
Mrs. Murphy
cozy mystery
Series · cozy mystery
The Goldy Schulz series by Diane Mott Davidson has 17 known books (17 published) and is best read in publication order, starting with Catering to Nobody (1990).
Start here: Catering to Nobody (1990) — then read straight through in publication order.
The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.
Catering to Nobody (1990, 266 pages) opens the series, introducing Goldy Schulz, a divorced single mother turned professional caterer in Aspen Meadow, Colorado, whose catering gigs keep putting her at the scene of the crime -- with real, tested recipes tied to the story's menus, a format Diane Mott Davidson is widely credited with popularizing.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Catering to NobodyDying for Chocolate (1992, 345 pages) is the second Goldy Schulz mystery, continuing Davidson's recipe-laced culinary mystery format as Goldy cooks her way through another investigation with the same sharp tongue and hard-won independence.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Dying for ChocolateThe Cereal Murders (1993, 333 pages) is the third entry, finding Goldy catering her way into another Aspen Meadow crime while Davidson keeps the series grittier than most cozy contemporaries.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Cereal MurdersThe Last Suppers is a novel by Diane Mott Davidson, in 1994 at 313 pages. It is entry #4 in Goldy Schulz. The Cereal Murders comes before it, Killer Pancake after.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Last SuppersKiller Pancake is a novel by Diane Mott Davidson, in 1995 at 397 pages. It is entry #5 in Goldy Schulz. It sits between The Last Suppers and The Main Corpse.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Killer PancakeThe Main Corpse is a novel by Diane Mott Davidson, in 1996 at 355 pages. It is entry #6 in Goldy Schulz. It sits between Killer Pancake and The Grilling Season.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Main CorpseThe Grilling Season, published in 1997 at 336 pages, is a novel by Diane Mott Davidson. It is entry #7 in Goldy Schulz. It sits between The Main Corpse and Prime Cut.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Grilling SeasonPrime Cut is a novel by Diane Mott Davidson, in 1998 at 305 pages. It sits at #8 in Goldy Schulz's reading order. It sits between The Grilling Season and Tough Cookie.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Prime CutTough Cookie is a novel by Diane Mott Davidson, in 2000 at 291 pages. It is entry #9 in Goldy Schulz. Prime Cut comes before it, Sticks and Scones after.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Tough CookieSticks and Scones is a novel by Diane Mott Davidson, in 2001 at 430 pages. It sits at #10 in Goldy Schulz's reading order. It sits between Tough Cookie and Chopping Spree.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sticks and SconesChopping Spree is a novel by Diane Mott Davidson, in 2002 at 378 pages. It is entry #11 in Goldy Schulz. Sticks and Scones comes before it, Double Shot after.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Chopping SpreeDouble Shot, published in 2004 at 310 pages, is a novel by Diane Mott Davidson. It sits at #12 in Goldy Schulz's reading order. Chopping Spree comes before it, Dark Tort after.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Double ShotDark Tort is a novel by Diane Mott Davidson, in 2006 at 468 pages. It sits at #13 in Goldy Schulz's reading order. Double Shot comes before it, Sweet Revenge after.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Dark TortSweet Revenge is a novel by Diane Mott Davidson, in 2007 at 464 pages. It sits at #14 in Goldy Schulz's reading order. It sits between Dark Tort and Fatally Flaky.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sweet RevengeFatally Flaky is a novel by Diane Mott Davidson, in 2009 at 478 pages. It sits at #15 in Goldy Schulz's reading order. Sweet Revenge comes before it, Crunch Time after.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Fatally FlakyCrunch Time is a novel by Diane Mott Davidson, in 2011 at 471 pages. It sits at #16 in Goldy Schulz's reading order. It sits between Fatally Flaky and The Whole Enchilada.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Crunch TimeThe Whole Enchilada (2013, 448 pages) is the seventeenth and most recent Goldy Schulz novel, arriving two years after Crunch Time (2011); the series has not published a new entry since, so it currently stands as the series' close.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Whole EnchiladaGoldy Schulz (later Goldy Bear) is a divorced single mother turned professional caterer in Aspen Meadow, Colorado, whose gigs — country-club luncheons, church socials, ski-town society events — keep putting her at the scene of the crime, usually with a body cooling next to the canapes. Goldy cooks her way through every investigation, quite literally: each novel is packed with real, tested recipes tied to the story's menus, and her sharp tongue and hard-won independence (her first husband, referred to throughout as 'the Jerk,' is a controlling ex she escaped) give the series real edge under the culinary charm.
Diane Mott Davidson is widely credited with popularizing the recipe-laced culinary mystery format that Laura Childs, Cleo Coyle and dozens of others later built on. Her mysteries lean grittier than most cozy contemporaries — domestic abuse, small-town corruption and genuine physical danger show up alongside the food — while Goldy's remarriage to police investigator Tom Schulz gives the series an unusually well-integrated procedural thread. It's the series for readers who want the culinary-mystery format at its origin point: real recipes, a genuinely resourceful and hard-edged heroine, and mysteries with more bite than the cozy label usually implies.
There are 17 Goldy Schulz (Goldy Bear) culinary mysteries, from Catering to Nobody (1990) to The Whole Enchilada (2013).
Publication order, starting with Catering to Nobody. Goldy's marriage to Tom Schulz and her son Arch's growing up develop continuously across the series.
No new title has been published since The Whole Enchilada in 2013, and no further book has been announced, so the series is treated as complete for now; this page will be updated if that changes.
Yes — tested recipes tied to the story's catering menus close out each book, a format Diane Mott Davidson is widely credited with popularizing in the mystery genre.
Yes, it's Diane Mott Davidson's only long-running series, distinct from her standalone thrillers.
Reading order last verified .