The Alpine Fury

Emma Lord #6

by Mary Daheim

BANK ON MURDER
For generations the venerable family-owned bank has served the old logging town in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains. But suddenly Marv Peterson, bank president and family patriarch, seems unnaturally distracted; his heirs and employees are jittery. And when a banker from Seattle comes to town, allegedly on a fishing vacation, Emma Lord, editor and publisher of The Alpine Advocate, decides to do a bit of fishing herself.
Abetted by her unsinkable house-and-home editor, Emma snoops for a story and ends up investigating murder--the strangling death of the bank's sexy blonde bookkeeper after a rendezvous at a local motel. Did she die because of whom she knew or what she knew? Sheriff Milo Dodge hasn't a clue, but Emma and The Advocate get set to roll with the shocking reality and the biggest story in history....

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Cozy, Mystery Thriller

320 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published October 30, 1995

About the author

Mary Rene Richardson Daheim was an American writer of romance and mystery novels.

Reviews

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

Emma is almost insufferable 🙃 But I love Vida and Alpine and reading about the newspaper business. Those things keep me coming back to this series.

[VJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first Mary Daheim book I have read that uses the F-bomb. I was not amused. Even more not amused when I started the next book in the series and had a couple of them dropped right away. I'm hoping that this is not a trend that is kept up. I like this author too much to ditch this series right now. Alpine and all its denizens have come alive to me and I don't want to run away. Leo better clean up his mouth or I'll be madder than Vida!

The resolution of this mystery completely surprised me. Completely. Totally and utterly blindsided me. Looking back, I can see how it came to be...but while I was reading, I did not catch a single clue except the rope that Carla found near her car.

I am finding the business aspect of this series quite interesting. I worked for almost 2 years for a daily paper conglomerate (the subsidiary of a much larger media empire which owned 6 dailies, 2 four-day papers, 1 bi-weekly paper, and two online news outlets in our state). I billed display ads for the various papers. Although I knew a little of what went on behind the scenes, I only ever saw the finished ad in our software or the finished product in print when I verified billing. I have a lot more respect for the publisher of our hometown weekly paper which is distributed for free to the neighborhoods surrounding our little burg. We voluntarily "donate" for a "subscription" but that is because we see the value in the weekly.

[Elliott · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm enjoying this series so far. this mystery didn't keep my attention - I had to renew my book from the library because it took me so long to finish - and some of the character interactions were a bit off. I don't care for the whole romance with Tom, just because he isn't written in a way where it makes sense why someone would pine for him for 20 years. that bugs me, and then Adam bugs me. maybe he's supposed to be amusing, but he comes across as so wretched. Emma enabling them kind of frustrates me, which takes away from my reading enjoyment. also, the stuff with Leo was kind of awful. but, I still enjoy reading about Vida and the paper. I thought Honoria was a lovely character and I hope to see more of her.

[PRISCILLA HERD · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun series

This series has great characters. I would recommend this series of books to anyone who likes smart mysteries with an interesting cast of characters set in a small town. These books are an enjoyable and easy read.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another absorbing mystery, or rather, two entwined mysteries. Good development among the regular characters too.

[Sharon Bezrutczyk · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really didn't care for this one it went a little to slow for me.

[Mary Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well done, good plot, many interesting characters. I am a big fan of this series and now onward to #7!

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am enjoying this series the second time around for some of the books. They are that good. Well crafted compared to a lot of simple and sometimes silly cozy mysteries.

[Darinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

The 6th book in the Emma Lord series. A light, cozy mystery.

[Geneva Freeman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always think I’ll be able to solve it before the book ends, but Mary’s twists are too good!

[Zermeena · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good mystery with lots of red herrings. I wish Emma would work on her love life! This flirting and friendship is as maddening as the love triangles are.

[Rusty · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is an ok read. I have read several of the books in this series but for some reason this one seemed rather dull. Maybe I'm tired of the local sheriff not solving a crime. Maybe I'm tired of the interaction between Emma Lord and her house and home editor. Anyway I thought that this book should have been tightened for a better read. It seemed to dawdle about while the author tried to set the stage for solving the murder. Perhaps there were too many plot lines going. There are romances that make putting out a newspaper difficult. There is a new advertising editor whose life seems to be a mess. There is Emma's interaction with the sheriff. There is something going on at the bank and there's a murder. Perhaps other Emma Lord fans will not be as disappointed as I was.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn't feeling this one. It took way to long for all of the threads to come together and make a cohesive mystery. It wasn't really satisfying. And Emma needs to stop holding onto Tom. He's not even that interesting, and he's hardly ever even a physical presence in the book, even though he's mentioned, hmm, ALL THE TIME. Bad characterization that's getting worse. She either needs to get him, or get someone else.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read a lot of bad "cozy" mysteries lately, so this was a breath of fresh air. The main character actually has some sort of believable reason to try to dig into the mystery (she's a newspaper editor). The characters are funny and likeable and the author doesn't fall into the trap of having law enforcement suspect the main character. There are a bunch in this series... I'll be checking out more.

[Portia · Rating 2 out of 5]

not bad, just not great.
read it to explore the series project i do at the library
weirdest is how much this book is like my parents' lives... same place, same business, many of the same problems. except the crime, of course

[Sherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked it. The book is a "standard" murder who-dun-it in many ways, but Ms. Daheim seems to make them come alive very well. It has some sexual/romantic tension, but nothing overt or overly graphic in that respect.

[Kathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Couldn't get into this book. By the time I got to the end where they put all the little details together to solve the crime I couldn't even remember where they had been mentioned previously. Also couldn't figure out why Emma was so hung up on the loser Tom.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Banking, bookkeeping and sibling rivalry require Emma's problem solving skills this time.

[Lbaker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Somewhere in the middle of the series, with her wonderful coworker Vida and with limited references to her pious brother and selfish son. The mystery was well done and not obvious.

[Catherine Woodman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a competent if not exciting seres, and definitely one of my favorites by the author

[Marti]

Passed on to me from Mom.

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

More than a year ago, I read book 4 in this series; however, the library did not have book 5. I finally decided to skip book 5 and go to book 6. I like this series and will continue to read it.

[M · Rating 2 out of 5]

In a rather unfocused rooting about in the lives of some unattractive Alpiners, Emma conducts a sloppy investigation of the murder of a banker. The plot is barely worthy of publication.

[Bobbi Foster · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed it. I like Emma Lord and her friends. Some of what Mary writes about at weekly newspapers are true. I know because I work at one. Keep 'em coming!!

[Glenn Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this one Emma Lord is back home in Alpine and the quality of the writing is back on track. An excellent entry in the series.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Each book in the series increases my enthusiasm for this series.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy to read, enjoyable and worth your weekend.

[Cyndi Berve]

Another in the Alpine, WA series. Characters are all too real & interesting!

[Marti · Rating 3 out of 5]

Life in the Cascade Mountains with a local newspaper editor and her staff. A murder to spice things up

[Tamara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A re-read. 3 1/2 stars