FRESH BREWED MURDER by Emmeline Duncan

Publisher:      Kensington
Published:      March 30, 2021
ISBN:      978-1496733399
Genre:     Cozy Mystery
Format:     Print from Publisher
Reviewed by name and email address:  Gina  myreviewbooks@aol.com

FOUR HEART                                                               

Sage Caplin and her partner Harley have just opened their coffee food truck.  Not just any food truck, but a craft, speciality coffee food truck.  While Harley is a master brewer of beans, Sage handles crafting and making amazing coffees.  As they set up shop they meet up with their fellow food carters at the Rail Yard.  Everyone is welcoming, offering trades of their foods for coffee.  Well, almost everyone.

 

One customer is less than thrilled. Not about Ground Rules, Sage and Harley’s food truck, but Sage in specific.  After levying a nasty comment or two at her he leaves, but not for long. When he returns though, he’s dead. Well, at least Sage finds him after he’s been killed.  Not just killed, but with a box cutter Sage has been using. In short order the local detective has Sage in his sights and not just because of the murder victim.  There are some things about Sage’s family that tend to attract attention, and it’s not always in a good way. Some people aren’t happy about some of those family connections and when vandalisms on the food truck stat to escalate it becomes a question of finding the killer before the killer finds Sage.

 

As a coffee addict and food truck aficionado I couldn’t resist picking up Emmeline Duncan’s FRESH BREWED MURDER. With a cup of coffee on hand I dug in and found myself sitting and reading from start to finish.  I just had to find out who killed the guy outside the food truck.  Duncan doesn’t just give you a one shot murder mystery.  There are some excellent side stories that twist and turn in the main one—finding the killer. 

 

Sage has an interesting, multi-faceted family.  Duncan clearly was looking ahead when she gave them their different professions so readers can anticipate some good mystery reading in the future. The Rail Yard setting is a fun one where there is room, or will be room, in the future for different food carts, along with each new character’s drama, to move in.

 

Duncan’s Ground Rules series is off to an excellent start. I can’t wait for book 2.

 

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.