Customer Reviews
There is alot of drooling even if you eat before reading 
1999-09-16
Death of a great chef. Cause heart attack. But Chas Wheatly feels it is more than that. We get to read about great foods and life of a food critic. Keeps you guessing. Just when you think you might have it a curveball is thrown in. Hard to put down. Love the recipe at the end. Easy for us who are not chefs.
It was a fast moving, entertaining story 
1999-03-30
I enjoyed reading Phyllis Richman's first murder mystery- so much so I hope she continues to write more. Having lived in the Washington area, I have enjoyed her restaurant reviews. I also like cooking. Combine murder mysteries with cooking and I'm hooked. The plot to "The Butter Did It" is well constructed and it has plenty of suspects. You learn a lot about the main character, food critic Chas Wheatley. She is not perfect, though. I have a hard time believing she loves to walk in Washington D.C. Traffic, construction and pollution make that difficult. Never mind, it's a good read.
This is a book you can't put down!!! 1999-01-11
What a great first novel from Phyllis Richman! It pulled me in on page one and held my attention through the last page, and I honestly hated to see it end. It not only held my interest as a mystery, but was informative into the workings of the restaurant industry. I hope this is just the beginning of a series of "Chas" mysteries.
The Real McCoy 1998-07-20
I really enjoyed this debut effort by Phyllis Richman. As a DC transplant and wife of a native, Ms. Richman goes a long way in painting a detailed and accurate picture of the region I call home, even when peppered with fictitious places and landmarks. She also draws a fine mystery novel, encouraging readers to follow through on her false-leads, as far as her title character, Chas. While I did guess who the real murderer was pretty early on- this did not detract from my enjoyment of this novel and anticipation for her next entree'. Ms. Richman has taken such care with all of the character's close to Chas that I feel that I would know many of them if I encountered them on the Metro, the Mall, or Georgetown! I look forward to hearing more about Lily, Ari, Paul, Dave, Sherele, Homer, and Brian. Bravo!
Swell book! Great characters, well written and about FOOD! 1998-07-15
I loved this book! It was very well written and flowed smoothly. Kept me guessing all the way to the end, always a plus. Each of the characters was likable, although they were all flawed (or real). Are there really that many sensitive men in the world? It was interesting to read the "behind the scenes" happenings of the restaurant world. And the descriptions of the food got my culinary juices going. The receipe at the end was a great touch. Can't wait for the next one!
If you're into the "foodie mysteries," you won't regret this one. 2006-12-28
Phyllis Richman, where have you gone?! After devouring the first three of your Chas Wheatley mysteries, you have left me out in the cold, wondering if there will ever be anymore. Alas, I doubt it to be true, since the last book you wrote was in 2002. I have even gone so far as to Google you, only to not come up with much in that department either. Sigh! You have left me strung out on your witty and sarcastic writing that I have yet to be found duplicated anywhere!
I should probably review this book, huh?
The Butter Did It, a quick, spirited, and completely humorous ride that all of these other "foodie" mysteries could only dream of duplicating. This is probably because Richman is an honest to goodness restaurant reviewer, that works for The Washington Post. Washington D.C. provides a rich backdrop for the three of her books. Being from the left coast, she gives fascinating descriptions of her surroundings, not to mention the food, as well. The characters seem to pop off the page, nothing lies flat in a Richman book. I honestly couldn't put it down. If you're into mystery, great characters, fabulous writing and all around excellent writing, I'd pick this one up. You won't be disappointed.
The Butter Did It 2005-08-28
Oh, I just love Chas and all her foiables. She is a delight to get to know along with all the other quirky characters she comes in contact with. Love the descriptions of the dinners she partakes of as a food critic. Yum!! This is a fun romp of a murder mystery with a great twist.
Is Clarified Butter The Key? A Soul Food Finish 2005-07-16
Listen my children and you shall hear ...
... the morning munch of a mangia mystery (following boisterous stomach rumblings).
Join me in a gourmet walkabout. I'm hedging through a garden LABYRINTH, lush with the steaming aroma of freshly buttered, almond scones; set with a collection of Italian demitasse cups of bravo-bean espresso, and whatever your stomach growls for.
The Key for this labyrinth is in Phyllis Richman's THE BUTTER DID IT, the Haut Cuisine of the culinary mystery genre.
But, wait. Go slowly. The path to the key should be more yummy than the fait accompli...
Davidson-type culinaries had always offered an effortless gateway to Goldy's world. Maybe it was my simple background causing affinity with mysteries in which the protagonist communes with friends and family, and works out her problems around lush descriptions of food preparation processes in her gourmet kitchen.
I grew up in THE MALT SHOP, a Colorado small-town restaurant (complete with ice creme fountain), Bus Depot, and Bakery owned by my mother and her two sister's. The fountain area had a long counter of green-marbled linoleum, accompanied by a collection of red-vinyl-topped stools, upon which customers could spin fast circles, and which were bolted to the floor to prevent unplanned flights into the oak-framed, glassed-front bakery cases behind the string of elevated seat tops. Sitting atop one of these stools, a customer saw his image inside a 12' X 20' heavy mirror. Also reflected were sage-green, ceramic milk-shake-mixers and a red-trimmed, silver-tin-can of pure, powdered Malt.
Oh yes. The classic scene. And I lived there. Home was a green-marbled counter-top accompanied by spinning red-stool seats.
After graduating college, and moving to Portland, Oregon with my first husband, I had been given a treasured birthday gift from my mother-in-law, who was a lovely woman named Hope. She paid for a one-evening Julia Child cooking seminar held at a Kitchen Kaboodle in Beaverton. Seated on comfy stools surrounding the teaching kitchen, seminar participants watched an exquisite, full dinner meal plus dessert being conjured by Julia, an extravaganza which was served at the culmination of the high entertainment of Julia at work with her special brand of culinary magic.
If you're like me and you must know, she seared, then roasted a pork loin in a super hot, fast oven, finishing the saliva surging meat within a half-hour, transforming it into a dark, toasty, thick crust containing a juice-dripping, blushing-pink core ...
Possibly these experiences conditioned me for a particular craving of mysteries featuring plot-active chefs as investigators, or some variation on that theme of using food preparation as part of the sensual appeal in the novel.
There is a major difference in a reading mood between visceral sensual appeal, based from the stomach and intestines, and cerebral pun/wit appeal, or other appeals based in the cranium or in the other senses. This may be why I've been pushed to look for more of Davidson's Goldy Schulz. And, now, most definitely I'll drool for more of Richman's Chas Wheatley.
I've found that many cozies on the culinary bandwagon don't cater an over abundance of food flavor fun, using word-space to work them sagely into the plot. Once I realized that Richman and Davidson were the main authors who impregnated plot with detailed chewing and cooking, I was freed to enjoy other offerings in this tasty side-genre, relishing the alternate "flavors" they provided to munch on or labyrinth through.
So far, Phyllis Richman's offerings are my favorite food flavor fix; THE BUTTER DID IT has risen to the top.
What captured me (with a huge sense of relief), beyond the fantastic food futzing, was the adult appeal. The Butter wasn't X-Rated, except for surging desire for the flavor, a pleasure which has been turned almost criminal. It featured adult professionals working with adult problems in The World. Instead of being habitually fed adolescent angst and family abuse, I was given professional machinations to chew on, situations to which the forever adolescent within me might aspire, and in the process have hormonal angst shoved into healthy accomplishment in the grown up (sort of) world. I mean, look at Davidson's Julian; he's making that transition.
And, who wouldn't want (in fact or fiction) to be a restaurant reviewer in a politically posh East Coast City? Would it be torture to have a newspaper editor sign expense slips for meals tabbing up several hundred dollars each, including beverages and companions? Well, yes, as Chas dramatizes, being paid well to eat regularly a la gourmet does have its drawbacks. But, in fiction, one gets the flavor, minus reality's tragic downside (gravity). Ah, the essence of escape fiction. Such a deal! You bet!
But, did the Butter do it? Did cholesterol kill the chef with a heart condition? Precisely what did kill him, and how does that relate to the current conundrum of butter bashing?
Apologizing to the near religious pitch on global cholesterol phobia, I confess. I'm not afraid of butter. Without reservation, I love it. Forget the plastic puke in phony parodies.
Not only do I love butter; I need it for brain function. Someday we'll be reading about butter as a cure for crime. I kid you not. Casting off pseudo, Science is already jumping on the newly-painted, gloriously-gutsy gypsy wagon with brightly-colored signs:
"The brain is 90% cholesterol; it's a GOOD thing. It runs the nervous system. We in the scientific community made a mistake in interpreting the purpose of its overwhelming presence around heart problems. The cholesterol surge was actually the body's do-it-now patchwork-cure, a temporary fix until the soul could break through and begin its habit of making clearer choices for taste, on a quick, minute-by-minute basis."
(The soul's inclusion in the signs was my insert. The scientific explanation of the "until" part hasn't reached the source yet. It has distance-to-go along Quantum Mechanics Avenue.)
Truth slips out in the end, sometimes only after the slithering snot of viral viscera has had it's say.
Read THE BUTTER DID IT. Pick up the tiny clue that I'm not the only one who knew that cholesterol phobia had to be an oops due to scientific method slipping on a banana peel.
It's likely that many culinary mystery authors sense this truth. The soul craves flavor for a reason. It drives the body and it needs its treats. Learning how, what, and when to treat is the question.
I'm headed to hedge my health. I had my Ultimate Omelet this morning ("this" was in 2002 when my notes were written on this novel). Now my soul needs a Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese. Maybe I'll have a diet Coke. First, though, I'll drink a glass of sparkling water.
Also back in my 2002 I picked up Joanne Pence's BELL, COOK AND CANDLE. I've reviewed several of that series in 2005, and made a Listmania (dates for my raves are posted there) on this Angie collection with book 13 coming in February 2006, 14 in progress.
Pence's Amalfi series has become my favorite in the mystery genre, especially since she's still cooking! She may also hold a Key (Richman's Butter holds the Master Key for food flavor focus) to the design of this labyrinth, but I don't want spoil the fun of figuring out why. Her novels have a well-balanced complexity, a bit of everything, including a richly balsamic smattering of gourmet taste touches, all minus seasonal chaos or treat clashing to spoil the broth.
That said, I no longer cringe when I say, Bon Appetite!
Linda Shelnutt
Former Washington Post Restaurant Critic Becomes Novelist 2001-05-31
Phyllis Richman is a many-faceted woman. She wrote restaurant reviews that were outstanding for The Washington Post. She has written articles for Gourmet Magazine. She has written several mysteries weaving the food scene with the storyline. Phyllis, when can we expect your next book and isn't there a screenplay in the offing? She also sits on the prestigious James Beard Committee for culinary awards. When I think of restaurants, I think of Phyllis Richman. Purchase this book; you won't be disappointed.
Read this in a weekend 2000-09-05
What a good read for a long weekend. This was a spontaneous purchase because I liked the title. I figured that the author had a sense of humor. Boy! Does she?! This is a nice moving book with lots of insider information on the food industry as well as inside the beltway. The characters are well-rounded (and not perfect). I liked every character and did not want a single one of them to be the "dirty guy." The food details without the recipes littering the content is a welcome change, and walking the city streets can help the psyche -- try it! I will definitely buy more from this author.
