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Cinco De Murder

(A Taste of Texas Mystery #3)

Rebecca Adler (Goodreads Author)

3.80 · Rating details · 158 ratings · 76 reviews

Tex-Mex waitress and part-time reporter Josie Callahan serves up more Lone Star justice in this spicy mystery from the author of The Good, the Bad, and the Guacamole.

It's fiesta time in Broken Boot, Texas, and tourists are pouring into town faster than free beer at a bull roping for the mouthwatering Cinco de Mayo festivities. Tex-Mex waitress Josie Callahan, her feisty ab ...more

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Mass Market Paperback, 293 pages

Published April 3rd 2018 by Berkley Books

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· 158 ratings · 76 reviews

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Start your review of Cinco De Murder (A Taste of Texas Mystery, #3)

Apr 20, 2018 James rated it liked it

Shelves: 7-arc-giveaway, 1-fiction, 3-multi-book-series

Many thanks to the Cozy Mystery Group, Berkley Books, and the author for providing me a ARC of Cinco De Murder, the third book in the Taste of Texas cozy mystery series, written by Rebecca Adler, and published in May 2018. I normally read a series in order, but I won this one in a contest and didn't have time to go back to the beginning.

This is your basic, good cozy mystery with several strengths and a few areas that needed some attention. The setting, characters and mystery were all interesting ...more

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Apr 03, 2018 Betty rated it really liked it

Shelves: arc, e-books, dogs

The 3rd book in the Taste of Texas series and a new author for me. I found the characters were developed, good information on Cinco de Mayo, Texas style, the writing did not flow smoothly making it difficult at times to understand. A different method of death was used. I will read the first two books in this series.

Josie Callahan and her long-haired Chihuahua, Lenny are doing a folk dance for a feature at the Fiesta in Broken-Boot Texas. Her Uncle Eddie is hosting the first annual chili cook-off ...more

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Apr 07, 2018 LORI (Dollycas) CASWELL rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-2018

Dollycas’s Thoughts

We arrive in Broken Boot just in time for their Cinco de Mayo celebration complete with a chili cook-off, parade, and fireworks. Josie Callahan, her aunt and a group of their friends with be doing a traditional dance – folklórico – during their part in the parade. Even Josie’s Chihuahua Lenny is getting in on the fun. Uncle Eddie is in charge of the chili cook-off hoping to prove to the town council that it should be an annual event.

Josie shows up to help him be sure everythin Dollycas’s Thoughts

We arrive in Broken Boot just in time for their Cinco de Mayo celebration complete with a chili cook-off, parade, and fireworks. Josie Callahan, her aunt and a group of their friends with be doing a traditional dance – folklórico – during their part in the parade. Even Josie’s Chihuahua Lenny is getting in on the fun. Uncle Eddie is in charge of the chili cook-off hoping to prove to the town council that it should be an annual event.

Josie shows up to help him be sure everything is all set for the participants but one cook won’t be making a chili today, someone has sent Lucky Straw to the great chili cook-off in the sky. The mayor and the council are not happy with Eddie. Josie and Detective Lightfoot don’t have much time. They need to catch the killer before all the cooks pack up and head off to the next cook-off. Lenny is doing his best to help too!

All the favorite characters are back and they are joined by some cook-off cooks and judges from the International Chili Association. We meet them pretty quickly but they’re a pretty unique cast of characters. The author does a great job bringing them all together in this for this fun-filled mystery.

With all those characters there are plenty of suspects. Josie had a heck of time eliminating them from her list. It was a good time following along as she continued to change her mind about whodunit and her theories about the motive. With the weekend coming to a close and this reader getting near the end of her pages I was wondering if the mystery was going to be solved. Some dangerous crazy came together in the end and I will say I was scared for Josie and totally surprised.

Rebecca Adler’s penned a great story that was intriguing, entertaining and at times pretty amusing. There is a little spark of romance at the end, something I have been waiting for, so I am hoping and praying this will not be the last we see of these characters, but if it is the author left me with a huge smile on my face. ...more

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Apr 03, 2018 Mark Baker rated it liked it

Shelves: mystery, 2018

It’s Cinco de Mayo weekend, and Josie Callahan has a full plate. She will be waitressing at her family’s Tex-Mex restaurant as well as helping her uncle with the first annual chili cook-off and dancing in the parade. The last thing she needs is to find the body of Lucky Straw, one of the cook-off contestants. He wasn’t well liked, but who would kill him?

This is a fun mystery tying into a different holiday, yet it fits the theme of this series perfectly. The mystery is good, with several elements ...more

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Apr 16, 2018 Lisa Ks Book Reviews rated it really liked it

CINCO DE MURDER is seasoned with the same intelligent writing as the two previous installments of this wonderful series.

Author Rebecca Adler has reminded me why I wanted to return to Broken Boot, Texas. The wonderful characters, including longhaired Chihuahua, Lenny, the festive feel of the town, and the mouthwatering food are all just as I remembered. I swear I could smell delicious Tex-Mex the moment I opened the book.

Adler has blended together the prefect ingredients to ensure CINCO DE MURDER ...more

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Mar 30, 2018 Mary Brown rated it really liked it

Synopsis:

Tex-Mex waitress and part-time reporter Josie Callahan serves up more Lone Star justice in this spicy mystery from the author of The Good, the Bad, and the Guacamole.

It's fiesta time in Broken Boot, Texas, and tourists are pouring into town faster than free beer at a bull roping for the mouthwatering Cinco de Mayo festivities. Tex-Mex waitress Josie Callahan, her feisty abuela, and even her spunky Chihuahua Lenny are polishing their folklorico dances for Saturday's big parade, while Unc Synopsis:

Tex-Mex waitress and part-time reporter Josie Callahan serves up more Lone Star justice in this spicy mystery from the author of The Good, the Bad, and the Guacamole.

It's fiesta time in Broken Boot, Texas, and tourists are pouring into town faster than free beer at a bull roping for the mouthwatering Cinco de Mayo festivities. Tex-Mex waitress Josie Callahan, her feisty abuela, and even her spunky Chihuahua Lenny are polishing their folklorico dances for Saturday's big parade, while Uncle Eddie is adding his own spicy event to the fiesta menu: Broken Boot's First Annual Charity Chili Cook-off.

But Uncle Eddie's hopes of impressing the town council go up in smoke when cantankerous chili cook Lucky Straw is found dead in his tent. And when Josie's beloved uncle is accused of fatal negligence, she, Lenny, and the steadfast Detective Lightfoot must uncover who ended the ambitious chilihead's life--before another cook kicks the bucket. (Goodreads)

Review:

The characters are well developed and well rounded. Josie is a smart caring person who has a feisty personality. She is surrounded by family and loved ones and she loves them as much as they love her. Maybe it is the reporter in her, but Josie has never met a mystery that she did not want to solve. And when her uncle is a person of interest, she becomes determined to find the real culprit. There were quite a few characters in this book and at times I had a hard time keeping them straight in my mind. This is only my opinion and others may not agree with me. Since this is the first book in the series that I have read, I would imagine it would have been easier if I had read the others. I really liked the feeling of familial love, caring and support that the author brought to all of the pages in this book. And her dog, Lenny, is just adorable.

The writing style flows smoothly and the book is an easy read. The author is very talented in her descriptive writing and through much of the book I felt like I was right there, watching all of the action taking place and listening in on conversations. The mystery was carried on well throughout the book and there were enough suspects to consider and clues to sift through. There was enough action taking place that I happily kept swiping pages to see what would happen next.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well crafted cozy mystery. I think for optimum enjoyment you want to read the other books in this series first, but again, that is only my opinion. I plan on reading the first two soon.

I received a free copy of this book from the author and the Cozy Mystery Review Crew in exchange for an honest review. I would like to thank both for the opportunity to read and review this book.

...more

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Mar 22, 2018 Sherry Lynn rated it it was amazing

Maybe I am just smidgen biased but Cinco De Murder was a
super great read for this Texan! I think I have found a new series that is a favorite. A Taste of Texas Mystery series promises to
be a favorite for this reader.
Admittedly I couldn't help but sneak a peek at the end to see
the recipes that followed. And, this foodie was not
disappointed. From Pralines to Texas Chili I couldn't help but
drool!
The story/plot was fun and interesting. Meeting Josie her sweet
little dog Lenny who not only dan ...more

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Apr 05, 2018 Katrina Wiese rated it it was amazing

Shelves: books-read-2018

I LOVED this book. But really, how can you not love a book that has a Chihuahua that wears a tiny sombrero and dances around? Oh yeah and that same little pup sure does a ton of sass and he will definitely let you know what he thinks! Yip! I think it is a definite debate on who steal the show in these books, Lenny or Josie, a fiesty tex-mex waitress that is more sleuth than reporter or waitress. This book is full or twists and turns and the ending will have you sitting on the edge of your seat, ...more

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Apr 17, 2018 Hilary (A Wytch's Book Review) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: cozy-food

Josie and Lenny are in the thick of it again, Josie's Uncle Eddie has persuaded Broken Boot to run a Chilli cook off (with some prizes but the majority of the cash raised going to charity), but Eddie is panicked as he has heard that if this doesn't work he will be off the town council. It all seems to be going well until the last couple of contestants turn up, one of them seems determined to pick a fight with almost everyone (including Josie when he doesn't get his dietary special food straight ...more

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Mar 03, 2018 Siusan rated it really liked it

Cinco de Murder by Rebecca Adler was a wonderful, entertaining read about a journalist/waitress, Josie, her chihuahua, Lenny, her family and their restaurant, and a chili cook-off murder. The tale starts the day before the cook-off and follows our heroine through a festive Cinco de Mayo weekend that culminates in fireworks, a chase, and a kiss. Josie’s character acts mainly on spunkiness with a dash of trepidation. She is surrounded by a very loving group of family and friends who are supportive ...more

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Apr 10, 2018 Marie McNary rated it really liked it

Smart, sassy, and full of sizzle, Cinco de Murder will leave you craving more of Josie and the residents of Broken Boot, Texas.

This is an entertaining and fun book. Josie is a relatable protagonist and I love the relationships she has with her extended family – particularly her abuela. The book ended far too quickly and I was left ready and excited for the next installment.

https://cozyexperience.com/cinco-de-m... ...more

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Mar 27, 2018 Doreen rated it liked it

Shelves: mcn

3/28/18 Full review tk. I did like this more than the second, I must say.

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Apr 07, 2018 Kristina rated it liked it

Shelves: 2018, cozy-mysteries, netgalley

Cinco de Murder by Rebecca Adler is the third book in A Taste of Texas Mystery series. Josie Callahan is busy rehearsing the folklorico dances for the Cinco de Mayo parade in Broken Boot, Texas. Her dog, Lenny (a long-haired Chihuahua) will also be participating in the dance wearing an adorable costume. Uncle Eddie is busy organizing the First Annual Broken Boot’s Charity Chili Cook-Off. He needs to ensure that this event goes off without a hitch or he could lose his seat on the town council. Th Cinco de Murder by Rebecca Adler is the third book in A Taste of Texas Mystery series. Josie Callahan is busy rehearsing the folklorico dances for the Cinco de Mayo parade in Broken Boot, Texas. Her dog, Lenny (a long-haired Chihuahua) will also be participating in the dance wearing an adorable costume. Uncle Eddie is busy organizing the First Annual Broken Boot’s Charity Chili Cook-Off. He needs to ensure that this event goes off without a hitch or he could lose his seat on the town council. The next day Josie finds contestant Lucky Straw dead in his tent (this does not bode well for Uncle Eddie). Lucky was not well-liked on the cook-off circuit and had managed to anger several people since his arrival. Detective Quinton Lightfoot, Josie and Lenny work to find the killer and restore Uncle Eddie’s reputation.

Cinco de Murder is a fun cozy mystery with a small Texan town that is filled with unique characters. I felt the author captured the small town feel and the competitiveness of a cook-off. Cinco de Murder can be read alone. The cases from the other books are rehashed in Cinco de Murder along with Josie’s background. I did feel that the novel needed some work. There were several continuity issues that needed fixing (Lenny cannot be in two places at once). The beginning of the book is disjointed and stilted (it gets better after several chapters). There is also a great deal of repetition (I lost track of how many times Josie’s Prius is mentioned or that Hillary Sloan Rawlings is called a nemesis). Plus, do we really need to know every single time the dog has to use the restroom or about the horse poop in the road (not needed). The mystery felt incomplete (details are missing). Josie does ask questions (she is bad at it), but the solution lands in her lap. I was left with several unanswered questions at the end of the book. There are numerous quirky characters in Cinco de Murder along with plenty of activities (which dominate the book). It sounds like Broken Boot goes all out for Cinco de Mayo. Josie had a busy two and half days and I bet Lenny was ready for a nap (and to ditch the costume). Readers who enjoy light cozy mysteries (prefer more cozy than mystery) will delight in visiting Broken Boot for the Cinco de Mayo festival in Cinco de Murder.

...more

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Apr 18, 2018 Jeanie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: obs

This is the best in the series, so far, as I have really enjoyed this series from the beginning. The characters are unique in this small town called Broken Boot, Texas, and the author has brought together a spicy blend of Tex-Mex culture, cooking, and crime. Josie waitresses at the family restaurant while trying to keep a foot in the door of the local paper's crime beat. She, her Chi pup Lenny, best friend, and family members are going to do folklorico dances in the Cinco de Mayo parade, even th This is the best in the series, so far, as I have really enjoyed this series from the beginning. The characters are unique in this small town called Broken Boot, Texas, and the author has brought together a spicy blend of Tex-Mex culture, cooking, and crime. Josie waitresses at the family restaurant while trying to keep a foot in the door of the local paper's crime beat. She, her Chi pup Lenny, best friend, and family members are going to do folklorico dances in the Cinco de Mayo parade, even though Abuela insists that Mexico does not celebrate it.

Before the parade is a chili cook off, that her Uncle Eddie has worked hard to put together and hopes to get the approval of the town council as the newest member. It is the first cook-off sponsored by the International Chili Association in Broken Boot, and members with rule books are ready for the big day. Pity there is a bit more than a fly in the ointment, however, when Lucky Straw, the man whose chili wins throughout the Southwest, is found dead in his tent the morning of the cook off.

Fortunately, they are able to proceed based on a last-minute change in plans so the police could do their thing while all the chefs do theirs. And there is certainly an eccentric lot of cooks, most of whom disliked Lucky for more reasons than his beating them in other places. When robberies take place and the handsome, quiet Detective Lightfoot is willing to take Josie on ride-alongs for her input as a journalist, they have many, many pieces to put into a puzzle.

This is a very well-written mystery, with excellent dialog and red herrings that I was silly enough to follow due to the plot twists that delivered them into this armchair sleuth's hands. I did not, however, pick out who the bad guy really was, sorry to say. Cinco de Murder is a delightful, fast-paced novel with characters who I am looking forward to seeing again, a hope of romance, a festival atmosphere, and lots of good, Southwest cooking. I highly recommend it!

I received a copy of this from the publisher with no obligation to post a review. ...more

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Mar 28, 2018 Deana Dick rated it really liked it

I enjoyed every minute of this high fa looting Texas escapade. The authentic Texas sayings had me rolling on the floor. I'm a Texan and boy did I relate to the towns and chili cook off so well. Texas loves to have chili cook offs and I remember all the fun it was when I attended them. The competition is fierce and some of the ingredients could be questionable at times. I loved Uncle Eddie right away. He is trying so hard to run the chili cook off while trying to follow the rules . Josie is downr ...more

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Mar 29, 2018 Laura rated it really liked it

Shelves: cozy-mysteries-read, netgalley-edelweiss-storeycartel-re, what-an-animal

Colorful costumes, memorable music, fiery foods and fantastic fireworks! It is another festival weekend in Broken Boot, Texas. Tourists are flooding into town as well as contestants for the First Annual (they hope) ICA approved Chili cook-off competition. It comes down to more than the beans vs no beans debate, however when one popular and ever present contestant is dead before the meat begins to sizzle.
Josie Callahan has dreams of being a full time crime reporter but her latest contribution t ...more

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Apr 12, 2018 Gaynol rated it it was ok · review of another edition

I'm a big fan of this series and have really enjoyed the previous books. The characters and details really make the town of Broken Boot and the Cinco de Mayo celebration come to life. Unfortunately, there were huge editing and continuity problems in this installment. It's very frustrating for a reader to have Josie and Patti have an argument, one of them storms off and then in the beginning of the next chapter they walk back into Milagro together. Another example is there is a scene where she an ...more

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Jun 10, 2018 Carol rated it really liked it

Shelves: cozy-review-crew, z2018-cruisin-thru-the-cozies, z2018-cloak-and-dagger-inspector, z2018-craving-for-cozies, cozy-cover-scavenger-hunt

Broken Boot's First Annual Charity Chili Cook-off is
off and cooking plus the Cinco de Mayo festivities
are in full swing.
It is a busy time for Tex-Mex waitress, Josie Callahan.
Beside waitress, she is helping her uncle with the
cook-off, practicing dancing for their traditional
dance, the folklorico with her long haired Chihuahua,
Lenny . They will be dancing on a float in the Saturday
parade. She is also gathering information for their
local newspaper as a part time reporter.
So she really didn’ ...more

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Jun 26, 2018 Lorilei Gonzales rated it it was amazing

I don't know that I would ever visit a town like Broken Boot, Texas, but I do know that I found the people and the vibe so quaint that I didn't want to see anyone get murdered. But then those pesky tourists come in and I start thinking, "I wouldn't miss that Lucky Straw guy at all." I suppose that Adler felt the same way since she decided to off him as soon as she could. Well, I have to admit that I was halfway wrong about nobody missing the big lug. Surprisingly, a few of the chili cooks who ha ...more

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Mar 16, 2018 Randee Green rated it really liked it

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

There’s another fiesta in Broken Boot, and you know what that means…waitress and part-time crime reporter Josie Callahan is about to discover another dead body in her small West Texas town of Broken Boot. As this is the third novel in the A Taste of Texas Mystery series, and the third murder that takes place during some sort of festival or celebration, the initial plot of the series is getting a little predictable and stale. But don’t worry, Jos Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

There’s another fiesta in Broken Boot, and you know what that means…waitress and part-time crime reporter Josie Callahan is about to discover another dead body in her small West Texas town of Broken Boot. As this is the third novel in the A Taste of Texas Mystery series, and the third murder that takes place during some sort of festival or celebration, the initial plot of the series is getting a little predictable and stale. But don’t worry, Josie will solve the case and help Detective Lightfoot apprehend the killer before the celebration officially ends.

In CINCO DE MURDER (2018), Josie’s Uncle Eddie’s reputation – and his seat on the city council – hangs on the success of Broken Boot's First Annual Charity Chili Cook-off. The night before the festivities, the contestants gather at the Milagro for dinner and a reminder of the rules for the chili-cook off. Tempers are quick to flare when one of the contestants – a man with the laughable moniker of Lucky Straw – reminds everyone that he has won the most chili cook-offs out of all of them. Lucky is an abrasive man and it appears that he only has one friend. That’s probably because he cost many of the other contestants their jobs when they all worked for the local electric company. Lucky also has a nasty habit of stealing other men’s girlfriends. It’s no surprise when Josie stumbles over his dead body the next morning while she is double checking everyone’s set ups at the site of the cook-off. Between patrolling for cheaters and catering to the judges, Josie finds time to check out the crime scene, interview suspects, and confer with Detective Lightfoot about the case. Josie seems to be the only one who knows how Lucky was killed – which is actually in a bizarre way that kept things interesting. Josie is also the first person to figure out who the killer is – though she does it totally by accident when he takes her as a hostage and locks her into his van that can only be unlocked from the outside by using a key. It also takes Josie way too long to finally break a window to escape the van so that she can go after the man who killed Lucky and has now kidnapped her dog.

While I found CINCO DE MURDER to have an intriguing storyline, I felt like the story jumped around at times and wasn’t always cohesive. Secondary storylines that may or may not have had anything to do with the murder seemed to peter out without any conclusion. (Was Dani the mother or the aunt of the three children that were with her? And did she make it back to the hotel or did she pass out drunk along the way? And did the two B&Es at the local stores have anything at all to do with the murder, or were they just to help Josie figure out clues from the crime scene? And what the heck happened to that poor woman’s laptop charger???) There also seemed to be way too much going on during the two-and-a-half days in which the story took place – aside from the chili cook-off and the investigation, there is also the daily restaurant work that takes place as well as a parade, two B&Es that Josie helps Detective Lightfoot check out, and a fireworks show. The main characters remained consistent with the first two novels – though Detective Lightfoot is much more receptive to Josie’s amateur investigation than he ever was before. It’s good to see them working together. I also enjoyed the way in which the bad guy murdered Lucky even though I didn’t quit understand exactly how it was possible to kill someone in that way.
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Jun 09, 2018 Katherine Majowka rated it really liked it

Josie Callahan is a typical Texas girl: spunky, independent and devoted to her town and family. She works as a part-time reporter and a waitress. When the Cinco de Mayo festival looms, she is happy to help her Uncle Eddie organize his “First Annual Broken Boot Charity Chili Cook-off,” despite the unpleasant demands of entrant Lucky Straw and his particular diet needs.

It seems Mr. Straw is poorly named as he is found dead under a tent by Josie. The townsfolk agree the festivities must go on and h ...more

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Mar 29, 2018 Andrea Guy rated it it was amazing

Shelves: series, greatescapesbooktours, 2018-reviews, cozy-mystery

Cinco De Murder is book 3 in the Taste of Texas series by Rebecca Adler. This is a new to me series. I love finding new cozy series and I love food related cozies even more. So this book was right up my alley. Also, the cover! OMG so very cute. I have to admit, when it comes to cozy mysteries a good cover grabs me attention. Oh and recipes. Oh how I love books with recipes at the end.

Our heroine/amateur sleuth is part waitress and part reporter. This actually makes the sleuthing a little more fu ...more

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Apr 01, 2018 Debbie rated it really liked it

Shelves: mystery

"Cinco de Murder" is a cozy mystery. It is the third in a series, but you don't need to read the previous novels in order to understand this one. This book did not spoil the previous mysteries.

I enjoyed the characters more than the mystery. The people were interesting and full of personality while still acting realistically. Josie had integrity about not sharing information that she'd been asked not to share, which I appreciated. I liked how the growing attraction between Josie and Lightfoot was ...more

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Mar 26, 2018 Fleur Bradley rated it really liked it

This was my first time reading a book in the A Taste of Texas Mystery series. At first, my head was spinning a bit, getting to know all the characters in the series, and following along. But I quickly felt at home in Broken Boot, Texas, as setup began for a chili cook-off and Josie has to solve the murder of a chili cook.

I really liked Josie and her little dog, and enjoyed following along as she solved the murder mystery. As in any cozy mystery, some of the typical challenges writing an amateur ...more

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Jun 10, 2018 Seraphia rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction, romance, series, mystery, suspense, thriller, whodunit, murder, southern

It's Cinco de Mayo and in Broken Boot, Texas Josie has agreed to help her Uncle Eddie with Broken Boot's First Annual Charity Chili Cook-off. Uncle Eddie is desperate to make a good impression with the City Council with this event and he needs it go off without a hitch. Sadly, things don't go in his favor when one of the contestants, a crotchety man by the name of, Lucky Straw, ends up dead. While checking the grounds to make sure nobody was trying to get in an unfair advantage Josie is the one It's Cinco de Mayo and in Broken Boot, Texas Josie has agreed to help her Uncle Eddie with Broken Boot's First Annual Charity Chili Cook-off. Uncle Eddie is desperate to make a good impression with the City Council with this event and he needs it go off without a hitch. Sadly, things don't go in his favor when one of the contestants, a crotchety man by the name of, Lucky Straw, ends up dead. While checking the grounds to make sure nobody was trying to get in an unfair advantage Josie is the one who stumbles upon the unfortunate Lucky. I guess one could say that either he wasn't so lucky or that his luck ran out. Things don't look good for the cook-off continuing, but when Josie's Uncle is accused of possibly being negligent of his duties she's determined to figure out what really happened and why. She'll have her hands more than full though with the Cinco de Mayo celebrations going on. She's already committed to dancing in the parade with her folklorico troupe, she's waitressing at the family restaurant and she's trying to make time to write her article for the paper. Will she be able to balance it all? Vindicate her Uncle, discover what really happened and stay out of trouble? You'll just have to read to find out.
Cinco de Murder by Rebecca Adler is book three in her A Taste of Texas Mystery series. This is the first book that I have read by this author. When I first saw the cover for this book I was excited to read it. I was curious to see what trouble Josie was going to get into. While this book can be read as a standalone novel, I think that it will benefit new readers more to start at the beginning. The way that the author writes, it seems that the characters are pretty established for her overall, and so we don't get a lot of background on them. We get hints and clues at things that have happened in the past, but the author never really goes back and fills in for new readers. I like the humorous moments that the author writes the story. I feel that in the right places it helps to lighten the story up a bit. Josie has some engaging moments, but they aren't as often as I would like. There are moments of where Josie seems like a good strong female character, but then she devolves in others to be a bit simple to me. I like the little hints of romance that the author writes into the story. It's well done, and I like that a little flame seems to still be kindled between her and an old flame. As for the mystery element to this story, I have to say that I enjoyed that the most. I love a good mystery novel of where the author keeps me trying to figure out who the murderer is. For a time or two, I thought that I had it figured out but the author managed to surprise me in the end.
I wanted to enjoy this story more, but since I feel like I was missing out on a lot of history between the characters I just couldn't. I wanted to know more about her and Ryan. She's still carrying a bit of a torch for him, but she also has mixed feelings toward him as well. I'm curious as to what all has been transpiring between her and Lightfoot as well. At the pace that the story goes, one would think that quite a bit of time has passed, but everything transpires within a couple of days. Also, the author leaves us with some unanswered questions. I really don't like it when this happens. Certain things are incorporated in the story, but the author never comes back and identifies what really transpired.
All in all, I'm rating this book 4 out of 5 stars. For just diving into the series, the characters come off a bit flat to me, and the story isn't as engaging as I would have liked. The mystery element is there, but there are certain situations that are left unresolved. I like that we get some romance and the promise of more between two characters. This is a good book, but I recommend to readers that if you haven't read the first in this series that you do so. That way maybe the characters will have more depth and you'll know more about what is going on. ...more

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May 05, 2018 JoAnne McMaster (Any Good Book) rated it liked it

Shelves: cozy, mysteries

When Josie's Uncle Eddie is heading a chili cook-off, everything seems to be going well, aside from the fact that one of the entrants, Lucky Straw, has been causing dissension between entrants and even cornered Josie about his "special dietary needs" at the restaurant. The next day when Josie is checking water and electricity hookups to the entrants, she sees that a tent is covering those hookups, so finding it open, enters and discovers Lucky's body. After calling the police, Detective Lightfoo When Josie's Uncle Eddie is heading a chili cook-off, everything seems to be going well, aside from the fact that one of the entrants, Lucky Straw, has been causing dissension between entrants and even cornered Josie about his "special dietary needs" at the restaurant. The next day when Josie is checking water and electricity hookups to the entrants, she sees that a tent is covering those hookups, so finding it open, enters and discovers Lucky's body. After calling the police, Detective Lightfoot arrives and between Josie and her family he agrees to allow the cook-off to continue if they move everyone at least 100 feet away from the crime scene.

While the judges aren't happy - for some odd reason they're blaming Josie's family for the death, like if there's a death in your neighborhood, everyone in the neighborhood must be guilty of having something to do with it - but anyway, they continue on with the contest. After all is said and done, the winners are named and everyone continues with the rest of the festival, where there is a parade and vendors have set up along the street. Since it is Cinco de Mayo (coincidentally, so is the day I am writing this review) the restaurant is crowded and they are doing a great business.

But while the police think that Lucky merely died from natural causes - it seems his pacemaker had an interruption and that it sometimes happen - Josie is convinced that it was anything but natural - and proceeds to question several of the cook-off attendees to try and find out if any of them are guilty of the murder. What she does find out is that Lucky was in a position of power where he worked and laid several of them off and they haven't been able to find employment since. This gives them motive and the cook-off gives them opportunity, but which one of them hated him enough to see him dead?...

This is the third book in the series and it definitely has improved over the other two. The plot was well-done and the writing is good. However, I felt that there weren't enough clues to lead us to the killer (as we know there has been a murder) and therefore, in finding out the identity we weren't given a decent chance, so it was a complete surprise all around; actually, we didn't find out until the end the reason why this person wanted Lucky dead, and I did feel that it was rather a cheat, since we were given "red herrings" throughout that lead to someone else; Josie basically accidentally came upon the killer as there were no clues, either.

Also, this book was pretty much more about Josie's love life, and since in the previous book she was stating that she wasn't interested in men, in this book she did a complete 180. I also didn't like the fact that the author made Ryan a complete 'player' in this book as to 'disqualify' him from ever being her boyfriend again, leading us toward Lightfoot as the love interest. I know it's a personal thing, but I don't care for men with long hair at all, so he never appealed to me as a love interest anyway. (We sometimes project our feelings - heck, usually - onto the book we're reading and that's mine).

At the last, there was a nice nail-biting scene toward the end although I don't like the idea of using pets as bait. It's cruel and uncalled for, as I felt was done in this scene, and that's why I couldn't give it five stars. Recommended. ...more

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May 06, 2019 Karen (BaronessBookTrove) rated it it was amazing

Will Josie get her uncle on the council by solving this mystery?
Cinco de Murder by Rebecca Adler is a fantastic novel. I loved the wacky Texas characters, the setting and the mystery is to die for (pun intended).
Josie Callahan
Josie Callahan is the main character, and we see everything in her point of view. Reading in first-person works for some and others it doesn’t. For Josie, it works.

Josie works for her aunt and uncle in their Tex-Mex restaurant with her uncle’s mom, who she calls abuela, ...more

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Jun 25, 2018 Ruthie Jones rated it really liked it

Shelves: kindle-book, lone-star-book-blog-tours

Cinco De Murder by Rebecca Adler is definitely a hilarious cozy mystery that will keep you laughing, hanging on the edge of your seat, and hankering for some spicy Texas Chili, a heaping plate of Tex-Mex with homemade tortillas, chips and salsa, a Margarita or maybe a tall glass of sweet tea, and...where was I?

While Josie Callahan is a protagonist with plenty of attitude, her long-haired Chihuahua, Lenny, is even sassier as he dances and "Yips" his way into your heart. Anyone who has spent any t ...more

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Jun 10, 2018 Diana rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I actually read the first two books in this series prior to starting this one. I wanted to go in knowing the characters and the back story. I really enjoyed Cinco de Murder and find the protagonist Josie Callahan quite delightful – she’s feisty, funny, loyal, and caring. I really love her family – Uncle Eddie, Aunt Linda, and Senora Mari, whom Josie lovingly calls ‘abuela’ even though they are not blood related. Josie’s dog Lenny is also quite the character and I like how he is portrayed in the ...more

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May 16, 2018 Melissa rated it really liked it

I've never been to West Texas or actually any part of Texas but this story took me to an interesting town where it seems that anything can happen. It was quite interesting that I started reading this book on the exact day the book opened up early in May right before Cinco De Mayo! The characters were quite interesting, especially Josie and her Abuela Senora Mari!! It was fun to try and figure out what she was going to say or do when something silly or crazy happened. Josie's blog-writing pup was ...more

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About Rebecca Adler

Rebecca Adler

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Rebecca Adler is the pen name of author Gina Lee Nelson. Gina grew up on the sugar beaches of the Florida Gulf Coast. Drawn to the Big Apple by the sweet smell of wishful thinking, she studied acting on Broadway until a dark-eyed cowboy flung her over his saddle and high-tailed it to the Southwest.

Prior to writing women’s fiction, Gina always found a way to add a touch of the dramatic to her life: ...more