Diane Mott Davidson, born , is an American author of mystery novels that use the theme of food. Several recipes are included in each book, and each novel title is a play on a food or drink word.
Mott Davidson studied political science at Wellesley College and lived across the hall from Hillary Clinton. In a few of her novels (particularly, The Cereal Murders), she references a prestigious eastern women's college that her sleuth, Goldy Schulz, attended before transferring to a Colorado state university. In real life, Mott Davidson transferred from Wellesley and eventually graduated from Stanford University.
The main character in Mott Davidson's novels is Goldy Schulz, a small town caterer who also solves murder mysteries in her spare time. At the start of the series, Goldy is a recently divorced mother with a young son trying to make a living as a caterer in the fictional town of Aspen Meadows, CO. As the series progresses, new characters are introduced that change Goldy's professional and personal life. It has been noted that Aspen Meadows, CO, closely resembles a real Colorado town, Evergreen. Evergreen is where Mott Davidson currently resides with her family.
The series has now reached 15 books. The first 12 books interwove recipes with the novel's text. When a dish is first described in the novel, the relevant recipe followed within the next few pages. Double Shot, the 12th novel, marked a change in the publishing of these recipes. In Double Shot, all recipes are compiled and printed at the end of the novel. Her 15th novel, Fatally Flaky: A Novel, was released on April 7, 2009.
She was the guest of honor at the 2007 Great Manhattan Mystery Conclave in Manhattan, Kansas.