An old college friend and fellow coffee addict asks Goldy to cater for a special jewelry show sponsored by the upscale mall he manages. All the “super shoppers” of the area, including her friend Marla the other ex-wife of “the Jerk” are invited. As usual with a Goldy event, more than tasty goodies are on the agenda.

Before she can even get the trays of food unloaded a runaway Mack truck nearly runs her down. Shaken, she survives the evening despite a violent altercation among spouses and a shouting match between the mall manager and one of Goldy’s assistants. Exhausted and needing her check, she stumbles over a body - not yet a corpse - and awakens to another bump on the head, a corpse with one of her carving knives protruding from its chest and the arrest of Julian another of the assistants.

Adding to this series of events is the strange behavior of her teenage son - perhaps that is redundant - who joins the lacrosse team, shaves his head, gets a tattoo, and generally increases Goldy’s stress level by leaps and bounds. Need I mention his materialistic craving for many, many expensive gadgets to celebrate his impending birthday? No wonder Goldy reaches for more caffeine.

She’s vowed to cut down on her espresso intake but with all this stress she isn’t succeeding. Throughout this tale many characters are judged by the coffee they drink. As a coffee fan myself I found this amusing.

There’s a tragi/comic segment where Goldy infiltrates a shopoholics meeting and hears the testimonies of desperate people seeking solace, love, and attention as they spend and spend and spend. Used to money problems herself, Goldy goes in expecting to dislike people with so much money but finds poignant moments as shoppers pour out their souls.

Typically the plot’s a bit thin and you wonder how Goldy can possibly continue to function with the myriad of disasters and injuries which pepper each book yet you continue to devour the tale. Read with a dose of salt and it will spice up your summer. Just be sure you don’t wind up smoked, smothered or pureed.

--Jane Davis