[I didn’t have a kid’s or YA book to review today, so here’s a bonus adult book review. I received a free electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Berkley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]
Summary
Emma’s friends, Liza and Sam run the Roundhead, a pub and brewery in town. And they are planning an expansion. In a huge gathering of friends from the community, they are going to smash through a walled-off tunnel in the cellar. The tunnel is rumored to be a smuggler’s route from back in the day. Sam’s mom had insisted the tunnel be closed off to keep her kids from finding trouble down there.
Sure enough, when Sam and his son swing their sledgehammers through the wall, trouble is down there waiting. An expensive vintage motorcycle thought to be stolen decades ago – and human remains.
Now, the whole town is buzzing over the case. And Emma is using the clues her corgi, Oliver, sniffs up to help her find out the truth.
Review
This was a super twisty mystery! The characters in this are quite antagonistic. Usually a cozy hero is well-liked and appreciated. But most of the folks here are snarky about Emma’s “gossip” and nosiness if not downright angry and nasty. In some ways that’s probably more realistic. But it did make this hard to “enjoy” while reading.
The author does a nice job of working a cold case and a contemporary murder together. The two timelines helped “complicate” the mystery in such a way to keep the reader guessing all the way through.
Oliver is adorable once again. The plot of a talking corgi is so fun and well-executed in this series.
Newcomers can probably start here, but I found the first two books more enjoyable, so my recommendation would be to start at the beginning with To Fetch a Felon.
Rating: ♥♥♥½*
*♥♥♥½ = Good+