This story had me ready for a trip to the beach. Set in Santa Cruz, CA the author does a great job setting the scene in the life of restaurant owner Sally Solari. Sally is always on the go between her restaurant, her father's restaurant, cooking, painting class, and biking. However, when her father becomes a suspect in the death of one of his customers she gets involved in trying to clear his name.

This is an enjoyable read that I would classify as a work of fiction with a light mystery. This is the third Sally Solari mystery but it could be easily be read as a stand alone.

3.5 stars

This third entry in the Sally Solari mystery series works fine as a standalone. Former lawyer Sally has returned home and inherited her late aunt's restaurant. Plus, her widowed father relies on her help with yet another family restaurant.

Sally has her hands full helping with a large and prestigious dinner at her dad's restaurant for some visiting Italian dignitaries. Then she is stunned to find out that her chef is thinking about leaving and starting his own place. And the final hassle is when her former boyfriend and current best friend Eric starts making noises about resuming their romance.

At least the dead body she finds is a distraction. One of the old Italian fishermen is found washed up on the beach. Sally's dad had a public argument with the victim so Sally starts investigating to make sure her father doesn't get involved.

Nice characters with some depth, a fast moving narrative pace, and some fairly unlikely plot elements combine to make this an entertaining read. Thanks to the publisher and to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Running two restaurants has got to be maddening especially when one is owned by your father. Sally Solari has her hands full running Gauguin, but when an Italian delegation is headed for her father’s restaurant, she is coerced into helping. When she discovers a body on the beach nearby and learns the victim is a regular at Solari’s, she worries about her father and decides to find the murderer. Entertaining mystery

As a mystery, I can barely give Death al Fresco an OK rating, but I was able to finish the book because the writing style was pleasant enough. The murder and limited investigation on Sally's part took a backseat to Sally's relationship with her ex, her painting, bike riding and the restaurants. This book also had one of the cardinal sins of a mystery for me, the killer outs themself. There was absolutely no proof so if said person kept their mouth shut... (though I will admit there is some cause for the blabbiness).


I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Sally Solari has just come to live in Santa Cruz, CA because her aunt has left her a restaurant. Sally’s father wants her to stay with the family restaurant, Solari’s, but Sally wants to run the new restaurant, Gauguin, instead. Sally also inherited the dog, Buster, as well. While in an open air art class, being held on the beach, Buster finds a body enmeshed in kelp. The victim is an old Italian fisherman named Gino.
In the meantime, Solari’s is preparing to host a dinner for 120 people to be served outside, al fresco.
Beside running her new restaurant, helping her father host his dinner and playing ametuer sleuth for Gino’s death, Sally becomes a target for the next victim. I enjoyed this fast paced mystery, full of drama and adventure as well humorous moments. A must read. Thank you to Net Galley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book.

Sally is at it again, investigating a murder, this time to clear her father’s name. I enjoyed this latest adventure where nothing is as it seems the more Sally digs into the murder. The mystery was appetizingly flavored with plenty of suspects and a sprinkling of clues throughout that added to my reading pleasure. The narrative was visually descriptive with verbiage that gives enough to keep me involved in all that was happening. A nice little page-turner, with strong character development, engaging conversation and a savory mystery that was delectably entertaining.

This felt more like a novel that happened to center around a death than an actual murder mystery. It was fine, but not...gripping. I put it down two or three times to read other books as they became available. So I just felt like it wasn't suspenseful enough, even though the writing on a scene-by-scene basis was good.

This is an okay book but I’ve lost interest in this series. It’s becoming very tired and stagnant.

Leslie Karst’s cozy murder involving an Italian restaurant near Monterey will make your mouth water while dreaming of the sea. Karst keeps the reader guessing until the very end. The old Italian guys, the chef, the police officer, all the characters are entertaining. The descriptions of Sally’s bicycle rides and painting classes and trips to her dad’s restaurant are pleasant. I really enjoyed the touch of romance and while I am a new comer to this series I was rooting for Sally and Eric. If you enjoy Italian food, the seaside, watercolor painting, and murder then this book is for you.

I seriously need to start a recipe book for all the great ones I've gotten out of books this one included, which I'm very glad that the were as the food descriptions were wonderful. Really enjoyed getting to know the characters as they work through the twist and turns of the mystery.

Fantastic mystery. Great writing and character development, I felt like I really got to know Sally and Mario. The descriptions of all the Italian food had my mouth watering. I love that there were recipes in the back but wish the cabbage rolls had been included. All in all, a great read.

Restauranteur Sally Solari decides to take an en plein air painting course to learn more about the painter Gaugin. But instead of being inspired by the beauty of Monterey Bay, she ends up finding a dead body on the beach. The dead man is a local fisherman who is a regular at the Solari family restaurant, a man who left the restaurant stinking drunk a few days earlier. Or at least that what some of the witnesses claim. One of the waitresses, however, claims the man only had a couple of beers and was stone cold sober when he left. With Sally’s father’s reputation (and his freedom) on the line for serving a customer too much alcohol, Sally will have to employ her sleuthing skills to figure out why Gino is dead….and who killed him. Another delightful entry in the seriesAn enjoyable cozy with a gorgeous setting and appealing characters