books signed and also could bring a hot dish to share. Unfortunately I was unable to make it up to the city hall to meet her....maybe next time!

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

Coming from the Red River Valley, I enjoyed reading the first and second books. I could relate to the characters as well as the town and farming industries. The books were humorous as well as attention grabbing. I couldn't put the books down until I knew who and how the murder was solved. The endings also left me wondering as there still was some situations that weren't resolved.

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gift from my Minnesota Mom, I found this engaging and easy to read, entertaining with the small town Minnesota stereo-types and settings, and I'm lookin' forward to tryin' the hot dish and bar recipes in the back, don't ya know! On to book 2...

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

A book club pick - had to stop reading halfway through. Too many stereotypes and bad humor. Really bored with the concept. Recipes and a murder story?

[Rachel Sang · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm from a town in that area of MN and I found the references endearing. It's a quick, cute read.

[Barb · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quaint Minnesota read dashed with colorful characters, tasty and familiar recipes, and a little murder mystery topping.

[Jodi Haen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, I didn't see it coming until 4 chapters from the end.