The Alpine Obituary

Alpine Obituary, the 15th entry in Mary Daheim's series featuring Alpine Advocate publisher Emma Lord and her cohorts-the forthright and all-knowing Vida, an Advocate editor, and Sheriff Milo, Emma's former lover-is far more sedate than her earlier offerings (Alpine Nemesis, etc.). Still distraught over the death of her lover, Emma mopes through the first half of the novel and even considers turning down a request by Marsha, the local judge, to look into a threatening letter she has received. But when Emma learns that Marsha and Jack Froland, an elderly resident who may have been murdered, are distantly related, she decides to find out if the two incidents are connected. Despite its combustible conclusion and credible characterizations, this slow-moving installment isn't likely to win over readers new to the series.