Thank you to the authors, publishers, and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review. The recipe review and food pairing found on my Instagram feed are of my own doing.
Homicide on The Range
Hometown Mysteries #6
Rosalie Spielman
Welcome to the Hometown Mysteries Series which pays homage to those who have served as well as giving a shout out to she-canics (female mechanics). This is book six of the series and the author does a great job of giving background information as she introduces each character. Tessa is ready for a little time away from home, so she and her gang have left the quiet town of New Oslo, Idaho and headed east, to spend some time at fellow veteran Jaime Juarez's ranch, the Triple J, located in Montana. The Triple J is part of a veteran’s program called Vets and Cows…Let’s Moooove Out, that provides an adventure vacation alongside workshops and professional counseling sessions which are led by Jaime’s wife, Hannie, to help provide coping skills for vets who have returned to civilian life. The ranch aspect reminded me a little of the old movie City Slickers. There are a few differences, number one, there are soldiers instead of city slickers and the comedy from the 90s did not include finding a dead body in the freezer or the threat of a wildfire.
As with most cozies, the victim is a particularly odious individual. Aimee Orinoco, the very tall and overbearing cook, was no one's cup of tea and seemed to go out of her way to torment the other guests as if she knew their individual triggers. Much of the tension came from the history shared between the guests/suspects and Orinoco. It is very easy to sympathize with the suspects as Tessa juggles crime scene processing, suspect questioning, and wildfire chaos. As Tessa gets closer to the truth, the wildfire gets closer to the ranch and essentially imprisoned the New Oslo crew with a murderer.
It never ceases to amaze me as to the level of research that cozy authors put into researching their stories and the details. I was fascinated by the description of all of the work involved with prepping the ranch and cattle herd for the impending wildfire. As a resident of California, I am well aware of the wildfire season and fortunately I have never been affected by one. The story had definite Agatha Christie aspects with a little added humor thanks to the Prunns, the octogenarian sisters who are quirky and quick witted and wear fascinating fascinators.
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