Here Today Gone Tamale by Rebecca Adler

I hope all of my cozy fans are off to a good year with all of their adventures. I have a fun new series to tell you about. I love new starts and you know I always get pretty excited when I find a new series to get in on. This one is spicy good fun.  

From the back of the book:

Reporter turned Tex-Mex waitress Josie Callahan is about to go from serving queso to solving cases…

After losing her newspaper job in Austin and having her former fiancé unfriend her on Facebook, Josie Callahan scoops up her Chihuahua, Lenny, and slinks back to Broken Boot, Texas. Maybe working as head waitress at Milagro—her aunt and uncle’s Tex-Mex restaurant—isn’t exactly living the dream, but it is a fresh start.

And business is booming as tourists pour into Broken Boot for its famous Wild West Festival. But when a local jewelry designer is found strangled outside Milagro after a tamale-making party, Josie’s reporter instincts kick in. As suspects pile up and alibis crack faster than taco shells, Josie needs to wrap up this case tighter than her tía’s tortillas—before another victim calls for the check…

My thoughts:

This is really a character driven story. The characters really are as spicy as the food! And there are a lot of them to get to know. I hope we get to dig deeper into some of them as this series progresses. I especially love Senora Mari and I hope she stays a central figure. This had a lovely fun feeling, with a dash of humor and even little touch of romance. The romance was more hinted at and will hopefully fill in next time.

The setting was rich and the festival sounded like it would have been a lot of fun. I've never been to this area and I was easily able to imagine what it might be like. The mystery unfolded nicely with a good amount of suspects and it had a satisfying solution that was actually tense and then sad. I love the emotions that were evoked. Oh and Lenny!! You will love Lenny the sweet little dog.

Plus, there are delicious recipes in the back of the book. I hope you will jump into this new series with me. I can't wait for the next part. 

Take some time to browse the other great mysteries available from Berkley Prime Crime. While you are there, you can sign up for the newsletter so you never miss a new release. I must warn you though, after browsing my wish list is longer than I could probably read. You can also connect with them on Twitter where you can happen across a fun giveaway as well. 

Disclosure: I may receive products in exchange for an honest review. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I personally believe will be good for my readers.