This was on the sale shelf at the library. I didn't know what book it was in the series until I came to review it. I did not read book 1 so it can be read as a stand alone. The only (small) point may be in how some of the characters know or relate to each other.

The pacing seemed a bit off in the book. There were times I put the book down and wouldn't pick it up again for a couple days--usually as the mystery builds I want to keep reading to find out whodunit.

The parts about Alaska were good, but I wasn't overly interested in the fishing industry and that might have been part of why I felt the story lagged.

As always, I wonder if this was real life how long the diner would survive with its owner doing as much investigating that takes her away from the business as Charlie does. ( )

Diner owner Charlie (female) and newspaper reporter Chris (male) once again find themselves assisting Trooper in his investigations when a college age boy who came to help at an area fishery for the summer dies before ever getting his food at the diner. The local doctor/medical examiner discovers he died by gradual mercury poisoning. One college intern (a friend of the deceased) has not been seen for a few days, and his mother flies in from Wisconsin to track him down. I found it implausible Trooper would leave the area in the midst of a murder investigation, leaving much of the work to his unofficial deputies, rather than to his real one. In spite of that, I really enjoyed this installment. Charlie's parents are visiting friends in San Diego in this installment, and Charlie worries they'll move there. Charlie's extremely spoiled cat Benny shows his intelligence by drawing attention to things. I feel the characters are beginning to gel a little better, and Elkview makes a great mystery setting. ( )

In this second installment in the Alaska Diner mysteries, Charlie and Chris assist local law enforcement with several cases. Charlie Cooke runs her family diner in Elkview, Alaska, but somehow gets embroiled in a mysterious death that occurs in her diner. Although the death is not related to her diner's food, she and reporter Chris Doucette are "recruited" by local law enforcement to assist with getting to the bottom of the crime. There is more than meets the eye when financial irregularities at the local fishery are uncovered.

The characters are quirky and fun, fitting to the Alaska setting (if you have visited Alaska, you understand). The unique setting grabbed my attention, as did the diner details and information about fisheries. Since I have visited Alaska and fisheries, I found this aspect of the book to be my favorite, and seemed realistic. I also enjoyed the developing relationship between Charlie and Chris. I am looking forward to the next one in the series.

As with most amateur sleuth novels, this one requires some suspension of skepticism on the part of the reader, with the characters' involvement in law enforcement and investigation of a murder. Although this novel is part of a series, it can be read as a standalone. The novel is clean, lacking overt violence, graphic intimacy, or strong language.

I received this novel from the publisher and from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own. ( )

I read Mousse and Murder, book one in An Alaskan Diner Mystery and gave it a three star rating because Logan just listed facts about Alaska instead of weaving them into the story, and none of the characters were engaging.
But since it was the first in the series and the first that I had read by Elizabeth Logan, I wanted to give book two a read, just in case it had improved. Obviously by my two star rating it hasn’t.
I really would expect better from an author that has five other series out under the names of Camille Minichino, Margaret Grace, and Jean Flowers.

So why am I being so harsh to Fishing for Trouble, besides the fact that I expect more from an author that has so many books out? Logan talks about Charlie’s cat, Benny, a lot. Now I love cats and hope to one day be a crazy cat lady, but at least a fourth of the book was talking about feeding, playing, snuggling, talking to, or missing Benny.
That time could have been spent working on character development, which is once again, lacking. The only character that gets interesting towards the end of the book is Chris, who suddenly turns into someone with spy or special training knowledge. Cool. Completely out of left field though. And not enough to make me want to read book three.

In the first book I thought it was a fun change to have the local sheriff actually include Charlie and the gang in his investigation, instead of constantly telling her not to get involved. I realize it’s a work of fiction, but at one point Charlie and Chris have one of the witnesses write down their information, get it notarized, and send them back home. Um. Without putting it past the sheriff, and saying something like, “Well, if they have to come back and testify at least our part is done.”

If you read this series, or other books by the author, I honestly hope you enjoy them more than I did. That’s the nice thing about reading, there are so many books out there, everyone can find something they enjoy… although this is not the case here for me. ( )

cats, alaska, murder-investigation, family-dynamics, friendship, amateur-sleuth, cozy-mystery, law-enforcement, small-business, small-town*****

When Charlie Cooke left law school, a career as a chef, and a supercilious ex-boyfriend to go back home to Elkview, Alaska, she knew that she'd assume the running of the family diner but not the rest of it. The trooper in town is an old family friend, her parents are on errands out of state, and something really weird happens with a young customer who works at the fish plant. He suddenly dies of mercury poisoning and another summer help from the plant goes missing. Lots of misdirection and red herrings in this great story that is perfectly designed for cat lovers.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Berkley Publishing Group via NetGalley. Thank you! ( )