Review: Drowning at the Diner by Beth Dolgner

Drowning at the Diner (Nightmare, Arizona #2)
by Beth Dolgner

My Rating: 4 stars

Genre: Paranormal Cozy Mystery
Age Category: Adult
Type of romance: m/f

Blurb:
Death, danger, and dirty dishes in Nightmare, Arizona

Her car might be fixed, but that doesn’t mean Olivia Kendrick is leaving the town of Nightmare, Arizona just yet. As she settles into her new life working at Nightmare Sanctuary Haunted House, Olivia still wants to know what Damien Shackleford really is, other than handsome, brooding, and a total jerk.

When the new dishwasher at the Lusty Lunch Counter is found drowned in a sink full of dirty dishes, Olivia’s friend Ella is the main suspect. After all, the victim had been stalking her. Meanwhile, the arrival of a mysterious stranger will lead to an astonishing discovery about the diner owner’s past.

Olivia will enlist her supernatural friends at Nightmare Sanctuary to help her track down the truth and clear Ella’s name. At the same time, Olivia begins to hear a phantom voice from an abandoned mine at the edge of Nightmare, and it seems to be tied to the disappearance of Damien’s father. Is Olivia tapping into her own supernatural ability, or is something sinister lurking in the old tunnels…?

Drowning at the Diner is book 2 in the Nightmare, Arizona paranormal cozy mystery series. This lighthearted series is about starting over, found family, and solving murders in a quirky old mining town with a secret supernatural community.

My Review

I received a free audiobook copy from Tantor Audio and voluntarily reviewed it.

I really enjoyed the first book in this series and was excited to continue the series. Drowning at the Diner is a great sequel, it follows Olivia as she gets involved in another murder mystery. This time her friend at the diner Ella gets framed for the murder of the dishwasher at the diner who was obsessed with her. I like this paranormal cozy mystery series so far, the paranormal aspect is prominent, the mysteries are good and there are lots of interesting and likable characters.

I liked the mystery in this book. It kept me guessing and while I was sure Ella hadn’t done it, I wasn’t sure who did it or how they framed her. There are some interesting developments and reveals along the way. I did figure a few things out shortly before the characters did and while I hadn’t predicted the murderer I did think of this person maybe being the murderer, so I wasn’t too surprised, but I wasn’t sure about the motive. The vital clue that confirms who the killer is occurs right before Olivia figures it out. I liked that Olivia was the one to figure out who the murderer was.

I enjoyed being back in the town of Nightmare and reading more about Olivia as well as her friends and the people who work at the haunted house. There are some new characters too, with some interesting reveals regarding them. I like learning more about the paranormal and I like how it’s a prominent aspect of the book. I like the narrator for this book and hope the rest of the series will be done in audio as well as I enjoy listening to it.

To summarize: This was a great sequel and I again had a lot of fun listening to it. I liked reading about Olivia as she gets involved in another mystery and is determined to clear her friend Ella’s name who is the main suspects. The mystery was an interesting with some great developments along the way. The vital clue is toward the end right before Olivia figures it out. I like how she is the one to figure things out. While I hadn’t predicted who the murderer was I had considered this person as the murderer, so I wasn’t too surprised, but I wasn’t sure about the motive. I enjoyed being back in Nightmare and reading about this town and the people who live there. It’s a fun series so far and I like the narrator’s style for these books, so I hope the rest of the series will be in audio as well.

Links:
– Goodreads
– Bookbub
– Amazon
– Audible
– B&N
– Kobo

You can also read my review on Goodreads and Bookbub.