The newest release in the Dinner Club Mystery series by Linda Wiken, ROUX THE DAY, brings the reader back to the table for a delicious second installment! The protagonist, J.J. Tanner, has gained confidence both in her job working as an event planner at Make It Happen, and cooking for the dinner club, Culinary Capers, that she belongs to. I liked the premise of the story with J.J. working at a casino fund-raising event for a non-profit charity aboard a cruise boat on Champlain Lake. The setting provides a glamorous backdrop for the murder along with a limited pool of suspects…of which J.J. finds herself in. The beginning felt a bit slow to me with the author cautiously doling out clues. However, it wasn’t long before twists and turns in the plot had me turning pages to read “just one more chapter” late into the night. 

The book also captures the spirit of friendship J.J. has with her friends, especially with Connor Mac. Though she had dated him a few times, J.J. believes in him and wants to clear his name when he becomes a murder suspect. Even after finding out that he has been hiding several things from her, she remains loyal. J.J. also is quick to help out her friends when they need assistance and the author creates a nice subplot within the story involving thievery at her good friend’s cafe, Cups ‘N’ Roses.

Linda Wiken also creates a close bond between the members of the Culinary Capers group along with some amazing dishes that they share! A specific cookbook is chosen each month by the host of that particular month’s get-together. The cookbook highlighted in ROUX THE DAY is The Mystery Writers of America Cookbook… I’ll admit, I’m feeling the need to purchase it now! Linda has included several recipes at the back of her book; some of them are her own and others are shared by the authors who contributed to The Mystery Writers of America Cookbook.  I tried the recipe for Chicken Gabriella provided by Sara Paretsky (whose newest VI Warshawski novel is Fallout). A fun, flambéed dish, I'll definitely be making it again!

Roux the Day:  A Dinner Club Mystery
By Linda Wiken
Berkley
March 7, 2017

Review by Cynthia Chow

It may have been the breakup with her fiancé may have caused J.J. Tanner to quit her job at an advertising agency and move to Half Moon Bay, but it turned out to have been the best decision of her life.  By taking up her college best friend’s offer to work at the event planning business Make It Happen, J.J. found happiness on the shoreline of Vermont’s Lake Champlain.  Accustomed to living for the excitement of pursuing and keeping a client, J.J. is feeling the pressure of hosting her first event for a non-profit whose causes she supports.  A cruise line’s The Lady of the Lake will be the site of a casino night, hosted by television news show personality Miranda Myers and radio DJ Connor Mac.  J.J. has been platonically “going out” with Connor but not actually dating him, which doesn’t seem to matter to the authorities when Miranda is murdered during the event after last seen arguing with Connor.  

Despite their friendship, Connor never told J.J. that he had been engaged, much less that he was still on-again-off-again dating Miranda.  His subsequent disappearance without notifying anyone that he was leaving town should give J.J. justification for being wary, but in her heart she knows that Connor is incapable of doing harm.  The police are far less trusting, so J.J. feels that it is up to her to uncover alternative suspects for Miranda’s murder.  The last person J.J. expected to lend a hand is private investigator Ty Devine, who had been hired by Miranda’s television studio to look into acts of vandalism on set and an attack on one off its staff.  Sharing a little knowledge doesn’t mean that Ty wants J.J. to get involved though, so she will be on her own as she questions Miranda’s competitive coworkers, exes, and even local politicians.  A much more enjoyable investigative task will be serving as a “mystery diner” for her friend Beth’s Cups ‘n’ Roses coffee shop, where an inexplicable number of random items seem to disappear without a culprit in sight.

The second in the Dinner Club Mystery series smoothly continues J.J.’s role as an amateur detective delving into police matters.  This time, it is her guilt from introducing Miranda and Connor to the charity event that compels J.J. to deliver justice and clear Connor.  The Culinary Capers Club, a group of friends who rotate hosting a meal around a designated cookbook, take the sideline but offer fun for mystery lovers when they focus on The Mystery Writers of America Cookbook.  J.J.’s character is further expanded upon through her warm relationship with her visiting mother, which had its bumpy past during J.J.’s teen years but now has smoothed out despite the career-driven June Tanner’s wish for J.J. to have a conventional domestic life.  Event planning details add sparks of fun, as do the meals the normally non-cooking J.J. enjoys.  As the Culinary Capers Club welcome in a new member to their delectable foodies, readers can anticipate further tasty mysteries with a dash of promising romance.