I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from Great Escapes Book Tours. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Bitter Alpine
by Mary Daheim
Series: Emma Lord Returns #2
Series Rating:
Published by Alibi on February 4, 2020
Genres: Mystery
Pages: 235
Format: Kindle
Source: Great Escapes Book Tours
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New year, new murder . . . Emma Lord is on the case when death finds its way back to the wintry mountain town of Alpine.
After a relatively calm and cozy holiday season, neither Emma Lord, editor and publisher of The Alpine Advocate, nor her husband, Sheriff Milo Dodge, are surprised when their new year gets off to a rocky start. A woman’s body has been found in a squalid motel. Her driver’s license shows that Dawn Purvis was in her late thirties and lived in Weaverville, California—and the only connection between that town and Alpine is their gold-mining and logging origins. When they discover that Dawn’s room reservation was open-ended, Emma, Milo, and the ever-inquisitive Advocate receptionist, Alison Lindahl, are more than mildly curious. And never mind that the youthful Alison is a bit distracted by the new county extension agent’s virile good looks. She can still sleuth while she stalks her newest crush.
But that’s not all the news that’s unfit to print. There’s something strange about the older couple who have moved into the cabin down the road that was once owned by a murder victim. The elderly wife seems anti-social. There’s got to be a reason, which Emma, Milo, and Alison intend to find out—even if it puts them in deadly danger.
Bitter Alpine by Mary Daheim is a tale of the happenings of a small town.
Who killed the new girl in town?
Emma Lord
Emma runs the local newspaper and recently married the Police Chief. She is a journalist and, in the past, may have gotten herself in some sticky situations. She doesn’t get into much trouble in this book. However, people do tend to contact Emma with local gossip.
This book is the first that I have read by Mary Daheim. I enjoyed the story, which is a continuation of the previous Emma Lord series. So, this is lots of history that Emma dishes out about the townsfolk throughout the tale. I found Emma to be knowledgeable, kind, good at dealing with prominent personalities, and I agree with her that no one should have to eat Vida’s cooking.
The Mystery
A young woman new to town is murdered in the cheap local motel. Their boyfriends physically abuse two women and now missing. Vida wrecks her car as black ice forms in the winter weather. Is anything connected or all these individual crimes? This task is Chief Mitch’s job to figure out, but that doesn’t mean that Emma can’t help.
3 Stars
Bitter Alpine by Mary Daheim is a good cozy mystery. I felt at times that the author could have moved the story along at a faster pace, but most everything works out in the end. So, my rating for Bitter Alpine by Mary Daheim is three stars.
First Book in the Emma Lord Returns Mystery Series
The Previous Series: Emma Lord Mysteries
Giveaway
Prize: (3) Digital Copy (Kindle or Nook) – Bitter Alpine: An Emma Lord Mystery (Emma Lord Returns) by Mary Daheim
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This Guest Review is for Baroness’ Book Trove.
About Mary Daheim
Mary Daheim is the author of the Alpine mystery series. A Seattle native with a degree in communication from the University of Washington, she realized at an early age that getting a book published might elude her for years, so she began her writing career working on daily newspapers. The mother of three daughters, she lives in a century-old house in her hometown.
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