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Desiree Shapiro Mystery #7
Murder Can Spoil Your Appetite
When an infamous mobster contracts Desiree to catch a killer, the overweight detective bites off more even she can chew.
261 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published February 1, 2000
1 person is currently reading
179 people want to read
About the author
Selma Eichler
22 books63 followersSelma Eichler is a freelance writer who lives in New York with her husband. She is the creator of 'Desiree Shapiro', private eye in New York City.
Series:
* Desiree Shapiro Mystery
Series:
* Desiree Shapiro Mystery
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
July 15, 2017
This has been my favorite book in the series so far, and the first one that I didn't even come close to guessing who the killer was.
November 28, 2018
Cheesy murder mystery – not even good enough to be a decent beach book. Lady PI from NYC is hired by mobster to find killer of mobster’s political wannabe protégé.
December 7, 2018
3 - Good
May 15, 2019
Dez does it again. This time she gets involved with a heavy hitter! Great story!
December 12, 2020
Desiree has a mob boss as a client and her niece and friends are worried about her. Desiree is determined to solve the case and is feeling blocked every time she wants to look for evidence.
July 16, 2025
Her we find the P.I. working for the mafia, with the police in some absolute hilarious, and at times intense turns of events. I couldn't put the book down.
July 17, 2014
NOW THIS IS PERSONAL
Desiree Shapiro, P.I., receives an offer she can't refuse. Vito da Silva, a big time New Jersey mobster, requests her immediate attention into the murder of his close friend, Frank Vincent. Regardless of Desiree's attempts to avoid becoming involved with a mobster...Vito handed her a huge check and gave Desiree her marching orders. Chief of Police Hicks would be waiting for her at the Riverton, New Jersey Police Station.
Chief Hicks is none too pleased with Desiree's arrival but proceeded to introduce her to her partner Lou Hoffman and show her to the pristine office she would be occupying. Lou was already well acquainted with this murder investigation and with some reluctance gave Desiree the low down on all the facts gathered. Lou and Desiree became constant companions delving into each potential suspect and their alibis.
This particular Desiree Shapiro story went much further than the others I have read. D.S. becomes more than a little involved and when she least expects it dire consequences are the results. More than a few red herrings are thrown in for good measure until an astonishing development is revealed. One I never saw coming.
Desiree has a knack of bringing me into each situation she finds herself in and she does it in a very personal way. Her life is an open book as are her thoughts regarding each person in her life and each situation. D.S. is such a realistic character that at times I feel I'm sitting in her living room listening to her transcribe her notes (or thinking about it at least) instead of reading a book.
"Murder Can Spoil Your Appetite" is Desiree shapiro at her best. This story held my attention and kept me focused up to the last page.
BTW...In chapter 36 there is a fun recipe for Chilled Lemon
souffle. I'm going to try it as a surprise for my daughter and son in law's 1st anniversary in 2 weeks.
Desiree Shapiro, P.I., receives an offer she can't refuse. Vito da Silva, a big time New Jersey mobster, requests her immediate attention into the murder of his close friend, Frank Vincent. Regardless of Desiree's attempts to avoid becoming involved with a mobster...Vito handed her a huge check and gave Desiree her marching orders. Chief of Police Hicks would be waiting for her at the Riverton, New Jersey Police Station.
Chief Hicks is none too pleased with Desiree's arrival but proceeded to introduce her to her partner Lou Hoffman and show her to the pristine office she would be occupying. Lou was already well acquainted with this murder investigation and with some reluctance gave Desiree the low down on all the facts gathered. Lou and Desiree became constant companions delving into each potential suspect and their alibis.
This particular Desiree Shapiro story went much further than the others I have read. D.S. becomes more than a little involved and when she least expects it dire consequences are the results. More than a few red herrings are thrown in for good measure until an astonishing development is revealed. One I never saw coming.
Desiree has a knack of bringing me into each situation she finds herself in and she does it in a very personal way. Her life is an open book as are her thoughts regarding each person in her life and each situation. D.S. is such a realistic character that at times I feel I'm sitting in her living room listening to her transcribe her notes (or thinking about it at least) instead of reading a book.
"Murder Can Spoil Your Appetite" is Desiree shapiro at her best. This story held my attention and kept me focused up to the last page.
BTW...In chapter 36 there is a fun recipe for Chilled Lemon
souffle. I'm going to try it as a surprise for my daughter and son in law's 1st anniversary in 2 weeks.
March 26, 2008
This book is so poorly written I cannot believe the author got anyone to publish it. I hardly know where to start. The author has every character saying, "At any rate...", & "I phoned" instead of "called," & so many more examples of exceedingly bad writing. I can suspend disbelief as well as the next person, but this "heroine" who calls herself a private detective is so inept that it defies logic on every level. The author uses so many cliches certainly some laws of writing must have been repeatedly broken. For some reason Eichler got fixated on the word "chignon" (which I bet she had just stumbled upon for the first time & ran to the dictionary to look it up) & had every character in the book saying this word repeatedly. I actually threw up a little bit in the back of my throat the 15th time she used this word. *ack* The author has the characters "chortling," "guffawing," "retorting heatedly," & so many more chokingly ridiculous things that the only reason I even finished this book was because my incredulity meter was going crazy to the point where I had to see just how bad this author really was. The reader of this audiobook, Barbara Rosenblatt, only added to the fingernails-on-a-blackboard factor for me. I've listened to many books read by Rosenblatt & I knew she could be annoying, but she screeched & whined her way through this one to the point where I could have thrown it out a window. The only upside to this piece-of-stinky-cheese of a book is that if this woman could get published - numerous times! - ANYONE can be published. So start writing! ANYTHING is better than this awful book!
May 12, 2016
Spoiler alert.
Then ending is yet again lacking, as you never really find out if Justice is served to the criminals.
Desiree's taste in men sucks. It's book one all over again.
What a crappy plot point to reuse.
Since I don't normally write reviews unless I have something specific to say, here's the break down of how I rate my books...
1 star... This book was bad, so bad I may have given up and skipped to the end. I will avoid this author like the plague in the future.
2 stars... This book was not very good, and I won't be reading any more from the author.
3 stars... This book was ok, but I won't go out of my way to read more, But if I find another book by the author for under a dollar I'd pick it up.
4 stars... I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be on the look out to pick up more from the series/author.
5 stars... I loved this book! It has earned a permanent home in my collection and I'll be picking up the rest of the series and other books from the author ASAP.
Then ending is yet again lacking, as you never really find out if Justice is served to the criminals.
Desiree's taste in men sucks. It's book one all over again.
What a crappy plot point to reuse.
Since I don't normally write reviews unless I have something specific to say, here's the break down of how I rate my books...
1 star... This book was bad, so bad I may have given up and skipped to the end. I will avoid this author like the plague in the future.
2 stars... This book was not very good, and I won't be reading any more from the author.
3 stars... This book was ok, but I won't go out of my way to read more, But if I find another book by the author for under a dollar I'd pick it up.
4 stars... I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be on the look out to pick up more from the series/author.
5 stars... I loved this book! It has earned a permanent home in my collection and I'll be picking up the rest of the series and other books from the author ASAP.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 26, 2011
I have had this book on my bookshelves forever. I have no idea what took me so long to read it!? I love a mystery where I cannot figure out who the killer is and this one kept me guessing right up until the end. FABULOUS!
It's about a p.i named Desiree Shapiro. She gets hired by a mob guy to find out whoe killed his friend an aspiring politician. She gets to work with the local police and ends up falling for her partner while they attempt to solve the murder.
It's about a p.i named Desiree Shapiro. She gets hired by a mob guy to find out whoe killed his friend an aspiring politician. She gets to work with the local police and ends up falling for her partner while they attempt to solve the murder.
September 22, 2012
I do not know why this one took me so long to read but it dragged on. I usually love Des but she seemed so out of it in this book. I only have one more left in the series and I am sad b/c she was different than any other author or character. I love Des and I will miss her but this book was not her best.
September 1, 2009
I enjoyed the surprise ending and the recipe. I actually made the Lemon Souffle which is more like a mousse but was very good. My co-workers enjoyed it!
May 15, 2014
Other than the very odd over-usage of the term "at any rate..." by numerous characters, this was a pretty cute cozy mystery.
February 26, 2015
I found this to be a really entertaining story, and it took me awhile to figure it out!
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews