Not Much Better Than the First
While I had my issues with the first Redwood Country Mystery from Marc Jedel, there was enough there I wanted to give the second one a chance. Sadly, Whine and Dine didn’t really improve on what came before.
The first book introduced us to Andy Shirley, a recent widower who has moved to Monte Rio to run a bed and breakfast that he and his late wife had planned to run in their retirement. However, he’s a recluse who has no desire to interact with his guests. That was going to all be his wife. But with no other choice, he has to make do.
When this book opens, it’s been a few months since he solved a murder in the community. Now, it’s October, and Andy has settled into his new life a little. He’s still trying to avoid making friends, so when the owner of a souvenir shop in town is found dead in her shop, he doesn’t intend to get involved. That is until the young woman who handles his plumbing, someone he’s become friendly with, begs him to get involved. It seems the police think her friend, who works at the store, is guilty. Can Andy figure out what happened?
Like the first book, there is quite a bit going on here, but not in a good way. In the first book, I chalked it up to introducing characters and setting. Here? It just feels extraneous. There is one sub-plot in particular that goes nowhere. And other one that feels like it really didn’t need to be there, so it was just padding.
Which is a shame because there was an interesting mystery in the book. It just got choked out by everything else going on in the story. With a little more focus, we could have gotten to know the suspects better, too. The climax does answer our questions, although the way Andy goes about solving things doesn’t really work for me.
Andy is proud of wanting to be a recluse, and he fights against any attempt to make friends. This was cute in the first book, although it grew old quickly. I was hoping that he had grown a little beyond that, but it wasn’t the case in this book.
The big draw for me is the setting. Monte Rio is near where I grew up in Sonoma County, and I enjoyed the references to places I know. But it isn’t enough to make the next a must buy.
I also enjoy the puns that are thrown into the book. After all, there is no such thing as a bad pun.
I did get caught up in the mystery, but the flaws are obvious. I really wish Whine and Dine hadn’t left me with anything to whine about.
It's a shame the story didn't pan out for you. The main character should never be a recluse. How do you build a plot with that, especially with cozies.
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