Book Review: Murder Over Easy

Reviewed By: Jon Jordan - Crime Spree Magazine - RAM

Murder Over Easy     Amazon US HC Amazon Canada HC
Marshall Cook
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Woman Main Character
Series: Monona Quinn # 1
2003, Bleak House Books (a imprint of Diversity Inc), 170 pages

Murder Over Easy. A very appropriate title for a book that revolves around a murder in a diner.

This is the first in a new series from Madison Wisconsin author Marshall Cook. The series features a reporter named Monona Quinn. Monona and her husband have moved to Mitchell Wisconsin from the Chicago area. They wanted a more leisurely pace to their lives. Oops. I guess they forgot murder happens everywhere!

And a fun murder it is. The owner of the local diner is found dead at the bottom of a flight of stairs, and while the sheriff wants to close the book on this as a case of accidental death, something smells funny to Monona, and it not the food in the diner’s kitchen going bad. Monona looks into the murder while putting together an article on the deceased. And as she discovers more about him, she becomes more convinced his death was not an accident.

A thoroughly entertaining book with great characters. Marshall Cook really breathes life into the people he’s writing about. This has all the things in it that make small towns so interesting. I really enjoyed the interactions between Monona and her husband Doug, totally believable.

I definitely would recommend this book. And I look forward to the next in the series.

Jon Jordan - Crime Spree Magazine - RAM

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Jon Jordan - Crime Spree Magazine - RAM