A DEATH AT THE YOGA CAFÉ

The proprietor of a cafe and yoga studio seeks justice when a longtime acquaintance is falsely accused of murder.

Yoga instructor and restaurateur Keeley Carpenter has reached a good place in her life. Not only has she managed to open a little vegetarian cafe and yoga studio in Belfrey, her English hometown, but she’s also dating Ben Taylor, her former high school crush. Though Keeley and Ben had some tense times when she informally investigated the Terry Smith case (Downward Facing Death, 2016)—Ben is a detective, after all—that’s all in the past now, leaving them to settle into a comfortable routine. Naturally, Keeley’s mother chooses this moment to come to town for an extended visit. It’s not that Darla doesn’t have good intentions, or so she says; it’s just that she expresses those intentions through constant criticisms of Keeley. Keeley’s prayers for some distraction are answered when Belfrey mayor Gerald Buxby is savagely murdered in his home. Gerald’s girlfriend, Raquel, fast becomes the prime suspect. Though Keeley was never close with Gerald and is no more than a frenemy to Raquel, she can’t resist Raquel’s pleas that she investigate because she believes Raquel innocent. Keeley’s insistence in getting involved puts her at odds with Ben, who ought to be her closest ally. Even though she worries that her principles will put her relationship at risk, she can’t back down.

Yoga poses are interspersed with chapters, and a set of vegetarian recipes is added to the epilogue in this simple tale of small-town murder–cum–life cycle events.