Month: October 2025

Mystery Review: One Pro, One Amateur, & One Critique

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Liza Tully — The World’s Greatest Detective And Her Just Okay Assistant

Admittedly, this mystery and I made it to the register mainly because the title elicited a laugh. Undoubtedly, just as the author, agent, and publisher planned. Happily, the title wasn’t the only clever thing about this book.

The World’s Greatest Detective And Her Just Okay Assistant is not only a solid mystery, but it also shows the growing pains between a seasoned detective and a shiny new assistant. Bringing to mind how Watson struggled with Sherlock’s tactics, before he started understanding the method behind the madness.

Which brings me to my only real criticism of the book.

Somewhere along the way, someone decided to boil this dynamic of an amateur, mystery-book-loving, eager assistant and a seasoned, exacting, famed detective down to a prosaic Gen Z vs. Boomer dynamic. Luckily, this trope only really reared its head once. In a clunky encounter, our two ladies, Olivia Blunt and Aubrey Merritt, actually discuss this generational friction over lunch. Though this episode only lasts a couple of pages and Tully lands the dismount pretty well whilst making some good points — the discordant note did forcibly eject me from the narrative.

But don’t let this bit of criticism hold you back from reading The World’s Greatest Detective And Her Just Okay Assistant.

Watching Olivia cope with Merritt’s demands, leap to conclusions, and stumble over clues is a lot of fun! Making it plain to see that devouring mysteries, thrillers, and true crime books doesn’t necessarily prepare their readers for a real-life investigation, and I cannot underscore enough the hilarity that this chasm creates.

Even better? Tully gives her audience a couple of breadcrumbs to spark curiosity about who exactly is Merritt’s housekeeper and who is sending the detective romantic notes. Plus, the chaos that will undoubtedly ensue in the run-up to Olivia’s wedding.

I would recommend The World’s Greatest Detective And Her Just Okay Assistant to anyone looking to get in on the ground floor (I’m hoping) of a new mystery series that will only get better with time.

My 52 Weeks With Christie: A.Miner©2025

Cooking With Christie: Bulgogi Kimbap and Possible Growth?

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Inspiration: Recently, my better half has been devouring Korean comics. One he recently found and thoroughly enjoyed featured a character whose superpower skills included cooking. 

Some delectable, mouthwatering cooking.

Amongst the many delicious dishes featured in the panels of art was kimbap. As my husband and I are VERY familiar with sushi, we were immediately intrigued by kimbap’s similar – yet distinct – appearance.  

So as fast as my fingers could type, I took to the interwebs. Whereupon I learned kimbap is a Korean seaweed rice roll that’s filled with a wide variety of vegetables and protein, and does not require any dipping sauce. Moreover, kimbap can be eaten as a roll, triangle (like onigiri) or a burrito, depending on your preference.

Mildly confident in my rice shaping abilities, thanks to my recent forays into making rice balls, I settled on this recipe for Bulgogi Kimbap.

I lost my nerve partway through and found it again after watching this video several times.

Not only because of My Korean Kitchen‘s clear instructions, but also because she’s published a recipe for bulgogi beef as well. (A dish I’ve eaten plenty of times in restaurants, but never tried making from scratch.)

And, nearly immediately, I messed up. 

So excited/trepidatious about making kimbap, upon making the marinade for the bulgogi, I failed to blend it in the blender. It still turned out tasty, but I’m looking forward to trying again using My Korean Kitchen‘s exact method.

Above and beyond the inadvertent mistake, my enthusiasm for trying this new-to-me food meant I was unwilling to wait a few days until my pantry’s shelves owned all the requisite components called for in the recipe. 

So, I simplified instead: using sushi rice, blanched spinach, pickled carrot ribbons, my mis-marinated bulgogi (after it was cooked), and king oyster mushrooms (which I minced in a food processor and quickly pan-fried with a dollop of gochujang for a bit of heat). 

And, despite my mistake and variations, the rolls turned out delicious! I look forward to following the recipe as written and savoring the results. 

BTW: This is the first time in decades I’ve been able to eat cooked spinach! And by decades, I mean since I was knee high to a grasshopper, when I found myself in a standoff with a parental unit over my refusal to eat a side of seriously stringy and cold cooked canned spinach lying limply on my plate. Though we eventually “compromised”, by me literally choking down a half-dozen forkfuls, I’ve been unable to stomach the cooked stuff since.

But apparently, blanching fresh spinach and hiding it amongst other textures and some seriously flavorful fillings renders it edible.

Maybe this is growth? Gastronomically speaking.

Christie’s Canon of Characters: In my mind’s eye, I can easily see Lucy Eyelesbarrow making and quickly mastering kimbap for one of her clients, then introducing it to more still afterward, as she’s very capable and adventurous in both her professional and personal life.

My 52 Weeks With Christie: A.Miner©2025

Cooking With Christie: A Lukewarm Cookbook Review

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Inspiration: Endeavoring to step outside of the usual flavors of my cookies, I started scouring my cookbooks. Happily, I landed on this promising recipe, Toasted Sesame Slice-and-Bake Butter Cookies from Nancy Silverton’s book, The Cookie That Changed My Life and More Than 100 Other Classic Cakes, Cookies, Muffins, and Pies That Will Change Yours. 

Whilst I’m no stranger to slice-and-bake cookies, as I love recipes that require mixing on one day and baking the next, Nancy Silverton and Carolynn Carreno’s recipe threw me for a loop.

Cookbook Review: When I first perused The Cookie That Changed My Life… in my local indie bookshop, I initially glommed onto the recipe for Iced Animal Crackers. Not only do they require sprinkles, but these cookies also allow me to practice cookie-cutter dough — a style of cookie I’ve struggled to reliably produce without my grandmother’s guidance. (My unsupervised efforts always seem to spread, looking more akin to balloon animals than said four-legged friend I was aiming to create.)

What I didn’t realize, until after I got home and delved deeper into the pages, is that I’ve a preference on cookbook layouts. And, you’ve guessed it, The Cookie That Changed My Life… doesn’t follow it. 

Rather than breaking down the recipes into easily checked-off and manageable steps, which in my experience helps ensure you don’t miss adding or manipulating an ingredient, The Cookie That Changed My Life… does not. The recipes are broken down only by the broadest of strokes, leaving bakers with anywhere from 2 to 5 inches of text to parse for several steps in each recipe. Making the somewhat complicated recipes even more challenging/intimidating to reproduce. 

Unless you’re a baker who’s apparently willing to sit down, break down, and rewrite every single recipe before stepping into the kitchen.

What I do appreciate about the book is the clear ingredient list, which gives the weight of most ingredients. (A feature which should not be underestimated.)

If you enjoy pretty cookbooks then, The Cookie That Changed My Life… is for you. The layout and its uniformity, plus the intermittent pictures, create an attractive book. And if you enjoy reading cookbooks like they were works of fiction, then The Cookie That Changed My Life… is one for you. If you don’t tend to lose your place in large blocks of text in the midst of measuring, mixing, and manipulating ingredients, again I would recommend this book. 

However, if you value a practical approach to recipe writing, this book will drive you nuts. As either the editors, writers, or publisher valued style over accessibility.

That being said, the unique flavors, interesting techniques, and variety of recipes do partially make up for this (in my estimation) aforementioned flaw, and I would recommend The Cookie That Changed My Life…

With reservations.

P.S.: This cookbook is not for someone who’s new to baking as some of the processes required to successfully produce the bakes are highly technical and/or unusual.

The Bake: Familiar with the taste buds of my audience, i.e., my husband’s coworkers, I must admit to altering the Toasted Sesame Slice-and-Bake Butter Cookies slightly by adding the zest of one orange and one teaspoon of ground ginger to complement the warm nutty flavor of the toasted sesame. (It also kept the cookie from becoming one note.)

And they went down a treat!

Agatha Christie’s Canon of Characters: This is one of the few bakes I’ve produced that (I think) Hercule Poirot would enjoy. The flavor is subtle, warm, and elegant without being overly sweet. Moreover, the sesame flavor generally pairs well with espresso. Providing Poirot with something to nibble on whilst sipping a bean-based beverage and using his little grey cells.

My 52 Weeks With Christie: A.Miner©2025