Cinco de Murder by Rebecca Adler

Cinco de Murder by Rebecca Adler ISBN-13: 9780425275955 Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime Released: April 3, 2018

Source: Review copy from the publisher.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
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.


My Review:
Cinco de Murder is a cozy mystery. It is the third in a series, but you don't need to read the previous novels in order to understand this one. This book did not spoil the previous mysteries.

I enjoyed the characters more than the mystery. The people were interesting and full of personality while still acting realistically. Josie had integrity about not sharing information that she'd been asked not to share, which I appreciated. I liked how the growing attraction between Josie and Lightfoot was portrayed.

The detective wasn't sure that the death even was a murder, but Josie kept coming up with possible murder scenarios. She changed her scenario every time she learned new information, so it's not surprising that she didn't solve whodunnit until that person basically confessed when confronting her. At least she managed to get free and help stop that person from fleeing justice. However, I never was clear exactly how the murder was done, though the general method was given.

There was no sex. There was one use of mild bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this fun mystery.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.