Claret and Present Danger
The Trueheart Renaissance Faire and Circus rolled into town, attracting locals who can’t wait to spend a few summer days lost in a whimsical world of all-knowing fortune-tellers and daring acrobats. Inkwell pub owner Sadie Coleman gets swept up in the magic herself when she serves drinks to the faire’s resident wizard, the shamelessly brazen illusionist Ozzie Stone, and scores two tickets to his opening performance.
Sadie has no complaints about indulging in a free show with her new beau, craft brewery owner Grayson Blake. But while Ozzie is an instant crowd-pleaser, the real surprise comes when he collapses in the middle of his set. It’s not part of the act; Ozzie is dead, seemingly poisoned by someone who wasn’t clowning around about writing the roguish showman’s final chapter.
The terrifying situation intensifies when the police eye one of Sadie’s employees, last seen caught in a suspicious fistfight at the fairground. With so much at stake, Sadie must strain through a suspect list longer than her cocktail menu to find the real knave of a killer. But when another performer is murdered, it becomes clear that bringing the mixed-up murderer to justice will be about as dangerous as walking the high wire after happy hour.
The Details
Series: A Literary Pub Mystery – Book #4
Author: Sarah Fox
Genre/Category: Cozy – Culinary/Pub
Publisher: Kensington Cozies
ISBN: 1496734025
Page Count: 304
Rating: 
The Review
When the Renaissance Faire comes to town, Sadie and her friends look forward to seeing everything, especially the headline act of the illusionist Ozzie Stone. But when Ozzie dies in front of Sadie, the faire becomes a crime scene. Sadie’s employee, Damien, is accused of murder. Of course, she can’t leave it to the police to find the real killer and sets out to prove that Damien is innocent. Unfortunately, Sadie’s literary pub, The Inkwell, takes a backseat in proving the police have the wrong man in Claret and Present Danger.
There are quite a few suspects, most of them members of the faires group, but there are townspeople that are suspects, not just Damien, who works at The Inkwell. Motives are difficult to figure out until you realize that Ozzie Stone was not a good person. He was a ladies’ man who took advantage of any female he could lure to his side and use until he was tired of her or someone else came along. It’s no wonder someone decided to end his life.
Evidence isn’t always what it seems, and Sadie finds that at times there are too many clues pointing to Damien, even though she knows he isn’t a killer. The cast of supporting characters adds action and interest to this book and keeps the reader involved. The Inkwell is present but not the main focus of the story. The faire is where all the action is and where Sadie finds herself spending far too much time. The killer is no surprise, but most readers must finish the book to understand the motive.
I have enjoyed this series from the beginning. However, Claret and Present Danger isn’t as strong as other installments. Although entertaining, this book seems to be missing that special spark that makes Sadie, the Inkwell Pub crowd, and the sub-characters fun and good company. The faire is a good setting. The action moves the story along nicely with few gaps. Most of the characters are easy to like. However, I took issue with the outdated notion that a woman can’t spend the night with a man without people gossiping. Also that the woman would feel a need to be “good.” The character is an adult, past the age of worrying about what neighbors might think about her relationship with a man. Yet Sadie seems to spend too much time concerned about what neighbors or friends might think and not enough time building a future with the man she is supposed to love. All of the above said, this is still a good cozy that will appeal to readers.
The Author
Sarah Fox, a writer of cozy mysteries, was born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, where she developed a love for mysteries at a young age. When not writing novels or working as a legal writer, she is often reading her way through a stack of books or spending time outdoors with her English Springer Spaniel.
Other books in the “A Literary Pub Mystery” series readers will want to read is An Ale of Two Cities or, perhaps, The Malt in Our Stars.
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