Italian Iced

Italian Iced by Kylie Logan is An Ethnic Eats Mystery. Laurel Inwood is gearing up for Italian cuisine month at Terminal at the Tracks in Hubbard, Ohio. She knows it will be a popular theme with their patrons. The first night Laurel notices a shabbily dressed older man with a fedora nursing a cup of coffee. When she arrives home at Pacifique, she is greeted with an open door and her kitchen is in a disarray. Someone went through all her cookbooks. On Saturday morning when Laurel arrives at the restaurant, she finds the kitchen ransacked and, again, all the cookbooks have been disturbed. Detective Gus Oberlin arrives to take a report and hints that he would love to try the gelato. Laurel opens the walk-in freezer and finds her former employer and Hollywood actress, Meghan Cohan frozen on the floor. She is wearing a disguise and Laurel recognizes her as the woman she bumped into the previous night. What was Meghan looking for among Laurel’s belongings and why was she incognito? The real question is who killed Meghan Cohan? The suspect list is lengthy as Meghan antagonized every person she encountered. Laurel needs to find the killer quickly, so she can get rid of the pesky reporters plaguing the restaurant. Italian Iced is the third book in An Ethnic Eats Mystery series and it can be read alone. I like the characters in this cute cozy mystery series. Laurel is a strong main character with a passion for food. She has found a home in Hubbard along with close friends and her boyfriend, Declan Fury. The mystery was multifaceted with red herrings and twists. Armchair sleuths will have a difficult time solving this whodunit. I did have two unanswered questions at the end, though, that I wish the author had addressed. There is plenty of yummy sounding food mentioned throughout the book as Laurel creates Italian dishes for the restaurant. There is romance as Laurel and Declan’s relationship deepens. The ending was charming and romantic. It seems, though, that Italian Iced is the last novel in An Ethnic Eats Mystery series. I am happy that the author took the time provide a satisfying ending for her readers. If you are looking for a cozy mystery with engaging characters, luscious food, and a killer mystery, then you should read Italian Iced.