Murder on the Menu

Annie, Eve, and their former cooking teacher are in the trenches, trying to keep a new restaurant, Bellywasher's, from going belly up.

Everything's simmering along just fine until Annie and Eve find their friend Sarah, staffer to a powerful congressman, lying dead in her tub. The cops want to write it off as a suicide, but the facts just don't add up. Then, after a series of suspicious "accidents," Annie and Eve realize that this kitchen fire isn't about to put itself out.

Asking For Murder: An Advice Column Mystery

"Asking for Murder" is a nicely written, well-plotted mystery. Rebecca is a complex character - a psychologist who is good at her job but with plenty of her own issues. One of the things I like best about her is that she doesn't have all the answers and often jumps to the wrong conclusions, which makes her a very realistic character. She is a loyal friend to Annabelle but she struggles with her relationship with her ex-husband and Meigs as well as a new relationship with a guy who might be too nice for her. The psychology aspects are well done (author Roberta Isleib is a clinical psychologist) and I found the sand play therapy fascinating..

Booked for Murder: Lighthouse Inn Mysteries

An ex-cop, now a security man, believes that when one of Alex's guests is shot while jogging the assault is intentional. Alex decides to conduct an informal investigation, too. Alex Winston is a pleasant main character. He seems like the sort of person one would like to know. When Alex learns from a surveyor that the lighthouse may not be on his property he is made anxious. The mystery is wrapped up when the true identities of the surveyor and a muffin lady are discerned.

The Last Innocent Man

Brilliant young defence attorney Nash suffers a crisis of conscience when he realizes many of the murderers and rapists he has defended were guilty of their crimes. Now defending a murder case, Nash falls into an ethical trap; he's in love with his client's wife but can't be sure of their alibis.

Sleeping beauty

Ashley Spencer's life is shattered when a killer enters her home one night, brutally stabs her father to death, and rapes and murders her best friend. In an attempt to help her regain some stability, her mother enrolls Ashley in the prestigious Oregon Academy. Ashley's mother seeks diversion by taking a creative writing class from former best-selling author Joshua Maxfield, who startles her by reading a chapter from a work in progress that mirrors the murder of her husband. The twists and turns of the plot keep the suspense ratcheted up to an excruciating level. Using the law and an insider's knowledge of the writer's life, Margolin has created another sure winner.