Serving Up the Truth

In this first installment of a mystery series, a deli worker decides to investigate a homicide.

Amanda Knightly, a deli worker at Bob’s Finer Foods in Oak Hills, Illinois, gets involved in solving a murder when Olivia Hager, a difficult customer, is found dead. Olivia is an acquaintance of David Stedman, a friend of Amanda’s son. David, a barista and aspiring coffee shop owner, is arrested for the crime. He’s a suspect because Olivia wanted the $5,000 she had invested in his business returned. But Amanda thinks that David is innocent (“I know David. Someone else murdered Olivia”). During her investigation, Amanda uncovers articles about David’s immediate family members who had all died and an interview with his former boss speaking to his reliability, which further convince the sleuth that he’s not the killer. Through her connections and eavesdropping at the deli and the Dark Roast cafe (which she temporarily manages while the owner is on vacation), she learns about Olivia’s romantic history and other failed business ventures. Amanda also notes vulnerabilities in the security system of Valley Lane condominiums, where Olivia lived, including easily accessible entrances and possibly overlooked surveillance footage. With this information, she identifies Raymond Cartel, a maintenance employee for both the condominiums and Dark Roast, as a potential suspect. But he is assaulted and a note is found that reads “Stedman is guilty.” Meanwhile, Amanda’s daughter, Brittany, has various connections to Olivia through former classmates. Due to these threads, the stakes rise as the murderer is potentially closer to Amanda’s family than anticipated, and she must work quickly to solve the case before David is wrongly convicted. Overall, Klein excels in planting tantalizing tidbits throughout the story while maintaining the integrity of the world she has carefully built. When the identity of the killer is discovered, it is a genuine surprise. Although a story about a murder investigation usually employs a noir tone, several scenes, such as Amanda and an ally’s ploy to visit David in prison by evoking a policeman’s mother, are charming. Unfortunately, some episodes slow down the novel’s pace, as when Amanda learns how to make a schedule for the Dark Roast. Nonetheless, fans of cozy mysteries will want to add this to their collections.

An intriguing murder mystery with lighthearted elements and a satisfying twist.