Sage Caplin has just opened a coffee cart in a court yard for food trucks. On the third morning she finds a dead man in front of her cart, apparently killed with a box cutter she had borrowed from one of her neighbours. The dead man has a link to her past and this makes the police quick to ask pointy finger questions.

Despite this, the story lacks urgency. There’s no “I must solve this murder or it’s my livelihood/freedom on the line”. Probably because Sage has so many irons in the fire, a murder doesn’t upset her balance. In any case, she does very little sleuthing. If she learns anything about the victim or possible suspects, it is because people come to her cart and tell her. Or she does a search on the internet, all the while keeping an eye on her business and developing new business opportunities.

Something irked me throughout this story - Sage takes speak no ill of the death to a whole new level. She keeps reminding herself (and the reader) how bad it is that a man was killed. She didn’t even know the man. Is she equally considerate of the on average 50 people a day that are killed in the USA? (That’s over 1000 more murder victims during the course of this story.) Plus, it seems this guy was a jerk in business as well as in private.

Anyway, not a story for me. Not enough mystery, too much Sage is a wonderful business woman and all round nice person content.

I read an ARC through Netgalley.