Buried
by Breakfast
Hemlock
Falls Mystery series, No. 12
By Claudia Bishop
The
Quilliam sisters, chef Meg and artist Sarah (nicknamed "Quill")
always seem to be stirring up murder at the historic Hemlock Falls
Inn that they run together in a sleepy little northern New York
town.
In this adventure, Judge Moody
sequesters himself, a six-person jury, his bodyguard, and the court
liaison, who is a royal pain, at the inn (at the ridiculously cheap
"state rate," according to Quill). Not only is the Inn's
staff kept hopping trying to fulfill the spoiled demands of these
new guests, but they become embroiled in murder when the puffed-up
judge is found murdered. Tossed in this stew are more suspects with
motives than there are possible opportunities, including the developer
who wants to move the town's Civil War Cemetery and turn it into
a golf course and the Friends of the Dead who are protesting the
move.
As always, Claudia Bishop serves
up a smorgasbord of off-the-wall characters that will keep readers
laughing. The mystery, though straightforward, is complicated by
all of these characters, producing more red herrings that you'll
see in an all-you-can-eat seafood buffet.
The Hemlock Falls mystery
series is a welcome romp with a cast of characters that aren't easily
forgotten. The deft way Bishop brings everything to a simmer, threatening
to boil all over the place, and then lets it all gel into a tidy
ending is mystery-concocting at its best. Plus, the added bonus
of one of Chef Meg's prized recipes is always worth the price of
the book. This time, it's her "World's Best Omlette."
Reviews of other titles in this series
Buried
by Breakfast, No 12
A
Carol For A Corpse, No 14
Dread
on Arrival, No 17
|
The
Book |
Publisher Berkley Prime Crime (New York)
|
Date December 4, 2004 |
Format Mass Market Paperback |
ISBN 0425199452 |
Genre Mystery, Cozy |
More
at Amazon.com |
Excerpt
|
NOTE:
|
The
Reviewer |
Janie Franz |
Reviewed
2005 |
|