Devil's Food

Bless You for Bringing Corinna to a US Audience

All is not well for Baker Corinna Chapman despite her successful business and the acquisitions of both a promising young apprentice and a handsome, sensual private eye/partner.

Jason, her young apprentice, had entered into a deal to produce "famine bread" for a group of monks who had established themselves in a property in Melbourne. Given that their only complaint had been that she had made the bread taste too good, it seems they were seriously into mortifying the flesh. And speaking of mortifying-- her unwashed, unpleasant and hysterical mother shows up at the bakery to demand Corinna's help in finding Corinna's father, who had taken off on a mid-life crisis to find "young flesh". Finally, it appears that her two young shop assistants hae fallen victim to a dangerous diet aid.

There's other mysteries that Corinna must solve which introduces the reader to some other venues (including one that is distinctly sad), as she searches for her father.

This one is also narrated by the inestimable Louise Siverson in her warm, kind tones.

I'm going to take a break in the series here, but I'm sure I will be back to finish the rest. The second book in the series was Heavenly Pleasures: A Corinna Chapman Mystery. The next is Trick or Treat: A Corinna Chapman Mystery.

7 of 7 people found this review helpful

One author two of my favorite story lines!

Fell in love with Phryne Fisher, watched every show I could get on Netflix and listened to every one in audiobook (the reader is phenomenal).

Now I find myself actually buying this audiobook and not waiting for my credits, I love them! I love that they are a mini vacation for the mind from the world we live in and I love that love story!

I also love the happy endings!

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Fascinating read!

Australia, verbal-humor, small-business, cats, exmilitary, situational-humor, family-dynamics, friendship

Corinna's love life, business, and friendships are going well. On the other hand her looney parents, a new religious cult, and a dangerous herbal concoction are driving her to the edge of her wits! This book is truly a wild ride! Loved it!
Narrator Louise Siverson is absolutely fantastic!

loved it!

I love Kerry Greenwoods writing and the little family of characters she has assembled for this series.

Could have been better

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I have just listened to ALL of the Phryne Fisher mysteries and absolutely loved them, so they were a hard act to follow
I did get frustrated with the amount of detail given of preparing and consuming food. It seemed to be over the top, much more than was necessary to set the scene and distracts from the understanding of the story.

Would you be willing to try another book from Kerry Greenwood? Why or why not?

Not up to Phryne Fisher standard. I loved the Phryne Fisher books. I just listened to 18 of them while commuting to work. I wanted more Phryne Fisher and the Corinna Chapman series was a disappointment

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

Again it is hard to go past the narrator of the Phryne books, Stephanie Daniels is perfect.
I understand that this needs to be different as it is a very different character but the voice acting is not up to parr either.

This narrator has a good voice for the main character but most of her other character voices are annoying. As first person Corrina she sound strong and capable with a fairly deep female voice so when she does the male voice she can't go lower so she makes it breathy, so they sound like stoners. And I am annoyed enough by vapid female voices but these ones even have lisps, which is too much.

Was Devil's Food worth the listening time?

I still enjoyed the book, it was still an interesting story and it was a hard act to follow

2 of 5 people found this review helpful

Disappointed with the voices

Would you try another book from Kerry Greenwood and/or Louise Siversen?

I am a devoted fan of Phryne Fisher and recently started reading and enjoying the Corinna Chapman series. This was my first audio book for the Corinna Chapman series and I was very disappointed with the reading. The voices for the male characters (Daniel and Jason) were so low and husky it made them seem like unintelligent charicatures, which they are not. I couldn't even finish listening to the book.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Corinna, of course, because she is clever. Jason because he has overcome such odds and is a good kid that life has treated badly.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Louise Siversen?

I adore Stephanie Daniel, who reads Phryne Fisher, though I realise her aristocratic voice might not be suited for Corinna.

Could you see Devil's Food being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Could be good.

Any additional comments?

I'll go back to reading these in paper format.

0 of 2 people found this review helpful

Dreadful and confusing

This book is awful. I wasted a credit! The reader has a great Austrailian accent, but the idioms are hard to understand, except in context. The story is a confusing mess. I had to stop listening. With over 700 books in my library, there are many I would listen to again before this torture.

2 of 11 people found this review helpful