Fed Up

A Gourmet Girl Mystery #4

by Jessica Conant-Park, Susan Conant

The latest in a series with "all the right ingredients-fresh characters, a dash of humor and a sizzling romance."(Elaine Viets)

Part-time student Chloe Carter is planning her best friend's wedding, working for her parents-and glued to her chef boyfriend, Josh, as he competes to star in a new TV series. The premise: Josh hijacks unsuspecting grocery shoppers and prepares them gourmet dinners. Everything's going great-until one shopper drops dead.

With the cameras on him from the beginning, Josh is obviously innocent, but Chloe wonders: Was it one of Josh's competitors? Or the deceased's husband? Or someone on the crew?

Sifting through suspects, Chloe deals with wedding chaos and Josh's erratic behavior. She'll have to balance her plate while trying to catch a food felon...

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Chick Lit, Detective, Womens, Cooking

316 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 9, 2009

About the author

NOTE: writes YA novels under Jessica Park.

Jessica Conant-Park graduated from Macalester College and has a master of Social Work degree from Boston College. She is married to Chef William Park. Steamed is the first collaboration in her new series with her mother, mystery author Susan Conant.

Reviews

[Hanna Sandvig · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a book I feel like I should have liked, but it's honestly just not that well written. It's a girly foodie murder mystery with recipes at the back. It seemed like they talked about the food in too much detail...without me getting hungry to try it. None of the characters were very interesting... The love interest was boring and the second love interest you only met twice before it turned out he wanted to throw a cat in the river? What? And it ends with a cliff hanger which was just annoying because there was almost nothing leading up to it and I'm not emotionally invested enough to read the next book.

[Jill · Rating 2 out of 5]

I saw this book in the new book area at the library and thought it might be fun. I wanted to like a murder mystery crossed with gourmet eating, but it really just ended up being ridiculous. Some pages read like a menu and many of the characters were over the top. The main character is an idiot, and comes off that way to several of the people in the book, too, apparently. There is a good bit of lecturing on cooking, environmentalism, animal right, etc.

[Jennifer Wardrip · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reviewed by Jennifer Rummel for TeensReadToo.com

Chloe tags along while her boyfriend tapes a reality-cooking contest. The crew goes to the supermarket, picks a stranger, and then creates a meal in his/her kitchen. While Josh cooks up a superb meal - something goes very wrong.

First, the contestant hates the meal, and with good reason as it's been poisoned. She dies soon afterwards and all those at the taping are suspected of murder.

If there's one thing Chloe doesn't need right now on top of her normal life, planning her best friend's wedding, and trying to make time to see her busy chef boyfriend - it's solving a murder. Yet, she needs to solve this case before anything else can happen.

This is the fourth book in the GOURMET GIRL MYSTERY series for this mother-daughter duo. FED UP is a cute food mystery served with a side of recipes.

[Juliette Swett · Rating 2 out of 5]

OK. I'm fed up. Here's the thing--I don't normally read themed mysteries, but I decided to give this one a try. This was sort of chick-lit- meets-foodlove-meets-mystery, and in the end, it really wasn't enough for me. Plus, being the fourth book in the Gourmet Girl mystery series, I was stuck with a RELATIONSHIP CLIFFHANGER ending that sort of annoyed me. I thought I had about twenty more pages, and instead I was stuck with twenty pages of RECIPES! Oh well... Although parts of this were fun, the mystery was predictable, and I didn't really love the characters.

[Nanya Srivastava · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the fourth of book of A Gourmet Girl Mystery series. Chloe attends the shooting of a reality show where her chef boyfriend, Josh, is a contestant. The chef contestants are supposed to convince a grocery shopper to allow them to cook dinner for him and his spouse. Josh meets shopper Leo, who agrees to let him cook for him and his wife. 
Unfortunately, Leo’s wife hates the food that Josh cooks and dies soon after. There is a clear foul play and Chloe wants to get to the bottom of it, except she has too many balls to juggle—she is preparing for her best friend’s wedding where she is solemnising the marriage, helping her parents with their landscaping project and managing relationship with an overworked Josh.
Food is the central theme of the whole story. There are a lot of things left unexplained in the end, including the motive, which leaves a bad aftertaste on the palette. However, this book has a fast-paced narration, with dollops of humour, which makes it edible… I mean readable.
I give it 3 stars.

[Melissa Madrid · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second book that I have read from this series. It was a very fast/easy read. They kept my attention and I couldn't wait to find out what happened next! Her writing style reminds me of Janet Evanovich and her Stephanie Plum series. Chloe is a student & her boyfriend Josh is a chef with a tv series. One of his contestants ends up dead and they try to find out what happened.

[Carmen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I sailed though this book in 2 days (would have been faster, but I went to a concert last night. hehe). As always with this series, I found it a totally enjoyable light read.

I will say that the ending made me sooooooooooo happy. I really hope Josh is gone for good and that Chloe finally finds a decent boyfriend. And I'm not talking about someone with "regular" work hours or anything. Someone who actually cares about Chloe. Josh seemed to only snap at her, expect her to do stuff, keep her out of his "real life", or throw her a bone of "niceness" when he had to appease her. Please...

[Marlyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the Gourmet Girl mystery series co-written byJessica Conant-Park and her mother, Susan Conant. Our heroine Chloe Carter tags along with her boyfriend chef Josh Driscoll as he films an episode of a "battle of the chefs"-style television series. They choose a random shopper at an upscale market to be the recipient of a home-cooked gourmet dinner, but the fun is spoiled when the shopper's wife dies a painful death during the meal. Josh is not a suspect, but having been the only person to witness the death, Chloe feels that she must discover whodunnit.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this is the newest book in a series, I read it before the others and loved it. I am now reading the series backwards and would recommend starting the series with "Steamed" to keep everything in the correct order of events. However, the writers are extremely talented and you really get a feeling that you personally know the characters in this novel. It is a quick and fun read.. It keeps you attention. Iread it in only a few days.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chloe's boyfriend, chef Josh, is up for a shot at a reality show. But then one of the people who eats the food he prepares dies of poison. Although the police seem rather lackadaisical, Chloe is deeply affected by the death and decides to investigate. Meanwhile, she's also trying to prepare for her best friend's combined wedding/baby shower, to be followed almost immediately by a wedding.

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

The recipes at the end were by far more interesting than the "plot", especially since the murder mystery was at best an afterthought. It was more like, how much food, wedding fluff, and body descriptions can we go into before revealing that everyone is exactly who you thought they were in the first 10 pages... as an afterthought.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book's first major scene is a mass food poisoning. Although the description is toned down, and the culprit is found in the end, somehow I am not eager to try the high-end recipes at the back of the book.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well! That certainly ended with a cliffhanger!

[Janis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting who done it with recipes, hot guys, death and food.

[Maria · Rating 2 out of 5]

Book was fluff. But I'm on vacation, so what the heck.

Seriously, I thought to give it three stars only because it was exactly what I was expecting. Which wasn't much. I've read the others in the series, and this is number four (or at least I think I have, but they aren't so memorable, so maybe not). The mystery wasn't much of a mystery. Very predicable, not just in the mystery but in the ancillary events. The main character isn't quite as annoying as she was in the earlier books, but that was ruined by her own gee wiz moment of realizing she was growing up.

In any case, it was a very quick read, that didn't require much attention. Good for reading on the bus. I didn't try the recipes, but they looked pretty good.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Boston, Massachusetts graduate student, Chloe Carter, is on summer break, so she's able to tag along with her chef boyfriend, Josh Driscoll, as he competes in a televised local cooking show. Everything appears to be going well, until one of the show's participants drops dead immediately after eating Josh's meal. As Chloe tries to determine what and who actually caused the demise of the victim, she is also planning her best friend's bridal / baby shower and wedding. Chloe is also having concerns over the very limited time she and Josh have together, as his job as head chef at Simmer consumes his almost every waking hour.

[Christine Lucia Asha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still reading these out of order....but not so confused.

This one was a little off in terms of simple things: like have half a dozen gourmet selections at a wedding her friend wanted to be simple. And her parents footing the bill for the duck and lobster and etc etc. exotic ingredients.

one more book to go, the middle one!

[Cathie Murphy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book is okay. The craziness at the end saved his book from being an complete bore. The focus on wedding plannings were boring. Too much detail. Josh seems like a jerk, especially at the end. There is some suspense. Not a lot of twists and turns. It was easy from the start who was the murderer. Recommend if you like reading about wedding fiascos.

[carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy to read series of "Gourmet Girl Mystery." I enjoyed cozy mysteries such as this because many times you can think of taking a stab at the ending while getting an enjoyable no nonsense read. This one is typical!

[Kristin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I so Don't like cliffhangers in books! Loved this book. Excited to read the next one.

[Jean Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book I have read in this series and I enjoyed it.

[Tammy Adams · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another book with no ending! Ugh.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick light read.

[Colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really love their writing. I guess I'll try her YA books. These characters are wacky. The recipes are the best ever! I miss the animals!

[Paschalis]

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[Sandy Kosiek · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love mysteries and this was no exception. But, the ending left me hanging.... I suppose there is a next book?

[Sonia Hernandez · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun read. It was kind of easy to predict but I enjoyed it. Lots of talk about yummy food got me hungry haha!

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overdone.

[Julie Barrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

g read

[Marjorie O'Rourke · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute cozy murder mystery where the main character is the girlfriend of a chef. The chef was taping a tv show when one of the people on the show dies.