Earthly Delights

Corinna Chapman Mysteries, Book 1

By: Kerry Greenwood

Narrated by: Louise Siversen

Length: 7 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

Baking is an alchemical process for Corinna Chapman. At four am she starts work at Earthly Delights, her bakery in Calico Alley.

But one morning Corinna receives a threatening note saying "The wages of sin is death" and finds a syringe in her cat's paw. A blue-faced junkie has collapsed in the dark alley and a mysterious man with beautiful eyes appears with a plan for Corinna and her bread. Then it is Goths, dead drug addicts, witchcraft, a homeless boy, and a missing girl and it seems she will never get those muffins cooked in time.

With flair, chutzpah and a talent for kneading, Corinna Chapman will find out who exactly is threatening her life and bake some beautiful bread.

©1992 Kerry Greenwood (P)2013 Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd

Fun and light

Really entertaining story that I found pleasant and easy to listen to whenever I was doing things that tend to make time slow to a crawl. I read all of the Phryne stories and though this is a different story it still has the same appeal and flair from Kerry Greenwood's writing. Would recommend.

Excellent heroine. So different from Miss Fisher

A very different heroine. So comfortable in her statuesque form and her ordinary baker’s life, yet so rich in character. She has unique friends, cats and a divine man. Give her a try. You’ll enjoy her.

I finished it in one day.

It's a fun story that I just couldn't put down. I finished the whole story in a single day. It's also beautifully read.

A charming listen

Very enjoyable! I was familiar with the author as I have read a few Miss Fisher books (and watched all the episodes of the TV show). Very much enjoyed the protagonist and her story.

Fun Australian Mystery Set in Modern Melbourne

Format: Audible Download/Kindle Whispersync

Although I also had this book on my Kindle, I ended up listening to most of this book for the sheer pleasure of the narrator's voice. Louise Siversin brings a warmth and enthusiasm to her reading of the first of the Corinna Chapman series that is positively infectious. It's in first person so Siversin's voice quickly became Corinna's in my mind.

Earthly Delights is the name of the bakery owned and run by Corinna Chapman. Named of course after the modern title given to the painting by Hieronymus Bosch, a copy of which hangs in her shop. And Corinna does indeed enjoy all of the earthly delights. Let me just say that she is not one of those heroines who will announce at some point that she is one of the lucky women who can eat what she wants and not gain an ounce. I particularly enjoyed the information about baking that is woven into the story.

Early one morning she opens the door to her bakery and discovers a junkie ODing on her grate. Thus begins an interesting and largely cheerful murder mystery involving Corinna, her co-tenants at Insula-- a Roman style apartment building with shops on the first floor and living spaces above, and bits of the Melbourne underworld.

It has some strong language, drug taking and sexual activity so if you are the type of person this would put off then this is not the book for you. It's not a cozy in that sense no matter what HK tried to tell you.

Oh, and who is Jade Forrester, the author whose books Corinna reads? I checked and she is a real author.

Another great listen from Kerry Greenwood

I really enjoyed this book. It is a very different from her Phryne Fisher series. I really liked the down to earth feel of Corinna Chapman. I loved the fact that she is overweight and not only comfortable with it but still considered attractive and sexy. That is something not often seen in other books unfortunately. It is nice to see some more realistic and positive role models. I am familiar with Melbourne and enjoyed that aspect of it also. I would love her flat! The other supporting characters are interesting also. I felt the narration let the book down some what. Corinna is well done but most of the other characters less so especially the men, she made Jason and Daniel sound very slow witted and flat. I liked the pace and inflections otherwise. I did however buy the written book for the next one to see if I prefer it to the audio.

Great for light fiction ESP bakers!

If you could sum up Earthly Delights in three words, what would they be?

Fun, indulgent, light

Who was your favorite character and why?

Favorite character was Corinna chapman bc she is real, sheis fat and independent

Which character – as performed by Louise Siversen – was your favorite?

Corinna chapman!

If you could rename Earthly Delights, what would you call it?

No better name!

Any additional comments?

Great book, I can't wait to get lost in the next one. Easy read, nice Setting, I can relate to waking up at four todo the baking!

Love, Love, Love This Series!

Would you listen to Earthly Delights again? Why?

I simply adore this series. They are cozy murder mysteries with a bit of romance. They make me smile from start to finish without angering me at the injustice of life or appalling me with bloody crime. Life can be bad enough without dwelling on it. Corinna refuses to dwell on the bad or evil aspects of life. She works hard and enjoys life. She has cats. She bakes bread and lives above the shop. She has friends - quirky, eccentric, delightful friends. She is positive and she is rewarded for all those things. And she solves mysteries that frighten or worry her friends.

Which character – as performed by Louise Siversen – was your favorite?

Corinna - see above. But I love all the characters: Daniel, Jason, Marowy, all 3 cats ...

Any additional comments?

I've read the first 3 books. They are all excellent, but for the most fun, start with the first one, "Earthly Delights", to get the full background on Corinna, the Mouse Police, and the setting. As for the setting: it's Melbourne Australia and Corinna uses Aussie expressions: e.g. - goods lift instead of freight elevator, adding -ie to the first syllable of a word to shorten it, etc. There are some expressions I didn't catch, but I understand most of them. They add another note of color and delight to listening to the stories. The narrator is excellent with a strong Aussie accent, but she's easy to understand. I just wish there were more than 6 books in the series.

Charming

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would definitely recommend. I read this book before I listened to it and I enjoyed the story very much. Having worked in a bakery I could relate to Corinna a bit and the cast of characters is varied and engaging. I liked Corinna and Daniel. Corinna seems to be a very strong character and is comfortable in her own skin. She knows how to make herself happy and I enjoyed that. The mysteries were well thought out and I caught some things on this listen through that I didn't pick up when I read the book. The culprits were interesting and the reasons they committed their crimes were understandable.

What about Louise Siversen’s performance did you like?

I loved her accent. She performed the story wonderfully and really enhanced the story. There were a few slang terms that I didn't know what they meant and hearing them really helped figure them out. I would look for her as a narrator again.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

There were parts that definitely made me giggle. The character of Mistress Dread was generally just so over the top she always made me smile.

Fun start to a fun series

I kept putting off starting this series because I knew it would be nothing like the Miss Fisher mysteries. Turns out that I like it, though it is much more chick lit than I usually read. I really like the main character, but I am a bit less enthusiastic about the love interest. He is not the most interesting fellow ever. It is light, cute fun.