Diane Mott Davidson (born ) is an American author of

mystery novel Mystery is a fiction genre where the nature of an event, usually a murder or other crime, remains mysterious until the end of the story. Often within a closed circle of suspects, each suspect is usually provided with a credible motive and a re ...

s that use the theme of food, an idea she got from Robert B. Parker. Several recipes are included in each book, and each novel title is a play on a food or drink word. Her story, "Cold Turkey", won the 1993 Anthony Award for "Best Short-story".

Biography

Mott Davidson studied political science at Wellesley College and lived across the hall from

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

. In a few of her novels (particularly, ''The Cereal Murders''), she references a prestigious eastern women's college that her sleuth, Goldy Schulz, attended before transferring to the University of Colorado in Boulder. In real life, Mott Davidson transferred from Wellesley and eventually graduated from Stanford University.

Career

The main character in Mott Davidson's novels is Goldy Schulz, a small town caterer who also solves murder mysteries in her spare time. At the start of the series, Goldy is a recently divorced mother with a young son trying to make a living as a caterer in the fictional town of Aspen Meadow, CO. As the series progresses, new characters are introduced that change Goldy's professional and personal life. Robin Vidimos noted that Aspen Meadow, CO, closely resembles a real

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

town,

Evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, whic ...

, where Mott Davidson resides with her family. The series has now reached 17 books. The first 12 books interwove recipes with the novel's text. When a dish is first described in the novel, the relevant recipe followed within the next few pages. ''Double Shot,'' the 12th novel, marked a change in the publishing of these recipes. In ''Double Shot,'' all recipes are compiled and printed at the end of the novel. She was the guest of honor at the 2007 Great Manhattan Mystery Conclave in

Manhattan, Kansas Manhattan is a city and county seat of Riley County, Kansas, United States, although the city extends into Pottawatomie County. It is located in northeastern Kansas at the junction of the Kansas River and Big Blue River. As of the 2020 c ...

Awards

* Mott Davidson was nominated for both the

1991 Anthony Award Bouchercon is an annual convention of creators and devotees of mystery and detective fiction. It is named in honour of writer, reviewer, and editor Anthony Boucher; also the inspiration for the Anthony Awards, which have been issued at the con ...

and the 1990 Agatha Award for ''Catering to Nobody'' in the "Best First Novel" category. * Her story, "Cold Turkey", won the 1993 Anthony Award for "Best Short-story".

Bibliography

Culinary series

# ''Catering to Nobody'' (1990) # ''Dying for Chocolate'' (1993) # ''The Cereal Murders'' (1994) # ''The Last Suppers'' (1995) # ''Killer Pancake'' (1996) # ''The Main Corpse'' (1997) # ''The Grilling Season'' (1998) # ''Prime Cut'' (2000) # ''Tough Cookie'' (2001) # ''Sticks and Scones'' (2002) # ''Chopping Spree'' (2003) # ''Double Shot'' (2005) # ''Dark Tort'' (2007) # ''Sweet Revenge'' (2008) # ''Fatally Flaky'' (2009) # ''Crunch Time'' (2011) # ''The Whole Enchilada'' (2013)

Non-fiction

''Goldy’s Kitchen Cookbook: Cooking, Writing, Family, Life'' (2015)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Davidson, Diane Mott 1949 births Living people Writers from Charlottesville, Virginia People from Evergreen, Colorado American mystery novelists 20th-century American novelists Wellesley College alumni Stanford University alumni Anthony Award winners 21st-century American novelists 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers Women mystery writers Novelists from Colorado American women novelists Novelists from Virginia