Reviewed by annieb123 on
Murphy's Slaw is the third book in the Alaskan Diner cozy series by Elizabeth Logan. Released 6th June 2021 by Penguin Random House on their Berkley imprint, it's 304 pages and is available in paperback, library binding, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.
This is an engaging and easy-to-read cozy, complete with amateur deputies, a stabbing at a fair, lots of on-page face-time with the main character's cat, Benny, some BFF drama, and lots and lots of food and goings on at a small town diner. The inclusion of semi-official deputized amateurs (including a diner owner, motel manager, and a reporter) on an official murder inquiry stretches the suspension of disbelief, but once readers get past that, it's a fun read.
The pool of suspects is small, and although the denouement and resolution are fairly easy to guess beforehand, they're well written and mostly satisfying. Even though it's the third book in the series, it works perfectly well as a standalone. The language is clean, there's a very light romance plot element, but no graphic violence or sexual content. This would be a good choice for lovers of light cozies, the kind with recipes in the back of the book, complete with cat.
Four stars. This will appeal to lovers of small-town cozy mysteries.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 9 August, 2021: Finished reading
- 9 August, 2021: Reviewed