Gifts of War is the type of story you want to read ideally at one sitting, perhaps snowbound near a cozy fire or laying on the beach for days where you can be totally immersed in the setting of World War I and the havoc it caused in countless lives. It’s one I didn’t want to put down. I was captivated from page one with narrator Henry (Hal) Montgomery as he begins his story with the 1914 Christmas Truce on the Western Front. That day, Hal, as a British soldier, comes face to face with a German soldier. They exchange gifts and make a pact that will change their lives forever. For the next four years Hal harbors a secret, creating constant tension for the reader, wondering if and when he will be found out. This book will appeal to both men and women with its details of history, espionage of warfare, and an exquisite love story.

If you like the following--cats, food, and romance-- you’ll love Heavenly Pleasures as author Kerry Greenwood combines her fascination with all of the above into a “gentle” mystery. I say gentle because even though someone is trying to sabotage the local chocolate shop, Heavenly Pleasures, by injecting chili into the violet cream chocolates and mysterious tenants are moving into Corinna Chapman’s apartment complex, the setting for this story is so charming and inviting, one reads not just to solve the mystery but to spend more time with these delightful characters.

Who could not like Corrina, an overweight and self-proclaimed frump who lives above the bakery she loves, aptly named Earthly Delights. Or her sweet and handsome Israeli lover, Daniel, who calls her Ketschele (Yiddish for kitten). As Corrina says, “No one ever called me kitten before. Fat women don’t attract diminutives”. Or Jason, the young recovering drug addict she hires who creates sinful baked goods (do not read this book while hungry) or the anorexic models or the Wiccan witch.
Mix in a few eccentric tenants and you have the makings of community that dishes up a delicious concoction of personalities. Add the following: Hector, Lucifer, Horatio, Heckle, and The Mouse Police, just a few of the furry felines who hang out in Calico Alley whose antics entertain throughout the story, but more importantly reveal the compassionate nature of Corrina.

Although the setting is Melbourne, Australia, it reminded me of another mystery series on the other side of the globe. If you like Heavenly Pleasures, you’ll probably like Still Life by Louise Penny, the first in a series set in the fictional village of Three Pines in Montreal. Also filled with people you’d like to spend more time with.

Heavenly Pleasures is the second installment in Kerry Greenwood’s Corinna Chapman series.