A new exhilarating installment in Mary Daheim’s beloved and long-running small-town murder mystery series set in Alpine, Washington, and featuring unforgettable newspaper editor Emma Lord.
Winter in the small mountain aerie of Alpine should be as quiet as new-fallen snow on the Cascades, but from the Grocery Basket to the Venison Inn, the town is humming. At the Alpine Advocate, editor Emma Lord and her staff are on deadline with a feature about the opening of RestHaven, a new rehab and mental health facility. Front Street is buzzing with gossip about Emma’s recent engagement to Sheriff Milo Dodge. And now that fool Wayne Eriks has climbed an electric pole in the middle of a storm and got himself electrocuted.
Sheriff Dodge doesn’t buy the idea that Wayne’s death is an accident. But how—and, more important, why—he died is only one of the conundrums that keep the sheriff and Emma working overtime. Why is RestHaven giving Alpine so many restless nights? What to make of allegations that someone’s trying to kill the richest man in town . . . or whispers of a rash of indecent behavior at the local high school? After Vida Runkel, the Advocate‘s stalwart House & Home editor, disappears into thin air, Milo and Emma suddenly have too many loose ends to solve before they can even think about tying the knot.
Featuring beloved characters from the series alongside some sinister new ones—not to mention a mystery that will shake Alpine to its core—The Alpine Xanadu may be Mary Daheim’s most delicious novel yet.
Praise for Mary Daheim and her Emma Lord mysteries
“Always entertaining.”—The Seattle Times
“Mary Daheim writes with wit, wisdom, and a big heart. I love her books.”—Carolyn Hart
“Daheim writes . . . with dry wit, a butter-smooth style, and obvious wicked enjoyment.”—The Oregonian
“The characters are great, and the plots always attention-getting.”—King Features Syndicate
“Even the most seasoned mystery fans are caught off-guard by [Daheim’s] clever plot twists.”—BookLoons Reviews
“Witty one-liners and amusing characterizations.”—Publishers Weekly
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Sexual Content - 2/5
2/5
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Violence - 1/5
1/5
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Language - 3/5
3/5
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Drugs and Alcohol - 3/5
3/5
Summary
Overall Life is never easy for Emma Lord, editor and publisher of a weekly paper in Alpine, Washington. She has found or reclaimed the love of her life at last, and is ready to think about wedding bells. Unfortunately, her fiancee is having to cope with his exwife and his daughter who is suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. Her staff have their own mental health issues in their own families, so when she hears that there has been an escape from the new mental hospital, it begins to seem as though the world is going a little bit crazy. Then come suspicious deaths, a rash of kiddie porn at the high school, and the irritating way the radio station keeps scooping the newspaper. Editor Emma Lord can't quite decide what to do, but events keep sweeping along, whether she's ready or not. Fans of the Alpine series will find that this book ties up some loose ends in the lives of ongoing characters but also starts some new strands.
Violence
Language Lots of rough language from men and women, but nothing you couldn't hear on TV.
Sexual
Drug & Alcohol Characters drink often, including frequent use of alcohol as a response to stress.