It should have been a happy, peaceful time for Georgie Nikolopatos. She’s usually busy managing the Bonaparte House, a restaurant owned by her mother-in-law, but it’s the off-season for tourists. This means Georgie is finally able to oversee some long overdue renovations to the restaurant’s restrooms. In addition, her daughter will soon be home from school in Greece for the Thanksgiving holiday. However, the workmen work only one day on the project and Georgie discovers a man’s body in the ladies’ room. Now Georgie’s relaxing break turns dangerous as she gets mixed up in the murder investigation and seems to be the killer’s next target!

This is the third book in the A Greek to Me series. There is an excellent summary of who’s who in Bonaparte Bay in the first couple of chapters for readers who are new to the series or those who need a reminder of some of the details from the prior books. What sets this series apart from other cozies series is the complex relationships between the characters. Georgie has an amicable relationship with her soon-to-be ex-husband Spiro and his boyfriend Inky, and she plans to continue to run the Bonaparte Restaurant with her mother-in-law Sophie even after the divorce. Georgie gets along wonderfully with her daughter Callista, but has a strained relationship with her own mother Melanie. There are unexpected ties between the characters that come up. For example, Georgie recently learned her best friend is also her cousin and the prime suspect of the murder is a disgruntled former employee. Even when things seem a bit far-fetched, the book is so well-written that as the story progresses and additional facts unfold, everything seems believable.

The storytelling is well-balanced and the events related to the murder investigation as well as Georgie’s personal life are equally entertaining and make for a fun read. Georgie does a good job of getting to the bottom of the murder, and doesn’t let her dislike of the suspect prevent her from looking at the case objectively. The side-plot with her mom and cousin who are very ill on an isolated island is more relevant to the main story than it originally appears and adds some excitement to the story. Since the events in this book take place during the off-season, there isn’t as much about the running of the restaurant which has been interesting in prior books, but for those home cooks that like to try new things, there are still recipes included at the end.

~ Christine