Cinco De Murder
by Rebecca Adler
Series: Taste of Texas Mystery #3
Series Rating:
Published by Berkley Books on April 3, 2018
Genres: Cozy Culinary Holiday Mystery
Pages: 293
Format: Paperback
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Tex-Mex waitress and part-time reporter Josie Callahan serves up more Lone Star justice in this spicy mystery from the author of The Good, the Bad, and the Guacamole.
It's fiesta time in Broken Boot, Texas, and tourists are pouring into town faster than free beer at a bull roping for the mouthwatering Cinco de Mayo festivities. Tex-Mex waitress Josie Callahan, her feisty abuela, and even her spunky Chihuahua Lenny are polishing their folklorico dances for Saturday's big parade, while Uncle Eddie is adding his own spicy event to the fiesta menu: Broken Boot's First Annual Charity Chili Cook-off.
But Uncle Eddie's hopes of impressing the town council go up in smoke when cantankerous chili cook Lucky Straw is found dead in his tent. And when Josie's beloved uncle is accused of fatal negligence, she, Lenny, and the steadfast Detective Lightfoot must uncover who ended the ambitious chilihead's life--before another cook kicks the bucket.
Will Josie get her uncle on the council by solving this mystery?
Cinco de Murder by Rebecca Adler is a fantastic novel. I loved the wacky Texas characters, the setting and the mystery is to die for (pun intended).
Josie Callahan
Josie Callahan is the main character, and we see everything in her point of view. Reading in first-person works for some and others it doesn’t. For Josie, it works.
Josie works for her aunt and uncle in their Tex-Mex restaurant with her uncle’s mom, who she calls abuela, and grandma is a pretty big hoot. She is trying her hand at being a crime reporter at the local paper. However, her ex-friend is constantly butting into Josie’s business. Josie is very comical, and I can’t wait to read more.
What I like about Josie is that she is funny and isn’t afraid to do things that are out of the ordinary. I would never try to do some of the things that she does in the book. I love the way that she talks to her Chihuahua, Lenny since I used to talk like that with some of my pets. The one thing that I didn’t like was that she should have told someone where she was going, and maybe she wouldn’t have gotten stuck.
Detective Quint Lightfoot
Detective Quint Lightfoot is a new detective but has worked on the police force for a while. He is trying to solve the murder without Josie, but that is nearly impossible. Quint lets her help at times but clearly didn’t want to. It’s not his fault that she happens to pop up at a crime scene magically. He doesn’t like her being a crime reporter either.
What I like about Detective Quint Lightfoot is that he brings Josie to the crime scenes more than a usual policeman would. Then again, Josie is a crime reporter, and he tries to keep her in the loop. Lightfoot is a good guy and humors everyone, including Josie, about police matters even if he can’t discuss much. There wasn’t much that I disliked about him except that he wasn’t really in the book that much.
Five Stars
I am giving Cinco de Murder by Rebecca Adler five stars and recommending it to all cozy mystery lovers out there. The one thing that I will remind you about while reading this book is not to fall for the red herrings. Granted that is hard I fell for them too.
Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Cinco de Murder by Rebecca Adler.
Until the next time,
Happy Reading!
About Rebecca Adler
Rebecca grew up on the sugar beaches of the Florida Gulf Coast. Drawn to the Big Apple by the sweet smell of wishful thinking, she studied acting on Broadway until a dark-eyed cowboy flung her over his saddle and hightailed it to the Southwest.
Prior to writing, she always found a way to add a touch of the dramatic to her life from dinner theatre in Mississippi to playing a giant Furskin in the New York Toy Fair, plus plays and musicals.
A former president of North Texas Romance Writers, Rebecca is a member of Sisters in Crime and Texas Romance Writers. She’s currently content to pour her melodramatic tendencies into writing the Taste of Texas cozy culinary mystery series set in far West Texas filled with sweet, Southern-fried flavor, delicious suspense, and scrumptious Tex-Mex recipes. Rebecca’s alter ego, Gina Lee Nelson writes sweet contemporary romance.
Info and pic were taken from the author’s website.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 2019 Cloak and Dagger
- 2019 Craving For Cozies Reading Challenge
- 2019 Cruisin' Thru The Cozies Reading Challenge
- 2019 Goodreads Reading Challenge
Thanks so much for the great review!