Mousse and Murder
Paperback, 304 pages
Expected publication: May 5th 2020 by Berkley Books
Goodreads synopsis:
A young chef might bite off more than she can chew when she returns to her Alaskan hometown to take over her parents' diner in this charming first installment in a new cozy mystery series set in an Alaskan tourist town.
When Chef Charlie Cooke is offered the chance to leave San Francisco and return home to Elkview, Alaska, to take over her mother's diner, she doesn't even consider saying no. After all--her love life has recently become a Love Life Crumble, and a chance to reconnect with her roots may be just what she needs.
Determined to bring fresh life and flavors to the Bear Claw Diner, Charlie starts planning changes to the menu, which has grown stale over the years. But her plans are fried when her head cook Oliver turns up dead after a bitter and public fight over Charlie's ideas--leaving Charlie as the only suspect in the case.
With her career, freedom, and life all on thin ice, Charlie must find out who the real killer is, before it's too late.
***
4.5 Stars
This is the first book in the Alaskan Diner series by Elizabeth Logan.
Basic premise: A gal takes over the running of her family’s diner. She and the “chef” have not seen eye to eye with the menu for awhile and then the man ends up dead. Now Charlie must find out who killed her chef and find a new cook for the diner to boot. But when she starts to look into Oliver’s (the chef) background, she finds a ton of skeletons in his closet which proves the axiom that you don’t really know your friends very well.
I liked following this story. It really gave you a sense of place and made the setting shine. Some of the background characters were a bit lackluster but I thought Chris and Charlie really stood out. The scenes where the sheriff deputizes them is funny and honest.
Since the whodunit featured a newspaper man, the mystery felt more like a reporter going after a story than a normal cozy mystery. And I was okay with that. It made the story feel unique and different.
The hot and cold vibe between Charlie and Chris kept me reading. The farther they dug into Oliver’s past, the more surprises they uncovered. I look forward to book two to see where this story will go from here.
If you are looking for a good cozy mystery, definitely check this one out.
I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.
Thanks for this Diva review -- thought I'd drop in on Release Day and will be back! (Elizabeth Logan/Camille Minichino
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