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Sally Solari
Mystery #4
BY Leslie Karst
Crooked Lane Books
April 2019 / 978-1683319535
Mystery / Culinary Cozy
Reviewed
by Leslie C. Halpern
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This
entertaining culinary cozy mystery takes place in California,
where restaurant owner Sally Solari juggles her professional
responsibilities while dealing with a semi-broken heart over
her ex-boyfriend’s apparent new love interest. She has
annoyed the local police detective in the past by interfering
in his murder cases, so with all these things combined, she
certainly has no interest in solving another murder mystery.
And yet that’s what happens when her blind cousin, Evelyn,
comes to stay for a while after tragedy strikes the family.
When Sally’s aunt (Evelyn’s mother) died of a mysterious
drug and alcohol overdose, police, friends, and associates assumed
it was accidental. Evelyn suspects—but has no concrete
proof—that it was more likely murder related to her mother’s
recent opening of a successful new restaurant. Evelyn is convinced
that although her mother was under stress, she loved and cared
for her disabled daughter, and never would have done anything
to jeopardize their relationship, such as take lethal amounts
of toxic substances.
After a short period of bonding, the cousins unite in a combined
effort to catch a killer. Sally uses her knowledge of food,
spice, and restaurant business to aid Evelyn, who, because of
her affliction, has a heightened sense of hearing, smell, and
the ability to detect when things are out of place. Before long,
the suspects are narrowed to movers and shakers in the local
restaurant scene.
In addition to mouth-watering food references, five recipes
in the back of the book, cute dog scenes, and interesting information
about visual impairment, this book presents a puzzling mystery
that isn’t easy to solve. Unlike many mysteries that manipulate
readers into confusion, Murder from Scratch offers an intriguing
story that’s fun and easy to read, and that slowly reveals
its secrets while keeping a few for the final chapters of the
book. This engaging mystery is a welcome addition to the cozy
genre. |
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