This cozy was so fun! A fresh new entry into cozy mystery land, Fresh Brewed Murder by Emmeline Duncan takes place in Portland, Oregon which right off the bat is a fresh location for a cozy series.
What I loved about this book:
*Coffee Talk! I enjoyed the detailed descriptions of how various popular coffee drinks are made. Good coffee is a science and an art.
* Emmeline Duncan did a great job writing dialogue that sounded like people actually talk.
* Our amateur slueth Sage acted and sounded like an actual 27-year-old.
I also enjoyed that Sage because of her unusual upbringing, is good at reading people, it's like a little superpower that will help her solve murders in all the Ground Rules Mystery books to come. In cozy mysteries, you have to suspend a little disbelief because often the potential suspects the sleuth speaks with share more information than would likely happen in real life. In Fresh Brewed Murder, Emmeline Duncan addresses this dilemma by having an amateur slueth who was taught from an early age how to act and she uses those skills to get people to confide in her early and often. So Clever! It puts me in mind of one of my favorite P.I's Veronica Mars.
All in all this book is a solid 4, very enjoyable and I'm looking forward to the next book in the series. I would like to know Sage's thoughts on PSL's so I'm hoping the next book takes place in the fall.
