Josie Callahan is trying to make the best of things after returning home to Broken Boot, Texas. Unemployed and single after being inexplicably dumped by her fiancé, Josie is helping out in the family business of making and serving Tex-Mex. Broken Boot is preparing for their huge Wild Wild West Festival, and Josie is trying to ignore all the nasty town gossip surrounding the preparation as she just wants the festival to succeed- and provide her family with the money they need to remain in business. Unfortunately, business comes to a grinding halt at Milagro when a prominent townsperson is found dead in the alley behind their restaurant. Worse yet, one of Milagro's employees is the primary suspect. Josie shines up her reporting skills and sets off to investigate. Will she uncover the real murderer in Broken Boot?

HERE TODAY, GONE TAMALE is the first book in the Taste of Texas Mystery series. However, the plethora of characters had me rechecking that fact on more than one occasion as it was a bit difficult to keep everyone straight. Very few characters, including Josie herself, seemed to really stand out. I would have liked the voices of the characters to be a bit more distinctive and perhaps this will evolve over the course of the series. A character list would be helpful and might help readers get better acquainted with the town of Broken Boot.

But oh, I can't talk about HERE TODAY, GONE TAMALE and not mention Lenny! Without a doubt, my favorite character is Lenny. Lenny is Josie's Chihuahua and he is one of the most likable pets I've read about in a while. Rebecca Adler's writing really shines in the scenes with Lenny as his emotions come through the pages so clearly. I wanted to pick him up and comfort him on more than one occasion.

HERE TODAY, GONE TAMALE is an intriguing, albeit slightly uneven, start to the Taste of Texas Mystery series. I like the family atmosphere and friendliness of Milagro and suspect that I will like the series more as it progresses and the characters begin to stand out a bit more to me. The recipes sound absolutely mouth-watering and I can't wait to try making some of them!

Book Summary

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…

INCLUDES TEX-MEX RECIPES!

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