Genre: Mystery
Trade Paperback; [Audio CD]; Digital Book
ISBN #: 9780738752402; [9781541459885]
Midnight Ink Publishing; [Tantor Audio]
288 Pages
$11.39; [$22.67]; $4.99 Amazon
June 8, 2017
⭐⭐⭐
Erin Murphy, manager of Glacier Mercantile (aka the Merc), is tuning up for Jewel Bay's annual Jazz Festival. Between keeping the Merc's shelves stocked with Montana's tastiest local fare and hosting the festival's kick-off concert, Erin has her hands full.
Discord erupts when jazz guitarist Gerry Martin plummets to his death from the rocks above the Jewel River. The one-time international sensation had fallen out of sync with festival organizers, students, and performers. Was his death an accident -- or did someone even the score?
Erin investigates despite the warning signs not to get involved. And when the killer attacks, she orchestrates her efforts into one last crescendo, hoping to avoid a deadly finale.
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Erin Murphy is manager of Glacier Mercantile in small-town Jewel Bay, Montana. They're gearing up for a festival featuring guitarist Gerry Martin. But all is not well -- especially when Erin hears arguments between Gerry and others who are either attending or performing in the concert he's about to give.
Also on hand is her boyfriend Adam's best friend Tanner, who has finally arrived from Minnesota to spend time visiting with Adam and Erin. While she's looking for everything to settle down, that's not going to happen. The day after the concert, she hears that there's been an accident on the river -- where Adam and Tanner are kayaking, and when she rushes to it, she sees Tanner on the rocks, obviously in distress. She fears the worst, but those fears are allayed when Adam grabs her from behind before she can tumble to the ground. But when she learns that the deceased is Gerry Martin, and Tanner tells her it wasn't an accident, she begins to wonder who hated him enough to kill him, or wants to see her stop asking questions...
While I really wanted to love this book, I just couldn't. There were things that bothered me, and unfortunately, I just couldn't get past them. First, how does she keep the Merc up and running when she's never there? She's there long enough to go into her office to work on the investigation, or order a couple cases of wine, but then she's off again, leaving the place to Tracy and her new hiree, Lou Mary. That grated on me.
Also unfortunately, I still just really hate the name Fresca. it's the name of a soft drink from years ago, and every time I hear it I think she was named after it. The nickname for Francesca would more likely be Fran. It also bothers me that she calls her mother by her first name. It's disrespectful, and who cares if your mother works at the same place you do? You'd still call her mom, yet she even calls her Fresca in her mind. (Yeah, I know, but it really bothered me).
Aside from this, the mystery was fine, and there were plenty of suspects who wanted Martin dead. Finding the right one took time, since the clues that their were led to a woman being the murderer. That narrowed it down somewhat, since the men were pretty much out of the picture. In the end, it all came together satisfactorily, and left a hint of what is to come in the next book, which I will still probably read, since I've read all the books in this series so far.
https://www.amazon.com/Treble-Fest-Lovers-Village-Mystery/dp/0738752401/ref
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1897475878
More on Leslie Budewitz's Books: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/b/leslie-ann-budewitz/
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