Genre: Mystery
Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #: 9781496723154
Kensington Publishing
336 Pages
$7.99; $6.89 Amazon
June 30, 2020
⭐⭐⭐⭐
While looking forward to her high school reunion, Robbie's anticipation is complicated by memories of her mother's untimely death. At first, she has fun hanging out with her old classmates and reuniting with the local flavors -- avocados, citrus, fish, and spicy Cali-Mex dishes. But then she gets wind of rumors that her mother, an environmental activist, may not have died of natural causes. With the help of friends, Robbie starts clearing the smoke surrounding the mystery -- but what she finds could make it hard to get back to Indiana alive...
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Robbie Jordan owns a restaurant and B&B back in Indiana, but right now she's in California, where she grew up, to attend her tenth high school reunion. She's going solo, because none of the attendees are bringing their significant others, so she's spending time with people she knew in high school -- basically her friend Alana, who works in chemistry, and her friend Jason, who's a cybertech for the police department. Who she can do without is the mean girl from school -- Katherine Russom, who obviously is still holding a grudge for some long ago infraction Robbie did to her in high school, that Robbie can't even remember.
While there she's staying at a B&B that offers excellent Mexican food, and she's also sampling much of the local fare that she can't get back in Indiana. But learning more about Agrosafe, the company that Katherine's father Walter owns, and has been peddling to farmers around the area, has her wondering if her mother wasn't a victim of poisoning to get her out of the way. After speaking with a friend of her mother's, Paul, he's soon found dead and Robbie tells the police to check for poison. Now she's on her own mission - to find out more about Agrosafe, her mother and Paul's death, and if either of their deaths were intentional...if only she doesn't get put out of the way herself...
This is the seventh book in the series and I've read all of them. There were a couple of things that bothered me, so I'll get those out of the way first: I've actually never been to a high-school reunion that didn't allow spouses or significant others. It even seems odd that someone would want to go without them. That's half the fun - introducing your spouse to the people you went to school with, so they can put faces to the stories you tell. Also, I didn't like the fact that Robbie didn't have a house sitter and left poor Birdy alone again - with only Danna coming over to feed and water him. The poor baby has to be lonely there by himself. (Yes, cats do get lonely, just like dogs). Then, I've come to the conclusion that Abe isn't her boyfriend, since they're rarely together. They're more like friends with benefits. I get that they both work, but there's always excuses why they can't see each other. If you love someone, you want to be with them. Period. So there's that; and I'm done with my personal opinions. (Yay).
But back to the story: when Robbie has suspicions, she naturally wants to know if her mom died an unnatural death, instead of the brain aneyurism that was listed. So she starts to investigate, and it brings her to the company that Katherine's father owns - a company that might be poisoning people and animals if the farmers use it. A chance encounter with a local woman has her convinced of this, so she investigates further.
But it also puts her in the eye of someone who doesn't want her investigating, and she discovers that she's being followed. While she's able to elude the mysterious car, it's apparent that even the police know what's going on. With the help of Jason and Alana, Robbie gets closer to the truth, which surprises her when answers come from the most unlikely source ever.
The plot was done well, and the mystery was taut with enough red herrings throughout to make us also question Robbie's mom's death. This makes for an interesting mystery that can be read in one evening. It's intriguing to watch Robbie try to put the pieces together without ruffling the feathers of the police and the people who don't want her to investigate. The murderer was also someone who was unexpected, and it really was a senseless death, but then, murder always is. This was an enjoyable book and I look forward to the next in the series. Recommended.
https://www.amazon.com/Nacho-Average-Murder-Country-Mystery/dp/1496723155/ref
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3315926184
More on Maddie Day's Books: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/d/maddie-day/
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