Review: Mousse and Murder (An Alaskan Diner Mystery) by Elizabeth Logan (Blog Tour/Tour-Wide Giveaway)

Mousse and Murder (An Alaskan Diner Mystery)
by Elizabeth Logan

About Mousse and Murder 

Mousse and Murder (An Alaskan Diner Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Publisher: Berkley (May 5, 2020)
Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
ISBN-10: 0593100441
ISBN-13: 978-0593100448
Kindle ASIN: B07WCZPZY7

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.

My Review

Charlie Cooke is thrilled to return to her hometown of Elkview in Alaska where she’ll be running her mother’s diner. Her parents are going on a cruise leaving Charlie to handle everything.

Unfortunately, things get off to a rocky start when she has a huge fight with her head cook, Oliver. He storms out of the diner and isn’t heard from again. When he turns up murdered, Charlie is the top suspect. It’s up to Charlie to prove her innocence.

The Alaska setting is beautiful and the author did an excellent job of transporting me there. Her descriptive writing put me right there. She painted a vivid portrait of Alaska life.

I enjoyed meeting Charlie and her friends. It took me some time to warm up to them and I’m looking forward to learning more about them in future books.

The one character who truly stood out for me is Eggs Benedict “Benny”. Benny is Charlie’s cat. Charlie confides in Benny all the time and he unknowingly helps her investigate. Charlie watches Benny throughout the day remotely using a “Benny Cam”. She even plays with him via the Benny Cam. Very cute.  Just as a side note, the cat doesn't possess any paranormal traits and doesn't talk.  He's just a sweet cat who loves Charles and she loves him :)

I would have liked to meet the victim and witness Charlie’s fight with him. It would have helped feel a sense of urgency in finding his killer. Instead, we hear about it after the fact.  Some parts were a bit slow, but then the plot took off and had me turning the pages quickly.  I had to know who the culprit was!

I honestly hadn’t figured out who the killer was until a few pages before Charlie did. Then, it all fell into place. I learned the truth right along with Charlie.

The book is the first of a new series. It is filled with charm, quirky characters and witty dialogue. I look forward to the next episode in this cute cozy mystery series and a chance for another visit to Elkview.

For reading challenges:
The Purrfect Reading Challenge 2020
What An Animal Reading Challenge 2020
Cruisin’ thru the Cozies Reading Challenge 2020

FTC Disclosure: I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.

About Elizabeth Logan

Camille Minichino is turning every aspect of her life into a mystery series. A retired physicist, she’s the author of 28 mystery novels in 5 series, with different pen names. Her next book is “Mousse and Murder,” May 2020, by Elizabeth Logan. She's also written many short stories and articles. She teaches science at Golden Gate U. in San Francisco and writing workshops around the SF Bay Area.  Details are at www.minichino.com.

Author Links

Website - http://www.minichino.com

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/camille.minichino

GoodReads -  https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/160580.Camille_Minichino

Purchase Links - Amazon - B&N  - IndieBound 

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