Publication July 25, 2023
With this one, you get two mysteries, one old, one new. The old one involves a bank robbery and the never recovered loot supposedly buried...somewhere. The robbers were killed before they could recover it. The second, newer mystery, who killed Cedar River's Mayor Bob? Juni(per) Jessup finds the ineffectual but relatively harmless mayor dead in his office during the town's bluebonnet festival. He's still holding a coffee cup from, you guessed it, the Sip & Spin Record shop which Juni co-owns with her family. Her sister Tansy made the coffee for him. The investigator in charge is Juni's old beau, uh, Beau.
Cedar River, near Austin, is a small town and gossip spreads fast. How fast? Almost before Juni can ever return home after giving a statement about how she came to discover the body. In this case, the gossip seemed to spiral, from a mutilated body to little green men with probes, no lie. So, outrageously humorous and insightful into small towns and how gossip grows wilder with each sharing. Although sworn not to talk about the case, Juni does attempt to calm minds, albeit with limited success. Mayor Bob's wife is reportedly away on an Alaskan cruise.
Juni is soon investigating with the help of sisters Tansy and Maggie, with input from Uncle Calvin, who has mellowed a tad since book one, I note. His stories still tend to be long and rambling, however, they're also often revealing once Juni manages to get him to the point. What connection did Mayor Bob have to used car salesman Marcus? Does Marcus have an ulterior motive for dating Juni's widowed mother? Juni could use a map to sift through all the clues piling up, so where is that map when she needs it? Why doesn't Juni simply share the info she gets with Beau? Will people ever trust Sip & Spin for coffee again?
And, will Buttercup be a recurring character? Don't ask, just read. Daffy the cat gets some space, too, I'll note. Bottom line, it's a fun, relatively quick read with humor and romance, so lots going on. Heck, first time I've ever heard of a hole digging contest. I'm not a fan of love-triangles, however, so hope the Beau or Teddy triangle is resolved soon. Both seem great guys.
Thanks #NetGalley and #StMartinsPress - #StMartinsPaperbacks for inviting me back to Cedar River, Texas. The bluebonnets are lovely.
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