Book Review: Italian Iced by Kylie Logan (Ethnic Eats Mysteries #3)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Strong mystery and characters

Cons: All cons put on ice

The Bottom Line:

Laurel’s past comes back

And starts a great mystery

For fans old and new

The Star in the Freezer

The past always comes back.  Okay, so that might not be the case in real life, but it is definitely the case in the series I love to read.  Italian Iced is a perfect example of what I’m talking about.

The series stars Laurel Inwood, who left Hollywood in disgrace a year ago after being fired by mega movie star Meghan Cohan.  She’s gone from being personal chef to planning the ethnic menus at Terminal at the Tracks, the diner in Hubbard, Ohio, owned by Sophie, her foster aunt.  She’s also started dating Declan, the owner of The Irish Store across the road.  In fact, she’s become quite happy with her new life, different as it was from her old one.

The diner rotates various ethnic foods each month, and the current country is Italy.  After a successful first night with the new menu, Laurel returns home to find that it has been trashed.  Nothing appears to be taken, but someone was searching for something.  Before she can figure out what they were looking for, she makes an even worse discovery, the body of Meghan in the freezer down at the diner.  Laurel has had no contact with Meghan for the past year.  What was she doing in town?  And how did she come to die in the freezer?

See what I’m talking about?  The past came back into Laurel’s life.  It provides a good chance for her to reflect on her life then versus now, and it’s fun watching her grow as a result.  The series doesn’t have a lot of recurring characters, but those it does have make great appearances here.  That leaves us plenty of time to get to know the new characters, aka the suspects.  They are memorable and strong, making the mystery hard to figure out.

They mystery features quite a few twists, turns, and surprises.  It kept me guessing the entire way through.  Yet at the end, I was satisfied with how everything tied together and was wrapped up.

And if your mouth starts watering for Italian food while reading the book, you’ll be glad to know there are two recipes at the end you can enjoy later.

Italian Iced brings the past into the present with a well plotted mystery that will have you turning pages.  If you’ve already met Laurel, you’ll be delighted to pick up this book.  And if you have yet to start the series, be sure to so today.

NOTE: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Giveaway!

Thanks to the publisher, I have one copy of this book to give away.  Because it is a physical book, the contest is limited to residence of the US.

Just leave me a comment with your e-mail address so I can get in touch with you if you win.  I will pick the winner Tuesday July 3rd, so please leave your comment before midnight Pacific Time on 7/3.  You will have until midnight on 7/8 to get back to me, or I will choose a new winner on 7/9.