A Killer Kebab
A Greek to Me Mystery #3
By Susannah Hardy
ISBN#9780425271674
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Brought to you by OBS Reviewer Daniele
Synopsis: 
The Bonaparte House is closed for the season, and Georgie Nikolopatos looks forward to fixing up the Greek restaurant and historic landmark—until her renovation plans hit a fatal snag.
With her divorce underway, her mother-in-law returning to Greece, and the tourists gone, Georgie finally has life under control—and the Bonaparte House to herself. She quickly hires a contractor for some much-needed renovations to reopen in time for a special Greek-style Thanksgiving meal. Georgie is suspicious though when former dishwasher Russ Riley arrives with the construction crew. He still has an ax to grind with the Nikolopatos family—but is it sharp enough to kill?
When Georgie finds the body of her divorce lawyer amid the construction debris and Russ is quickly arrested for murder, something about the case doesn’t add up. While Georgie is no fan of Russ, even a bad egg deserves a crack at justice. (Goodreads)
Review:
A Killer Kebab, the third book in the Greek to Me Mystery series, is a pleasant read with a plucky protagonist and contains plenty of twists and turns to satisfy mystery readers.
Georgie has the Bonaparte House to herself for the winter season and decides the time has come to remodel the restaurant’s restrooms. The crew barely gets started when Georgie finds the body of Jim McNarmara in the ladies’ room, stabbed with the spit that usually holds the gyro meat. Jim was handling Georgie’s divorce and her family’s trust so she feels compelled to get to the bottom of his murder. Suspects abound, including Georgie’s former employee, the local contractor, and Jim’s son among others. When Franco, the pizzeria owner, is attacked, Georgie thinks there is even more at stake, and her fears are confirmed when she, too, is assaulted. As if this was not enough, Goergie’s cousin, mother, and her assistant are all deathly ill. Oh, and we cannot forget about Thousand Island dressing. Lots and lots of Thousand Island dressing.
I confess that I have not read the previous two books in this series, and thus I am missing out on a lot of back story having to do with the family trust and its heirs. That said I do not feel like this hampered my enjoyment of A Killer Kebab. There is a lot going on in this book. The series long story arc with the trust, the lawyer’s murder, and the subplot having to do with salad dressing all come together to make a satisfyingly twisty mystery. I probably now know more about Thousand Island dressing than I ever wanted to, but the history of the condiment is interesting and actually proved to be my favorite part of the story. Had all of the plot points not led to a common end, this book could have been a mess. I did think that, at times, the story dragged a bit, not from lack of action but from everything that was going on without getting anywhere.
Hardy does write entertaining characters. In a genre where it seems that most protagonists are about thirty years old, Georgie is appealingly a little older (Maybe I can just relate to her more because we are about the same age). She is steadfast and likable, and though she does make some poor choices she never comes across as “too dumb to live”. Her boyfriend Jack is missing from most of this book, and I would really like to get to know him better. Brenda is proving to be a multilayered character. However, I do think I could do without Melanie though. Perhaps, I just need to spend more time with her (yes, I know I need to read the other books in the series).
A Killer Kebab is an enjoyable read, and I do plan to go back and catch up with the other books in the series. It is standard cozy mystery fare, and I recommend it to readers of the genre, especially those who enjoy a lot of talk about food.
