I love the cover of Kate Collins’ latest Goddess of Greene Street mystery, A Big Fat Greek Murder. The raccoon actually is part of the book. However, I’m just not as crazy about the book itself.

Athena Spencer works at the Spencer Garden Center, owned by her father, and her grandparents own a diner which has a hall large enough to host large parties. When the groom doesn’t show up for a rehearsal dinner catered at the diner, the groomsmen head to his apartment. They find his body, scissors in his back. When she hears that, Athena’s oldest sister, Selene, turns to her. Selene, a hairdresser, fears the scissors are hers.

The day the women of the bridal party had their hair done, the scissors disappeared from the salon. Now, the bride accuses Selene of having an affair with the groom. It isn’t long before Selene is arrested. Athena teams up with Case Donnelly, a research specialist, to dig into the stories of the bride and groom.

The multiple storylines of murder, Case’s business proposals, Athena’s job at the Spencer Garden Center, along with romance and food, keep the action moving in this second in the series. Humor comes from the large Greek-American family. Athena and Selene’s mother provides the comic relief as she tries to feed everyone at the jail so Selene will be treated well.

The story is stuffed with characters and some unnecessary side stories. Although I can’t say too much about the characters, their behavior is a little too over-the-top. I really only recommend this mystery to readers of the first in the series, Statue of Limitations, or Collins’ fans who enjoy her “Flower Shop” mysteries.

Kate Collins’ website is www.katecollinsbooks.com

A Big Fat Greek Murder by Kate Collins. Kensington Books, 2020. ISBN 9781496724359 (paperback), 336p.

TC Full Disclosure – I received a .pdf to review for a journal.