Dying to Decorate

by Cyndy Salzmann

Book Overview

Just as The Babysitter's Club series successfully captured a generation of young girls, Cyndy Salzmann's Friday Afternoon Club series lays claim to moms who cherish long-standing friendship...and a bit of mystery.

While juggling the responsibilities of carpool, laundry, and ballet lessons, this group of close friends find time to act as sleuths, unraveling mysteries, and gaining spiritual truths along the way. Readers will readily identify...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1582294550
• ISBN13: 9781582294551
• Release Date: June 2005
• Publisher: Howard Books
• Length: 282 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

A satisfying serving by Cyndy Salzmann

Dying to Decorate by author Cyndy Salzmann, is the first in the Friday Afternoon Club Series. The narrator of the story is a woman named Liz, a stay-at-home mom who writes a newspaper column (think Martha Stewart meets Flylady). The friends in the Friday Afternoon Club, or FAC, get together weekly to get a little R & R from their all-too busy lives. They support each other with fierce devotion, and when one of the members goes AWOL from the club for a few weeks, they go on a rescue mission. The group learns that their friend Lucy, recovering from the deaths in the past year of both her husband and her mother, has slid into a depression. She has also recently inherited an old Civil War style home from an elderly aunt, and the FAC thinks it will be the perfect diversion to nudge Lucy away from her slump. The group determines to have a decorating party/get-away weekend to help restore the lovely old house. Startling discoveries and a secret diary found hidden in the house from Civil War times raise serious questions about the history of Lucy's past relatives. With help from the diary and Lucy's Aunt Bette, the group learns about true strength of character and sacrificial heroism that begins at home. While the novel isn't a `mystery' in the classic sense, it has great sense of suspense as the story unfolds. Add to that a wonderfully refreshing humor intertwined in a very satisfying story. If that isn't enough, the book includes many wonderful recipes that tie into each chapter. To a book-loving foodie, it's the ultimate in reading. With recipes like Melt-In-Your-Mouth Pot Roast, I'm So Sorry Snickerdoodles, and Liz's Triple Chocolate Pecan Brownies, it's a struggle to decide whether to finish reading or to hit the kitchen to whip up some of the goodies laced throughout the book. It's a fantastic read all around, and I can't wait for the next installment in the series. Her next book, Crime and Clutter (A Friday Afternoon Club Mystery) is scheduled to be released in April 2007.

Dying to read the next in her series. Hilareous

In Dying to Decorate, book one in Cyndy Salzmann's Friday Afternoon Club series, one of the group, Liz, unexpectedly inherits a house. The ladies of the club are worried about depressed Liz, mourning the death of her husband and mother. To help her get through the tough time, they volunteer to spend a weekend repainting and wallpapering the house to get it ready to sell. Then they hear rumors about a ghost. Salzmann turns her humorous eye on cleaning and painting, celebrates the gifts of womanhood as Liz and her friends encourage Lucy, and tackles a mystery. Soon the Friday Afternoon Club ladies realize solving the mystery may reveal things in Lucy's family tree that may make her feel even worse. The hilarity of the book comes mainly from Liz, the narrator. Liz writes a Martha Stewart-ish newspaper column about gracious living, while her own home is in chaos. The friends are great characters, Liz, the out of whack advice columnist, Lucy, depressed and lonely, Marina, the take charge policewoman, the quietly perfect Mary Alice, and others. They all bring their strengths to the group, taking turns supporting each other through the trials and joys of motherhood. Cyndy Salzmann's book is part of a new style of Christian literature called Mom Lit. Mom Lit had been described as Chick Lit with Children. It's a lighthearted style of writing about children and the struggle to handle the joys and problems that go with raising them. The series, The Yada Yada Prayer Group by Neta Jackson may be the best known Mom Lit series. Lori Copeland, long a successful writer of funny historical romances, is calling Stranded in Paradise, her next release, Mom Lit. Dying to Decorate, is a great example of this sub-genre of Christian fiction. Salzmann is an author and a speaker. She travels all over the country sharing home management tips in her hilarious style. Reprinted from the Sioux City Journal, Sioux City, Iowa

Salzmann employs a deep sense of humor with a genuine love of her family

Cyndy Salzmann is a Christian writer who uses the backbone of her religion to launch a career that includes three Christian nonfiction books on home management, a national speaking career, and work as a radio personality. She is married and has three children. She hates laundry and love to cook, which has led her to include some really yummy sounding recipes in her book. DYING TO DECORATE isn't a murder mystery. Instead it uses the word "mystery" loosely to describe a trip that Liz Harris, local newspaper columnist, takes with her friends Lucy, Jessie, Marina, Mary Alice, and Kelly. They have a small club called "FAC" or Friday Afternoon Club, which is a bonding and relaxation time for busy mothers who forget to reward themselves. When Lucy misses club, they rush over to her home to find her in a depressed state after the deaths of her husband and mother. Lucy has inherited a home her Aunt Bette has lived in entitled "Locust Hill house" which needs remodeling and/or selling. They decide to make a trek to see Locust Hill, only to find a cryptic note left by Aunt Bette, who has moved to a nursing home: "At the same time, I have been praying that you wouldn't make any rash decisions about the disposition of Locust Hill without first exploring the house's history. I knew if you felt strong enough to make the trip to Tredway, you would be strong enough to hear what I have to say." Aunt Bette's plea begins not only a home renovation, but the discovery of a very special diary that ties the home to Civil War history and enshrines Lucy's relations in the "hero" category. The mystery becomes unraveling the past and bringing courageous and truly religious people back to life. Salzmann employs a deep sense of humor with a genuine love of her family to take the reader down a fascinating historical path that includes the Underground Railroad. Her idea of human values and religion rings true, and the story she has to tell is one of simple Nebraska settlers who risked everything to help to end slavery. DYING TO DECORATE begins with light banter, but its lessons are sober and inspiring. Shelley Glodowski Senior Reviewer

Clever and Fun

Cyndy Salzmann has written a clever and memorable book--with recipes to boot. The recipes introduce each chapter and are cleverly woven into the story. I can't wait to try them! The story is intriguing, and I appreciated Cyndy's attention to historical detail. I can't wait to read the next in the series!

Fun...and oddly motivating

I devoured this book on a double plane ride home and it kept me entertained for hours. Fun story and enjoyable company on what would otherwise be a boring and lonely day. But what was really odd is that I suddenly want to throw a party just to try out some of those really cool recipes. And since I'd rather make a reservation than a recipe, that's really saying something. My friends are going to have to buy their own copy of THIS book 'cause they're not getting mine:-) Now, about that Banana Split Cake - I mean, that is just begging to be tried!