3.0
Alpha Alpine
ByPublisher Description
Emma Lord is back and better than ever! This time around, the amateur detective partners up with a rookie sleuth to investigate a string of murders in her beloved Alpine, Washington.
For a small town nestled in the Cascade Mountains’ foothills, picturesque Alpine provides more than enough headlines to fill the pages of editor and publisher Emma Lord’s Alpine Advocate. The Labor Day edition’s lead story features controversial timber baron Jack Blackwell’s scheme to become Skykomish county manager. But the recent strangling deaths of two young women are all anyone can talk about.
After a third body is found, Emma’s husband, Sheriff Milo Dodge, suspects there’s a serial killer in their midst. The latest victim is the sister of a dashing newcomer rumored to be working for Blackwell. “Black Jack,” as he’s known to his non-admirers, has a long-standing rivalry with Milo. To discover if there’s any connection between the mogul and the murders, Emma recruits the Advocate’s receptionist, Alison Lindahl, to do a little digging.
Still recovering from a recent breakup, Alison welcomes the distraction. But when the investigation puts the eager protégé in the line of fire, Emma worries that the cub reporter’s career will be over before it even begins.
Praise for Alpha Alpine
“Part of what makes this series so great is touching base with the characters, returning to the idyllic locale of Alpine, and spying on all the drama and mayhem. . . . Fans of Emma Lord will love this one, but this one might [also] be a great place for people who haven’t read the series to jump on board.”—The Book Review
“Full of drama and action . . . I really tried to slow down and savor this book, but that was almost impossible. . . . I am already anxiously waiting for the next Emma Lord Mystery.”—Escape with Dollycas
“I always know I can count on a good read with a Mary Daheim book.”—My Merri Way
For a small town nestled in the Cascade Mountains’ foothills, picturesque Alpine provides more than enough headlines to fill the pages of editor and publisher Emma Lord’s Alpine Advocate. The Labor Day edition’s lead story features controversial timber baron Jack Blackwell’s scheme to become Skykomish county manager. But the recent strangling deaths of two young women are all anyone can talk about.
After a third body is found, Emma’s husband, Sheriff Milo Dodge, suspects there’s a serial killer in their midst. The latest victim is the sister of a dashing newcomer rumored to be working for Blackwell. “Black Jack,” as he’s known to his non-admirers, has a long-standing rivalry with Milo. To discover if there’s any connection between the mogul and the murders, Emma recruits the Advocate’s receptionist, Alison Lindahl, to do a little digging.
Still recovering from a recent breakup, Alison welcomes the distraction. But when the investigation puts the eager protégé in the line of fire, Emma worries that the cub reporter’s career will be over before it even begins.
Praise for Alpha Alpine
“Part of what makes this series so great is touching base with the characters, returning to the idyllic locale of Alpine, and spying on all the drama and mayhem. . . . Fans of Emma Lord will love this one, but this one might [also] be a great place for people who haven’t read the series to jump on board.”—The Book Review
“Full of drama and action . . . I really tried to slow down and savor this book, but that was almost impossible. . . . I am already anxiously waiting for the next Emma Lord Mystery.”—Escape with Dollycas
“I always know I can count on a good read with a Mary Daheim book.”—My Merri Way
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communities5 Reviews
3.0
Chili
Created 4 months agoShare
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rretzler
Created 6 months agoShare
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“Emma Lord, owner of The Alpine Advocate, a small-town Washington state newspaper, and Alpine Sheriff Milo Dodge have finally married in the 27th book in Mary Daheim’s alphabetical series. Alpha Alpine begins the second alphabetical set. Milo and Emma are settling into married life when everything starts to go crazy. Vida Runkel, busybody and long-time newspaper employee, announces her retirement, and Milo’s arch-rival, Jack Blackwell threatens to become the county manager putting Milo out of a job, while Milo’s wacky and forgetful brother and sister-in-law are on their way from Texas in an RV for an extended visit. Things really spiral out of control when Milo’s daughter finds the corpse of a young woman, a victim of a possible serial killer, in Milo’s unlived-in old house, and The Advocate’s offices are bombed while Emma is working late. To top things off, Emma has encouraged her new receptionist to investigate, much to Milo’s chagrin.
I am not a regular reader of this series, but I do pick one up from time to time. They are a very light read, and for the most part, the plot holds together well. I was interested in this one because I thought the last one was possibly the end of the series, and I wanted to see if there had been any changes. Going forward, I think some of the long-term characters will be replaced with fresh new characters if this book is any indication.
This book was possibly a little harder for me to read than some of the others as there seemed to be a lot more mention of previous books with which I am not familiar. I think one would have a difficult time reading this book as a stand-alone. There are also so many characters mentioned in the book, both old and new, that one needs a list to keep them all straight.
There were also instances in this book that didn’t seem to make much sense to me – I have no idea what the purpose of Milo’s brother’s visit was. Unless it was comedic filler, it did not add to the plot or my enjoyment of the book in any way. There was also a rather strange party/press conference near the end of the book that utterly baffled me. Several times, I noticed a rather abrupt segue to a new idea in the middle of a paragraph, and I had to go back and reread to make sure I understood what was happening.
This is a pleasant series, but I think a new reader would be better served by starting at the beginning of the series with the first A, instead of this one. Series fans will no doubt enjoy this return of Emma, Milo and the rest of the Alpine regulars.
As an aside, I found the previous style of cover for the series to be much more to my liking. The current cover does not appeal to me, and I feel it makes the book look cheap.
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and Alibi in exchange for an honest review.
Merged review:
Emma Lord, owner of The Alpine Advocate, a small-town Washington state newspaper, and Alpine Sheriff Milo Dodge have finally married in the 27th book in Mary Daheim’s alphabetical series. Alpha Alpine begins the second alphabetical set. Milo and Emma are settling into married life when everything starts to go crazy. Vida Runkel, busybody and long-time newspaper employee, announces her retirement, and Milo’s arch-rival, Jack Blackwell threatens to become the county manager putting Milo out of a job, while Milo’s wacky and forgetful brother and sister-in-law are on their way from Texas in an RV for an extended visit. Things really spiral out of control when Milo’s daughter finds the corpse of a young woman, a victim of a possible serial killer, in Milo’s unlived-in old house, and The Advocate’s offices are bombed while Emma is working late. To top things off, Emma has encouraged her new receptionist to investigate, much to Milo’s chagrin.
I am not a regular reader of this series, but I do pick one up from time to time. They are a very light read, and for the most part, the plot holds together well. I was interested in this one because I thought the last one was possibly the end of the series, and I wanted to see if there had been any changes. Going forward, I think some of the long-term characters will be replaced with fresh new characters if this book is any indication.
This book was possibly a little harder for me to read than some of the others as there seemed to be a lot more mention of previous books with which I am not familiar. I think one would have a difficult time reading this book as a stand-alone. There are also so many characters mentioned in the book, both old and new, that one needs a list to keep them all straight.
There were also instances in this book that didn’t seem to make much sense to me – I have no idea what the purpose of Milo’s brother’s visit was. Unless it was comedic filler, it did not add to the plot or my enjoyment of the book in any way. There was also a rather strange party/press conference near the end of the book that utterly baffled me. Several times, I noticed a rather abrupt segue to a new idea in the middle of a paragraph, and I had to go back and reread to make sure I understood what was happening.
This is a pleasant series, but I think a new reader would be better served by starting at the beginning of the series with the first A, instead of this one. Series fans will no doubt enjoy this return of Emma, Milo and the rest of the Alpine regulars.
As an aside, I found the previous style of cover for the series to be much more to my liking. The current cover does not appeal to me, and I feel it makes the book look cheap.
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and Alibi in exchange for an honest review.”
Tori
Created 6 months agoShare
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Nadine
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Michele Scarlata
Created about 5 years agoShare
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About Mary Daheim
Mary Richardson Daheim started spinning stories before she could spell. Daheim has been a journalist, an editor, a public relations consultant, and a freelance writer, but fiction was always her medium of choice. In 1982, she launched a career that is now distinguished by more than sixty novels. In 2000, she won the Literary Achievement Award from the Pacific Northwest Writers Association. In October 2008, she was inducted into the University of Washington’s Communication Alumni Hall of Fame. Daheim lives in her hometown of Seattle and is a direct descendant of former residents of the real Alpine, which existed as a logging town from 1910 to 1929, when it was abandoned after the mill was closed. The Alpine/Emma Lord series has created interest in the site, which was named a Washington State ghost town in July 2011. An organization called the Alpine Advocates has been formed to preserve what remains of the town as a historic site.
Other books by Mary Daheim
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