Book 85, 2021

[chez_jae]

Four Cuts Too Many by Debra H. Goldstein

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Last night, I finished the book Four Cuts Too Many by Debra H Goldstein. It's the 4th in the author's "Sarah Blair" mystery series. The main character is Sarah--pet!mom and receptionist for an attorney.

Sarah has a lot on her plate with her job, caring for her pets, promoting her twin sister Emily's restaurant, getting back into dating, and thinking of taking some college courses. It's during a visit to the local college that Sarah is reluctantly drawn into another murder. The school's director of the culinary/hospitality program is found dead in the classroom where Grace, Emily's sous chef, has been teaching a class in cutlery skills. Because Grace had been overheard arguing with the victim, she becomes the prime suspect in his death.

Sarah is convinced that Grace is innocent, but when the local police aren't looking any further for suspects, she sets out to learn who else may have had motive to kill Dr Martin. She discovers that the man had plenty of enemies, but finding out which of them actually murdered him is proving more difficult. Fortunately for Sarah, she has friends and family who are willing to help.

The story was okay. Characters were portrayed well, the plot moved forward in a sensible fashion, and the narrative wasn't consumed solely with Sarah's amateur investigation. However, nothing really jumped out at me to rate this book any higher than average.

Favorite line: "Okay, I'm losing it. Not only am I talking to my cat, I'm reading answers into his expressions."

An enjoyable story for the most part, but nothing remarkable about it. Average rating of three.