Death of a Country Fried Redneck by Lee Hollis

"......  I enjoyed it immensely. Lee Hollis is becoming one of my favorite cozy mystery writers and I'm always anxious to get started on the next book! Hayley Powell and her friends are absolutely hilarious and I laughed so much while reading this. The murder mystery was great too and I didn't expect the killer to be who they were until closer to the reveal. All in all that makes this another win in the series and I can't wait to get started on the next one ...." "......Hayley Powell works for the local newspaper as the food columnist. When her favorite singer, Wade Springer, comes to town for a couple of concerts, Hayley's friend Libby thinks Hayley should try out to be his personal chef while he's in town. A recipe for Fried Chicken appears in the paper and Hayley wrangles her way into the diner where Wade is eating breakfast to cook for him and to possibly meet him. The gif is up when Wade wants to meet the chef who cooked for him and the owner of the diner tells Hayley she has to go. A bus on fire with a body inside starts the mystery and Hayley being Hayley, starts investigating. The suspect list is long and she checks them off one by one when they have alibis but she discovers the truth after a cat fight with Wade's ex and someone trying to strangle her during one of Wade's concerts......"

전형적인 코지 미스터리 장르의 작품이다. 십 대 자녀들을 기르고 있는 이혼녀가 친구들의 도움을 받아가면서 살인 사건을 풀어가는 이야기다. 주인공이 지역 신문의 음식코너를 담당하고 있기 때문에 이야기 중간에 음식과 관련된 기사들이 있다는 점이 다른 작가들의 작품들과는 다른 점이다. 살인 사건을 해결하는 과정에서 경찰들의 역할이 거의 나타나지 않는다는 점은 아쉬운 점이다. 다양한 복선, 암시 등은 읽는 재미를 더 하지만 큰 반전(?) 없이 끝나는 작품이다. 문장이나 표현은 무난한 편이다. 부담 없이 읽을 수 있는 작품인 거 같다.