by Cynthia Chow

Details at the end of the post on how to enter to win a copy of A Big Fat Greek Murder and a link to order it from Amazon and an indie bookstore.

With over twenty installments of the charming Flower Shop mysteries under her belt, Kate Collins steers back into the adventures of Athena Spencer, first introduced in Statue of Limitations, in a mystery that earned her the nickname Goddess of Greene Street. The former Chicago newspaper reporter is unexpectedly relishing her return home to Sequoia, Michigan, where she joins her many Greek relatives who run their family-owned business. While filling in when needed – which is often – at her father’s Spencer’s Garden center, Athena is just as frequently assisting at her grandparents’ Parthenon Greek diner. She’s in particularly high demand when the groom of a wedding party being held at the diner goes missing, throwing the bride and all of the attendants into disarray. That Athena’s sister Selene happens to be one of the bridesmaids further draws in the family, especially when the groom is found dead and evidence directly implicates Selene.

Having previously helped out police, despite their wishes, Athena is compelled to begin investigating both the wealthy bride’s family and the stabbed-to-death prospective groom. She’s assisted by former research specialist Case Donnelly, whom Athena recently accused of murder but is now an uncomfortably appealing love interest. While he is definitely preferable to the cascade of blind dates her mother insists on setting up before the single mother dried up and becomes too old, Case is just too handsome or charming for Athena’s comfort. When focusing back on her investigation, it doesn’t take long for them to discover that the late personal trainer Brady Rogers had a reputation for becoming a little too on-hands with his clients. It was a proclivity that may have played a role in his death as it garnered him contempt from his future brother-in-law, a vengeful stalking ex-client, and a number of unidentified exes.

New readers will have no trouble diving headfirst into this second of the series, which quickly re-introduces them to Athena’s eccentric and loving family. Athena and two of her sisters were named after Greek goddesses, while her youngest sibling does her best to live up to her prophetic Delphi namesake. Leaning back into her journalistic roots, Athena not-so-secretively writes a blog under the name Goddess Anon, where she vents about her over-involved huge Greek family and her mother’s matchmaking attempts. While the debut installment focused more on her father’s gardening supply store, here readers are treated to an abundance of Greek delicacies from the Parthenon. Descriptions of baklava, moussaka, and pastitsio are particularly mouth-watering, and they are signs of how the family shows love as much as they are a family business. In fact, Athena’s mother is willing to incite a riot over her cooking. The plot zips along as Athena and Case dine with bridesmaids, drink with an abrasive, overprotective twin, and dodge the attentions of Athena’s mother. Athena will have her hands full as she is further drawn into a mystery where the same man who could help her save her sister could also ultimately break her own heart. Readers will be as anxious as Athena to see where she goes next in this exuberant mystery that celebrates Greek culture, family, and of course, food.

To enter to win a copy of A Big Fat Greek Murder, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “greek,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen January 16, 2021. U.S. residents only and you must be 18 or older to enter. If you are entering via email please include you mailing address in case you win, it will be deleted after the contest. You can read our privacy statement here if you like. BE AWARE THAT IT WILL TAKE LONGER THAN USUAL FOR WINNERS TO GET THEIR BOOKS DUE TO THE CURRENT CRISIS.

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You can use this link to purchase this book from indie bookstore Mysterious Galaxy, and KRL gets a portion of the sale:

A Big Fat Greek Murder (A Goddess of Greene St. Mystery #2)

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Cynthia Chow is the branch manager of Kaneohe Public Library on the island of Oahu. She balances a librarian lifestyle of cardigans and hair buns with a passion for motorcycle riding and regrettable tattoos (sorry, Mom).

Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.