Mousse and Murder
By Elizabeth Logan
An Alaskan Diner Mystery
Berkley Prime Crime paperback
May 2020
Pages: 302
reviewed the kindle e-book
Set in Elkview, Alaska
Elkview, Alaska is nothing like San Francisco, but that’s where Charlie Cook’s parents’ home and diner is located. Charlie leaves behind the fast-paced big city restaurant career to manage her parents’ business. It’s no easy task with the constant disapproval of the diner’s longtime chief, Oliver Whitestone. He wants nothing to do with Charlie’s menu-changing suggestions. One day, he storms out of the diner and never returns. The town learns he was murdered and Charlie appears to be the prime suspect because of their frequent public arguments.
Both the town’s newspaper reporter, Chris Doucette, and Charlie know she isn’t the killer, but it’s going to take a lot of research to find the guilty party. They come up with a suspect list and work out a strategy. She would talk to Doc Sherman, the local physician and medical examiner. She was also going to question Oliver’s sister, Kendra, telling her that she’d like to interview her for the local newspaper. After speaking with Kendra, they learn that he was adopted when he was eight and when they check out his house, even though they really shouldn’t, things start to become clearer. Oliver knew someone was going to come after him. There was a good chance he knew who that someone was and why.
I would have preferred reading the paperback version of this book. It’s just not the same as an e-book, even though it’s easy to read at night in bed. That said, I loved the cover, the characters, seeing Alaska through their eyes, wondering who in the world wanted Oliver dead. I want to visit Bear Claw Diner, but I’d never eat anything with moose. Not sure if it was right for Charlie to take a possession of Oliver’s when they searched his home. I liked that numerous people were involved trying to solve this mystery. And, yes, the past does have a way of catching up with you.
four servings of cherry cheesecake mousse
Denise Fleischer
gottawritenetwork.wordpress.com
June 20, 2020