Literary caterer Tish Tarragon is looking forward to opening the new Cookin' the Books cafe the day after Thanksgiving, but before then she has the small matter of catering for the Thirty-First Annual Colonial Springs Turkey Trot, a highlight in the Hobson Glen calendar.
With her food stall ready to go, Tish, the spectators and participating 'trotters' are eagerly awaiting the starter's pistol when they are confronted with the sound of rifle shots from the woods. Deputy Mayor Behrens is dead. But was he really the intended target, or could it have been Tish's ex, Mayor Schuyler Thompson? As Tish and Reade investigate, it seems there are no shortage of residents with an axe to grind against the town council their controversial policies. Can Tish finish first in her race against the killer? (Summary via Goodreads)
Cold Turkey is the seventh book in the Tish Tarragon Mystery series by Amy Patricia Meade and even though this is a cozy mystery and someone gets murdered, I want to shift things a bit first.
The Tish Tarragon Mystery series is a series that enhances the friendship and relationship components in the story. Main character Tish Tarragon owns a literary cafe where everything is book related, from the decorations to the names of the food dishes. She has two amazing women that work for her, Celestine is the amazing baker and Mary Jo (MJ) helps with everytrhing else. Mary Jo and Tish went to college with Jules who is a television weatherman. The three are inseparable and readers LOVE their relationship !! Celestine lost her husband of over thirty years and has started hanging out with an old high school sweetheart, Daryl, to which her adult children are not happy about. Tish is finally dating the Sheriff in town, Clemson Reade, after a rocky past. Mary Jo has two children, Gregory who is away at college and Kayla who is still living at home and in high school. Jules, in Cold Turkey, has a steady boyfriend, Maurice, who has an infant son, Cassius. Readers will love the relationships and how they flow and overlap and everyone, for the most part, get along.
Now ..... onto the murder .... In Cold Turkey the town of Hobson Glen is getting ready for Thanksgiving and the story starts with the annual Turkey Trot. The Turkey Trot is being held in Colonial Springs which has a lot of paths for people to enjoy. The Turkey Trot has been moved to the week before Thanksgiving so that the Rod and Gun Club could host their event that day. Tish and Celestine are providing sandwiches and soup with all proceeds benefiting the local food pantry. At the start of the race the Mayor, Tish's ex-boyfriend, and the Deputy Mayor will both run into the woods where the race is to begin. Unfortunately right after they enter the woods and are unseen by spectators, shots rings out and when Sheriff Reade gets to the scene, the Deputy Mayor, Royce Behrens, is found dead by gunshot wounds to the chest.
Unfortunately it is unclear as to if Behrens was the intended target or the Mayor. It is no secret that the Mayor, Schuyler Thompson, wasn't like by some but it is all about politics and not many politicians are liked. So Reade and his assistant Officer Clayton begin the investigation. Luckily they have Tish along as a consultant for the department to help. (As a side note it should be mentioned that Tish is working on re-opening her cafe in a new location after being evicted from her old location by the Mayor after they broke up ..... and no I do not believe that she is the murderer .... but you never know.)
As they investigate the case it is clear that Behrens wasn't a nice person, personally and professionally. Reade, Clayton and Tish have a lot of people to talk to and try to eliminate from the suspect list ..... and try to determine what is truth and what is lies. Luckily they are able to go home and over take-out food take with the rest of the group to bounce ideas and theories off of.
Meade knows how to spin a web and branch off from it .... especially with this murder. There is no way for readers to determine who the guilty party is ... you will need to turn a room in your house over to this case, with every wall space used for notes which will branch off. And when the case is solved and the guilty is taken away in handcuffs, you will be left scratching your head is disbelief !!! I know I was .....
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