Addicted to Death is wildly funny, extremely entertaining, and has well fleshed out characters – especially for a pear. Get it? Commence un-funny food puns now.
Summary
Detective Wortel, the leading food detective and also a carrot, has a tough set of cases: the murder of two eggs and a pear, death threats to celebrity chefs, and an old nemesis up for parole. Saddled with two incompetent citrus fruits as companions, Wortel must figure out how these cases wrap up. These are the types of conundrums that require the ultimate team – fruits, veggies, and humans – to solve these mysteries.
Review
Addicted to Death had me laughing out loud. This is such a well-written and funny book. There are bad food puns – my favorite type – and amazingly intricate characters. My book is riddled with highlights of funny jokes and humorous turns of phrases Redford employs. I knew it would be funny from page one. I, no joke, have a note in my book that says “funny and I know it will be ripe with food references”, I crack myself up. Seriously. If you are at all into dry humor, you can devour this book.
The Humor
I enjoyed it not only because of my wry or should I say rye, sense of humor, but Redford does a fantastic job of writing as well. The premise of sentient fruits and vegetables is not only interesting, but atypical. Although there was that food movie, Sausage Party, I saw a while ago, but it’s not even worth mentioning because this was much better to the millionth degree. One of Redford’s strengths, besides his humor, is his characters. They are multi-dimensional, even those we see only for a short time. There is such a depth and personality to them – including the murdered eggs.
Characters – They’re egg-celent!
Those eggs might have been some of my favorites. Their death had an almost Up-like quality to them (yes, the movie, but if you haven’t seen the movie, stop reading and go get it from the library, or wherever kids these days go for movies). It only gets better: from the detective carrot with the interesting family life, to the dynamic citrus duo of non-stop fun (kind of like Sean and Gus from Psych), to the other hosts of side characters who are just full of life. (As much as you can be for a fruit or vegetable, which still grows on trees).
The Trifecta
There was such a wealth of funny touches, which brought such life to this society that is almost like ours, except with the fruit running around. For example, the carrots boogeyman is the snowman who looks for them to be noses. Come on! These small touches really give the world a personality and make you feel like you’re immersed into a three dimensional setting.
They’re also a testament to Redford’s writing trifecta: characters, worlds, and humor. The plot will sweep you along and I devoured this book in under a day. At first you think about all these cases and threads that are seemingly separate, but they come together with not only poetic justice, but also skill. Stick with it, the story bears the best kind of fruit – I told you I’d make bad food puns.
Overall
Addicted to Death has this witty satire feel to it, throughout the entire book. It not only carries you along with a fun mystery plot line, but compels you with lifelike fruit and humor. It is the perfect beach read, or to give to your dad who makes the worst puns. I highly recommend this charming and eclectic mystery to lighten your day.
You should pick up this HILARIOUS book from Amazon(US) and add it to Goodreads. I’m part of this Blogival for Summer hosted by Clink Street and you should check out the other posts if you want some more Summer Reading Recs!
Disclaimer: I received this book in exchange for an honest review from the publisher.
About the Author
Born in 1980, Matthew Redford grew up with his parents and elder brother on a council
estate in Bermondsey, south-east London. He now lives in Longfield, Kent, takes masochistic pleasure in watching his favourite football team snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, is a keen chess player and is planning future food related crime novels. To counterbalance the quirkiness of his crime fiction Redford is an accountant. His unconventional debut crime thriller, Addicted to Death: A Food Related Crime Investigation was published by Clink Street Publishing last summer.
Website – http://www.matthewredford.com/
Twitter – https://twitter.com/matthew_redford
Discussion
Any other favorites with talking food? Anyone remember veggie tales?
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