REBECCA
ADLER
Synopsis
from Goodreads: Tourists
are pouring into the town of Broken Boot for the annual Homestead
Days celebration. Opening the festivities at Two Boots Dance Hall is
smooth-talking country singer Jeff Clark, the ex-boyfriend of Patti
Lopez, Josie’s best friend. When the charming Clark woos Patti
onstage in an attempt to rekindle some sparks with his old flame,
Josie fears her friend will end up just one more notch on the
singer’s guitar strap.
To
impress her editor at the Broken
Boot Bugle,
Josie and her Chihuahua Lenny pursue the singer to Patti’s house,
hoping for an interview. Instead, they discover Clark facedown in a
bowl of guacamole with a bloodied guitar at his side. With Patti
suddenly a murder suspect, Josie must use her reporter skills to find
out who had a chip on their shoulder—before the killer
double-dips...
Stats
for my copy: Mass market
paperback, Berkley, 2016
How
acquired: Received from
Cozy Mystery Review Crew
My
thoughts: It
was nice to revisit Broken Boot, Texas, and follow
waitress-slash-newspaper reporter Josie Callahan as she got involved
in the second murder mystery to occur in the small town since her
arrival home. Once again, Josie is the lucky soul who happens to
discover the body. But the murder is much more personal this time
around – Josie's best friend, Patti, is accused of doing the dirty
deed and locked up.
Jeff,
the deceased, is a playboy singer who's band is booked at the local
bar, Two Boots, which is owned by Josie's family. He's also an
ex-boyfriend of Patti's, and a witness has reported hearing Patti and
Jeff arguing shortly before he was killed. In Patti's house.
This time around we don't see Josie interact as much with the locals who were involved in the previous book, other than her family, Deputy Lightfoot and her own ex, Ryan. I was disappointed that Ryan was no longer dating the beauty queen from the first book, as I really enjoyed her spiteful interactions with Josie. We do meet several new characters - the other member's of Jeff's band, plus his skeevy agent and a strange mother/daughter duo who traveled with the band.
I actually kept up better with the mystery and the plot this time. But there still seemed to be a little something missing. Despite the story being set in the same small town, it didn't have quite the same small town feeling, I think just because the local townsfolk weren't as involved and I wish they had been. But overall it was still a fun, breezy read, and while I liked the first book just a little more, I hope there will be a third book and look forward to more from this author.
it's a enjoyable post .
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