What do readers think of Heavenly Pleasures by Kerry Greenwood? Write your own review.

I enjoyed getting to know all the characters in the story. Insula seems to a very interesting place to live with different names for each apartment and the people (who are definitely of interest) who occupy them. The story was easy to read and kept my interest and guessing though out. Kerry Greenwood does have a way with phrases.

Anytime a love of food and cooking is combined with a bit of mystery & danger, a good read is in store. I enjoyed Kerry Greenwood's very quirky characters although I did get a little confused occasionally by her slightly frenetic narrative. In the main, it was good and fast paced. I had no knowledge of this author, but will seek out more of her books.

I am passing this delightful book on to my mystery friends so they may enjoy the colorful characters, the unique neighborhood, the variety of one special corner of Australia....not to mention a carefully constructed who done it! Strong point...the variety of individuals weaving their way through the day, young and old, male and female, different nationalities, sharing their strengths and weaknesses. A human tapestry.

I received this book wanting to love it. I enjoy light hearted mysteries and this seemed like it would fit the bill. My problem? I did not enjoy the characters and the writing style. It is a little too detailed for my taste and I kept wanting to yell "Get on with the story!!" Ms. Greenwood is a very witty writer. Her characters say things that I sometimes wish I could think to say. But sometimes witty comes off as too sassy or even too self-interested. The mystery part was okay...with a twist at the end. I cannot give it a lower rating because I think the reason I did not enjoy it is more a matter of taste.

Much to my surprise I had a very difficult time with this book. I had a great deal of trouble parsing the characters and grasping a sense of place. Even taking into account tones and colloquialisms I struggled to find a connection with the book. I liked the characters and I longed for crisp, clean dialog and description to build toward something fun and exciting. It didn't happen for me. I simply became more frustrated until the book became a chore.

A good book for a reader looking for diversion. Greenwood creates an interesting world surrounding her heroine, Corinna, the baker, but I felt the development of the mystery was weak. There were many inside references to Australian culture that I found hard to understand and made me feel I was missing much.

A buxom baker and her handsome Israeli investigator boyfriend, Daniel, solve a series of crimes – that’s Heavenly Pleasures, the second installment of Kerry Greenwood’s series featuring, Corinna Chapman, a former accountant who has opted for the more sedate life of a baker. Having left her driven husband and high-pressure job, she opens Earthly Delights, a bakery in Melbourne. A unique Roman-style apartment house, Insular, provides lodgings for her, her cat Horatio and a diverse bunch of neighbors.

What do the house’s mysterious new tenants, a lady of taste and style and an ultra-private man, have in common with a case of sabotaged chocolates? Who is sneaking chili sauce into the chocolates at the nearby chocolate shop in an attempt to ruin the reputation of its two owners – sisters, Juliet and Vivienne Lefebvre? Corinna's old financial world contacts, Daniel's criminal world contacts, and the apartment’s helpful fellow tenants all come up with clues that help bring the case to a satisfying resolution. The fun here is simply watching a charming, rather amply bodied amateur sleuth solve a couple of mysteries and manage her hectic life.

The cast of characters is an eclectic, quirky, and entertaining bunch; however, this reader definitely felt at a disadvantage for not having read the previous book. It would have made getting into the "meat" of the book less difficult and certainly would have helped this reader to keep the charmingly quirky characters and the heroine’s beloved cats straight.

Being a devotee of Kerry Greenwood's Phryne Fisher, it was with great anticipation that I started reading Heavenly Pleasures. While an enjoyable read, the characters weren't as well defined (perhaps because there were so many of them) nor the plot as crisp as I expect from Ms. Greenwood. She is very good at setting the atmosphere and the feeling one might have being in Sydney in the fall on rainy evening but her plot in this particular book got lost among the characters, and the time and place. Perhaps this is simply a book for the beachbag and a summer's day entertainment but not one that will likely remain on one's "favorites" list.