Dying for Chocolate

In this perky mystery complete with toothsome hi-cal recipes, Davidson ( Catering to Nobody ) brings back Goldy Bear, the cherubic culinary sleuth with Shirley Temple curls. Fleeing her abusive ex-spouse, a physician she dubs ``The Jerk,'' Goldy and her teenage son Arch find a snug third-floor refuge in the Aspen Meadow, Colo., mansion of quirky Gen. Bo Farquhar, a retired munitions and terrorist pro who breezily detonates bombs while gardening and bird-watching. As the general's live-in gourmet cook, Goldly still has time to run Goldilocks' Catering and juggle two suitors--attractive psychiatrist Philip Miller and comfortably chubby cop Tom Schultz. Philip's shocking death--he careens off a cliff in a BMW after munching her brunch--casts suspicion on Goldy. Which of her foes might want to frame her? And who is the critic writing vicious reviews of her cooking in the Mountain Journal ? The plot spins along in good-humored fashion, while Goldy continues to whip up goodies for events like a disastrous ``aphrodisiac dinner'' for eight and a barbecue at which her luscious dessert smashes on the floor. When Arch vanishes, Goldly panics, but the author makes sure that all enigmas wind up in solutions that will surprise and please. (Aug.)