What do you think?
Rate this book
Emma Lord #8
The Alpine Hero
THE ALPINE ADVOCATE SCOOPS A MURDEREmma Lord, the Advocate's editor, finds the body in the facial room of Stella's Styling Salon; *anonymous under a mud pack, throat slashed.
The victim turns out to be the sister-in-law of Sheriff Dodge's girlfriend, who had initially made the appointment for herself. Perhaps she was the killer's intended target. After all, no one in Alpine really knew the dead woman personally. Then rumors begin to fly, shady strangers turn up in town, and a young woman disappears into thin air. What looks like the story of the year is fast developing, and Emma means to have it; *or die trying . . .
The victim turns out to be the sister-in-law of Sheriff Dodge's girlfriend, who had initially made the appointment for herself. Perhaps she was the killer's intended target. After all, no one in Alpine really knew the dead woman personally. Then rumors begin to fly, shady strangers turn up in town, and a young woman disappears into thin air. What looks like the story of the year is fast developing, and Emma means to have it; *or die trying . . .
320 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published November 27, 1996
58 people are currently reading
285 people want to read
About the author
Mary Daheim
94 books442 followersMary Rene Richardson Daheim was an American writer of romance and mystery novels.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
March 25, 2020
I enjoyed the Alpine Hero which is the eighth book in the Emma Lord Mystery series. At times when I am reading other books I will wonder what Emma Lord and her employees/friends are up to now. It is always good to return to Alpine Washington to visit with the characters again. This time there was a murder at a beauty salon. Emma came upon the body in the facial room. Vida Runkel and Emma team up to solve the crime. There is always some humor in their relationship. Milo Dodge who is the sheriff is a friend of Emma's and is always a main part of the story. This book featured mainly Emma, Vida and Dodge. Leo and Carla only played a side role in this book. Ginny was on her honeymoon.
The mystery was quite good. I didn't have it all figured out until the author disclosed it. There were red herrings and a few twists. However, the reason I really enjoy this series is the characters. They have become very familiar. They aren't perfect but that makes them seem human. They do evolve and change. A new person was introduced in the book and she seemed to get along well with Emma. I hope she is featured in future books.
The mystery was quite good. I didn't have it all figured out until the author disclosed it. There were red herrings and a few twists. However, the reason I really enjoy this series is the characters. They have become very familiar. They aren't perfect but that makes them seem human. They do evolve and change. A new person was introduced in the book and she seemed to get along well with Emma. I hope she is featured in future books.
August 6, 2024
3.5, rounded down reluctantly.
I enjoy Emma and in this book it's nice to see her making progress in her life decisions. I'm not sure the book aged well, though.
That said, the characters are mostly fun, possibly with the exception of Ed Bronsky. And this story had an unexpected twist with the victim and the ultimate outcome.
I enjoy Emma and in this book it's nice to see her making progress in her life decisions. I'm not sure the book aged well, though.
That said, the characters are mostly fun, possibly with the exception of Ed Bronsky. And this story had an unexpected twist with the victim and the ultimate outcome.
June 26, 2015
This date stunk.
I was going to muscle through it for my Reading Challenge but there are better fish to fry.
Zero character development, loose stereotypes, just plain flat. It's like they made one character handicapped because "they needed something interesting happening". Yuck.
I recommend it for people that don't want to think and don't mind details.
I was going to muscle through it for my Reading Challenge but there are better fish to fry.
Zero character development, loose stereotypes, just plain flat. It's like they made one character handicapped because "they needed something interesting happening". Yuck.
I recommend it for people that don't want to think and don't mind details.
October 10, 2024
Good grief! Is there NOTHING that this woman (protagonist Emma Lord) doesn't complain about, find fault with, or make snide remarks about?!? It seems like she always goes to the most negative view of everything.
This woman lives in a world where emergency vehicles don't 'speed' but instead 'barge' there way to traffic crashes; where friends recommend terrible books; where, apparently, everyone around her is some type of stupid, incompetent, slovenly, lazy, boastful, or combination of these and other negative traits - the only exception seeming to be someone she bonded with over trashing other people (and yes, it was said pretty much in so many words). Emma doesn't just complain about the bad weather, she - literally - complained because the weather was 'too nice'. She gets on her high horse and judges other women for their relationships conveniently ignoring the fact that her son is the product of an affair that she knowingly had with a married man. But then she is also one of those 'dish it out but can't take it' people, in one of several examples, she spend paragraphs trashing on and on about another character but when he points out that he has a reliable car, at a time when hers is in the shop, she gets all huffy and disgruntled by the supposedly implied 'insult' to her (and she interprets it personally to her even though the comment had nothing to do with her nor her car). In retaliation she then spends several more paragraphs trashing on this other character (not his car, but him personally). I could go on but my e-reader shows I bookmarked far too many examples to bother, especially since I already wasted so much time on this book.
After that, Emma is apparently the only one of her newspaper's staff who knows how to write (see 'everyone is stupid and incompetent' above). But, rather than training them, replacing them, mentoring them, advising them, or taking any type of constructive action to resolve the problem, she just gripes and groans about it and passive-aggressively rewrites everything they submit.
And finally, the ending was just ridiculous. If Daheim had gone with 'aliens did it' the ending would have still be ridiculous but at least creative and interesting.
I will not look up other books in this series, nor by this author.
This woman lives in a world where emergency vehicles don't 'speed' but instead 'barge' there way to traffic crashes; where friends recommend terrible books; where, apparently, everyone around her is some type of stupid, incompetent, slovenly, lazy, boastful, or combination of these and other negative traits - the only exception seeming to be someone she bonded with over trashing other people (and yes, it was said pretty much in so many words). Emma doesn't just complain about the bad weather, she - literally - complained because the weather was 'too nice'. She gets on her high horse and judges other women for their relationships conveniently ignoring the fact that her son is the product of an affair that she knowingly had with a married man. But then she is also one of those 'dish it out but can't take it' people, in one of several examples, she spend paragraphs trashing on and on about another character but when he points out that he has a reliable car, at a time when hers is in the shop, she gets all huffy and disgruntled by the supposedly implied 'insult' to her (and she interprets it personally to her even though the comment had nothing to do with her nor her car). In retaliation she then spends several more paragraphs trashing on this other character (not his car, but him personally). I could go on but my e-reader shows I bookmarked far too many examples to bother, especially since I already wasted so much time on this book.
After that, Emma is apparently the only one of her newspaper's staff who knows how to write (see 'everyone is stupid and incompetent' above). But, rather than training them, replacing them, mentoring them, advising them, or taking any type of constructive action to resolve the problem, she just gripes and groans about it and passive-aggressively rewrites everything they submit.
And finally, the ending was just ridiculous. If Daheim had gone with 'aliens did it' the ending would have still be ridiculous but at least creative and interesting.
I will not look up other books in this series, nor by this author.
March 24, 2020
this is one of my favorites in the series so far, purely in terms of the mystery. I had a sense of what was going on but couldn't quite pin down the fine details of the deception.
briefly, Emma's haircut is delayed when someone is killed in the salon. Vida takes over the story, so Emma's thoughts throughout the narrative are mostly about her personal life. I learned that Vida is not an animal person, and she was just kind of generally written with less warmth/humor in this book. She's usually one of my favorites. Emma still has no spine. I like the little progressions with background characters (Ginny's marriage, Adam's glacial progress toward a job and maturity). We're introduced to a new character, Paula, whom I hope will continue to appear in future books.
I like series where you can become familiar with the characters and they change over time, so that's something I especially enjoy about this series. I think I will get all the way through the alphabet.
briefly, Emma's haircut is delayed when someone is killed in the salon. Vida takes over the story, so Emma's thoughts throughout the narrative are mostly about her personal life. I learned that Vida is not an animal person, and she was just kind of generally written with less warmth/humor in this book. She's usually one of my favorites. Emma still has no spine. I like the little progressions with background characters (Ginny's marriage, Adam's glacial progress toward a job and maturity). We're introduced to a new character, Paula, whom I hope will continue to appear in future books.
I like series where you can become familiar with the characters and they change over time, so that's something I especially enjoy about this series. I think I will get all the way through the alphabet.
November 22, 2021
This 1996 release is a second read after many years, mainly because of the local-to-me setting. I recall only reading a few of the series, and on the re-read I understand why. The protagonist is annoying to me because of her passive attitude to her love life and her poor-me whining about being a single mother. *eyeroll* On this read, the book is even more dated.
July 11, 2019
Milo’s ex-girlfriend is involved in a murder case. Instead of getting a facial, the victim has her throat slahed while at the local beauty salon. A reclusive billionaire software exec is briefly a suspect. Warning: murdered cat incident.
June 21, 2020
Set in the small town of Alpine, Washington, the editor of the local paper founds a murder victim in the facial room of Stella's Styling Salon. Was the woman the intended victim or was her sister-in-law whose appointment she took suppose to be the victim?
Recommend you read this series in order.
Recommend you read this series in order.
June 28, 2020
Love these characters. Enjoyed the story, but in the end, the mystery didn't hold together as much as the others have. No matter.... Any trip to Alpine is worthwhile. This book laid some important groundwork.
August 8, 2018
I found this one just a bit slow
November 11, 2021
3 - Good
December 28, 2021
The 8th book in the Emma Lord series. A light, cozy mystery.
January 6, 2014
This was different, as it focused almost entirely outsiders. Can I say I'm glad Milo and Honoria are splitsville? That weird romance drove me nuts. It's oddly typical true to life...as in good guy can't commit to good woman right in front of his face because of xyz reasons, so he chases someone else equally reserved/unattainable and passively aggressively waits for real object of his affection to break through the taboo line first. Ugh.
Besides the low-key soap opera...it was an ok book. I don't like how the f-bomb has been steadily creeping in, but I appreciate how the sex scenes are only alluded to instead of graphically described.
Besides the low-key soap opera...it was an ok book. I don't like how the f-bomb has been steadily creeping in, but I appreciate how the sex scenes are only alluded to instead of graphically described.
October 1, 2012
This series of cozy mysteries stars Emma Lord who is an editor at a small town newspaper in the state of Washington. I've tried at least one other in the series and find that the characters just don't grab me and there are way too many side stories that detract from solving the mystery.
November 10, 2014
I got annoyed at the way Emma Lord, editor and publisher of the Alpine newspaper, is cowed by her reporter Vida and also a younger staff member. There were too many gossipy details. No more in this series for me.
March 17, 2009
entertaining
July 19, 2010
I loved this addition to the series. It was a good mystery, it fleshed out some secondary characters, and Emma made a good choice for once..yes!
July 29, 2011
This is a competent if not exciting seres, and definitely one of my favorites by the author
February 2, 2012
Nice twist near the end
July 26, 2012
I liked ths book in the series better than the last one.
Read
September 18, 2012I enjoyed this book. Good characters and a surprise ending!
Read
February 18, 2013I generally enjoy this series, because of the local setting and quirky characters. This was okay, but not one of my favorites.
March 22, 2013
Editor/Publisher of the Alpine Sentinel Emma Lord encounters murder in her small town once again. Another worthy entry in the series.
September 5, 2013
The plot here was quite convoluted. It took me awhile to figure out who the guilty party was. Emma and the sheriff seem to be growing closer together.
August 24, 2014
This book really showed that curiosity could almost get you killed.
April 24, 2017
Emma Lord has decided that she will no longer wait for Tom Cavanaugh to leave his wife. She feels at peace with her resolution to move on. That feeling is short lived however, because a few minutes later Emma discovers the body of a woman whose throat had been slit while she was enjoying a facial in Stella's Styling Salon. The deceased is Honoria Whitman's sister-in-law (Honoria was Milo Dodge's girlfriend until recently). Vida decides that she must be the head reporter for The Alpine Advocate on this story because Emma is personally involved. It makes for some interesting exchanges between the two women. I had not solved the mystery before the murderer was revealed at the end of the book. There were so many characters who could have done it. I enjoyed all the twists and turns. Milo and Emma's relationship grows as they realize how much they depend on one another.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews