15 December 2015

Today's Read & Giveaway: Here Today, Gone Tamale by Rebecca Adler

Here Today, Gone Tamale by Rebecca AdlerWhat if you were not only suddenly jobless but also jilted just before your wedding? You'd probably do what Josie Callahan did, if you were lucky enough to have a supportive family. She returned to her childhood home and helped out at her aunt and uncle's Mexican restaurant. All was going along fairly smoothly until a dead body was discovered just outside the establishment. Can Josie use her reporter skills to find the killer before anyone else bites the dust?

"Josie!" Aunt Linda's high-pitched drawl soared like a heat-seeking missile up the wooden stairs from our restaurant below, through my quaint living room, and into my sweet but tiny bedroom.

There are three things Aunt Linda and Uncle Eddie have in common with tamales: they're unpretentious, comforting, and fattening when consumed in excess.
Here Today, Gone Tamale by Rebecca Adler (Berkley Prime Crime, 2015, p. 1)

Quick Facts
  • Setting: modern times; Broken Boot, Texas
  • Circumstances: Josie, minus both her financĂ© and her newspaper job, returns home to work in her aunt and uncle's Tex-Mex restaurant, Milagro. When preparing for the annual Wild Wild West Festival, a major tourist draw, a local artist is found murdered just outside the restaurant. After the police arrest Milagro's newest waiter, Josie, sure the killer is still on the loose, uses all her journalism skills to try discover the true villain.
  • Characters: Josie, an ex-reporter now waitress; Lenny, her dog; Uncle Eddie and Aunt Linda, who took Josie in after she was orphaned; Senora Mari, Eddie's mother; Ryan, Josie's childhood friend and potential new love interest; Brooks, Josie's ex-boyfriend; various customers, tourists, townspeople, and police officers
  • Genre: culinary cozy mystery
  • The good: First, I really like Josie: she has some spunk and intelligence and clearly loves her family. The plot was well developed, with red herrings and plenty of suspects, and the ending made sense. Here Today, Gone Tamale has everything you want in a cozy, with its likable characters, touch of family drama, and cute dog. And, of course, there is the food. Yeah, I was craving all things Mexican when I was reading the book.
  • The not so good: At the very beginning, I had a little trouble getting all the characters straight because the action quickly turns to a community event. But once I got to know the people of Broken Boot, I got caught up in the story and wanted to know who was doing the killing and why.
  • Things to know: This is the first in a new series, which means you can start in on the ground floor. The back of the book has a few Tex-Mex recipes to help you cope with your food cravings!
The Giveaway

Thanks to the nice people at Penguin Random House, I'm happy to be able to offer one of my readers with a U.S. mailing address a copy of Rebecca Adler's Here Today, Gone Tamale. All you have to do to be entered for a chance to win is to fill out the following form. I'll pick a winner, via a random number generator, on December 21. Once the winner has been confirmed and I've passed the name and address along to the publisher, I'll erase all personal information from my computer. Good luck!

22 comments:

rhapsodyinbooks 12/15/15, 6:56 AM  

I've read other culinary mysteries with recipes - they are the best!

The Candid Cover 12/15/15, 8:02 AM  

This book sounds like quite a thrilling mystery! I hope that you are enjoying this one. :)

my teaser: http://candidcover.net/2015/12/15/teaser-tuesdays-34-the-love-that-split-the-world-by-emily-henry/

Yvonne 12/15/15, 8:33 AM  

This one is on my list...a cozy and Mexican food sounds perfect to me.

Vicki 12/15/15, 8:50 AM  

This sounds so good, and I only read cozy series in order so this book would be a win win for me. Thanks for the chance to win.

bermudaonion 12/15/15, 9:00 AM  

Fun title and the book sounds fun too! Thanks for the giveaway!

Anonymous,  12/15/15, 9:39 AM  

I can't resist a murder mystery. Food is a bonus! I hope you'll link your full review to my Mystery Monday meme when it's posted. Here's my teaser from The Snow Angel (trying to be seasonal here!): http://wp.me/p4DMf0-14R

Anonymous,  12/15/15, 10:48 AM  

I've been reading a lot of Cozies lately so this sounds right up my alley.

Mine this week: The Octopus: A Story of California by Frank Norris at http://wp.me/pZnGI-sc

Sandra Nachlinger 12/15/15, 10:56 AM  

This sounds like a delightful cozy mystery, especially since it's set in Texas. I'll definitely enter your contest.
Thank you for stopping by my blog and leaving a comment.
Sandy @ TEXAS TWANG

Margot 12/15/15, 10:57 AM  

It's been awhile since I read a good cozy. This one sounds like fun. Thanks for the giveaway.

MG 12/15/15, 1:11 PM  

Ummmm, Tamales

Laurel-Rain Snow 12/15/15, 1:35 PM  

Oh, I love culinary cozies...and this one has a setting I enjoy, too...the Southwest. Great cover and excerpts!

Thanks for sharing...and for visiting my blog.

Kathy Martin 12/15/15, 2:01 PM  

Sounds like a good story and thanks for the opportunity to win a copy. My teaser comes from Killing Trail by Margaret Mizushima this week. Happy reading!

sherry fundin 12/15/15, 2:55 PM  

Can't help but smile over the title. Count me in.
sherry @ fundinmental

Tea 12/15/15, 3:34 PM  

Two strikes you're out. I feel sorry for her. She's lost her job and a fiance'.

karen 12/15/15, 4:56 PM  

Sounds like my kind of read! (and now I'm having a salsa craving)

Proxyfish @ Books by Proxy 12/15/15, 5:28 PM  

I don't even know what a tamale is! Clearly I've led a sheltered life... :D

My Teaser

grammajudyb 12/15/15, 11:09 PM  

Who can resist Mexican food and a cozy mystery? I am adding this one to my cozy list!

Daryl 12/17/15, 8:57 AM  

sounds like a good book for an airplane .. thanks!

Cleopatra Loves Books 12/17/15, 4:25 PM  

Ooh you can't go wrong with a good mystery and some food!

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