Bitter Alpine
After a relatively calm and cozy holiday season, neither Emma Lord, editor, and publisher of The Alpine Advocate nor her husband, Sheriff Milo Dodge, are surprised when their new year gets off to a rocky start. A woman’s body has been found in a squalid motel. Her driver’s license shows that Rachel Jane Douglas was in her late thirties and lived in Oakland, California—and the only connection between that town and Alpine is their gold-mining and logging origins.
When they discover that Rachel’s room reservation was open-ended, Emma, Milo, and the ever-inquisitive Advocate receptionist, Alison Lindahl, are more than mildly curious. And never mind that the youthful Alison is a bit distracted by the new county extension agent’s virile good looks. She can still sleuth while she stalks her newest crush.
But that’s not all the news that’s unfit to print. There’s something strange about the older couple who have moved into the cabin down the road that was once owned by a murder victim. The elderly wife seems anti-social. There’s got to be a reason, which Emma, Milo, and Alison intend to find out—even if it puts them in deadly danger.
Series: An Emma Lord Mystery (Emma Lord Returns Book 2)
Author: Mary Daheim
Genre: Cozy Mystery/Publisher
Publisher: Random House
Page Count: 235
Publishing Date: February 4, 2020
Rating: 
From Random House https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/ comes a new addition to the “An Emma Lord Mystery” cozy book series, Bitter Alpine, written by Mary Daheim.
This is a cozy book series that has been around for quite some time, and the first one I have read. I am sure that there are lots of fans of this series out there, but unfortunately, I am not going to be one of them. If this book is any indication of what others in the series are like, I can honestly say that I not only won’t be reading them, I won’t be recommending them either.
There was not a single character in this story that I liked or wanted to hear more about. There wasn’t even one likable person in the entire book. It is not often that I can’t find something to like about a book, even one that isn’t fantastic. But in this case, there isn’t a single thing I found appealing in this cozy book.
Of the issues that grated on me the most, I would say that the physical abuse is at the top of the list. Although set in 2007, the acceptance of physical violence was not okay, and the laws against abuse were plentiful. Several women are physically abused by their partners throughout this book, and none of the abusers are arrested. Even in 2007, we had mandatory arrest laws. The police had the right to arrest anyone who was accused of, or they had cause to believe had committed physical abuse to someone, even a spouse, without the spouse pressing charges. The fact that the abuse was considered routine and accepted in this book was heartbreaking.
The sheer lack of an investigation into a murder, or the abuse, is number two on the list. There is little to no investigation into the murder of a stranger in a hotel. There are no real suspects; no one was brought in for questioning about where they were the night of the murder. And several possible suspects left town and the country without anyone caring. The killer is wholly unbelievable and feels as if a murderer was thrown in at the last minute, and the motive even more so as it is nonexistent.
The main character, a newspaper publisher who doesn’t seem to do anything except drink coffee, eat donuts and gather useless info from her Sherriff husband (the couple, in reality, would never have married in the first place but most definitely would be divorced after only 1-year). The Sherriff and publisher do nothing except bully each other, yell at each other, and seem to live in the 40’s when the “little woman” had to have dinner on the table when the man of the house came home.
Throw in a brooding reporter, who doesn’t come up with any leads of his own, despises his boss’ spouse, i.e., the Sherriff, and does so openly while getting all of his leads from his boss. There is a man crazed receptionist who doesn’t seem to care who she marries as long as its soon and a population that appears to be indifferent to the goings-on of their city leaders, including when they commit crimes. You have a long, dull, and at times, immensely distasteful story that, in the end, doesn’t even make sense. I won’t go into the issue that the Sherriff only eats steak and burgers; the couple eats out for lunch every day, drinks alcohol heavily, and they do it all on what appears to be a meager income. The problems go on and on in this cozy book.
I am sorry to say that I cannot recommend Bitter Alpine.
Cozy book series readers may enjoy include Kaitlyn Dunnett’s http://www.kaitlyndunnett.com/ “A Deadly Edits Mystery” https://www.thecozyreview.com/crime-punctuation/ or J.C. Kenney’s https://www.jckenney.com/ “An Allie Cobb Mystery” https://www.thecozyreview.com/a-mysterious-mix-up/.
About the Author:
Seattle native Mary Richardson Daheim lives three miles from the house where she was raised. From her dining nook, she can see the maple tree in front of her childhood home. Upon getting her journalism degree from the University of Washington, she went to work for a newspaper in Anacortes, WA. After her marriage to David Daheim, she became a reporter for a local daily.
Mary spent much of her non-fiction career in public relations. But ever since she learned how to read and write, Mary wanted to tell stories that could be put between book covers. Thus, she began her publishing career with the first of seven historical romances before switching to mysteries in 1991.
At the time of her husband’s death, David and Mary had been married for over 43 years. They have three daughters, Barbara, Katherine and Magdalen, and two grandsons, Flynn and Loki, and a granddaughter, Clara.
Contact Mary: AuthorMaryDaheim@gmail.com
Find Mary on Social Media
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/mary.daheim
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Twitter – https://twitter.com/marydaheim
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