Tuesday 9 June 2020

Book ~ "Irish Stewed" (2016) Kylie Logan

From Goodreads ~ After flopping as a personal chef to a Hollywood movie star, jobless Laurel Inwood finds herself humbled in Hubbard, Ohio, helping her aunt Sophie run her restaurant. Much to Laurel’s dismay, Sophie’s Terminal at the Tracks is not the cozy bistro her aunt would have had her believe - it’s a run-down greasy spoon in an old railroad station. To save the dingy diner, Laurel cooks up a plan to feature alternating ethnic cuisine as specials. 

But first there’s the problem of the body in the booth. Slumped over a table with a receipt spike in his back is Jack Lancer - “the Lance of Justice” - an investigative reporter for local TV news. Assisted by the drop-dead gorgeous owner of the neighboring Irish store - who may or may not be a suspect - Laurel sets out to track down a killer who had no reservations about impaling a newshound. But as she turns up the heat, will she end up in the soup herself?

Laurel has recently been fired as the personal chef to a megastar.  With nowhere else to go, she heads to a small town in Ohio to help Sophie, her aunt, run her cozy bistro while she has knee surgery.  When Laurel arrives in Hubbard, she discovers that Sophie's cozy bistro is actually a run-down diner.  She's determined to leave the next day (she has no idea where she's going).  But then Laurel and Sophie find Jack Lancer, a local investigative reporter, murdered at one of the tables in the diner late that night.  Laurel decides to stay just until Sophie is out of rehab.

While she's managing the restaurant, Laurel decides to make some changes to attract business.  Some are not popular, while others are, like the Irish menu specials.  She meets Declan, the manager of the Irish store down the street.  He lets here know he is attracted to her and though she is attracted to him, she doesn't want to pursue it since she is only staying there temporarily.

This the second book I read by this author and I thought it was okay.  It is written in first person perspective in Laurel's voice.  It's a "cozy mystery" so there is no swearing, violence or adult activity.  It is the first in the Ethnic Eats series and I liked it enough to read the others.

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