Death at the Day Lily Café by Wendy Sand Eckel is the second book in the “Rosalie Hart” mystery series. Publisher: Minotaur Books, July 2016

Rosalie Hart has finally opened the café of her dreams. Decked out with ochre-tinted walls and stuffed with delicious organic fare, the Day Lily Café is everything Rosalie could have hoped for. But not five minutes into the grand opening, Doris Bird, a dear and trusted friend, cashes in on a favor–to help clear her little sister Lori of a first degree murder charge.

With the help of her best friend and head waiter Glenn, Rosalie is on the case. But it’s not going to be easy. Unlikable and provocative, murder victim Carl James Fiddler seems to have insulted nearly everyone in town, and the suspect list grows daily. And when Rosalie’s daughter Annie gets caught in the crossfire, the search for the killer becomes personal in this charming cozy perfect for fans of Diane Mott Davidson and Joanne Fluke.

This evenly-paced with a comfortable tone was a joy to read. The author set-up the mystery with multiple mini-plots perfectly keeping me in tuned to all that was going on with the characters and the role they played in the well-written narrative. When a friend asks for her help, Rosalie takes it on and little does she know that the people touching the perimeters of the murder hit a little bit too closely to home and spurs Rosalie on to solve this crime before an innocent person is railroaded. The author did a great job in planting clues with some nice little twists that enhanced the telling of this tale, especially when it became clear to me, the identity of the killer and I liked how the author set that up. Good show. Boasting a lovable and friendly cast of characters, engaging dialogue and a feel-good atmosphere, this was very enjoyable and I can’t wait to read the next book in this delightfully heartwarming series.

FTC Full Disclosure – I received a digital ARC of this book from publisher via NetGalley.