"Cleverly designed who done it"

It has been over fifteen months since the love of Emma Lord's life was murdered and the owner of the weekly newspaper The Alpine Advocate still grieves as if it happened yesterday. There has been very little excitement in the small Washington town of Alpine and as a result Emma doesn't have any hard news-breaking stories to get her mind off her woes.

That all changes when the town judge receives a threatening note and photograph warning her to withdraw her appointment or face the consequences. The judge doesn't have a clue what the letter or picture is about and asks Emma to investigate. Before she gets very far, a forest fire breaks out and when it is finally put out, a dead body is discovered in the woods. These two cases are related but to obtain the truth Emma will have to ferret out connections that existed over three decades ago.

The latest Emma Lord mystery is a cleverly designed who done it that is targeted for an audience who likes a cerebral brain teaser. There are several sub-plots that seamlessly tie into the main story line with each one interesting and intriguing. Mary Daheim gives readers an up close and personal look at life in a small northwest town in her first class cozy, THE ALPINE OBITUARY.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted August 6, 2002

Summary

SPECIAL EDITION: MURDER Not even in Alpine, Washington, could the death of octogenarian Jack Froland be considered big news—except by his drinking buddies at Mugs Ahoy. But that suddenly changes when in the middle of the funeral, Jack's widow hysterically insists that he was murdered. Emma Lord, publisher of The Alpine Advocate, who is already investigating a threatening letter received by the town's beautiful blonde judge, now suspects she has two hot stories to unravel. Backed by her House and Home editor, that bottomless repository of scandal Vida Runkel, she prepares for a triple-threat special: murder, blackmail, and—as wildfire sweeps the mountainside— possible arson as well. But success will not come cheap. With a killer roaming the woods, it may cost Emma her life. . . .