REVIEW:

A quick way to catch my interest in reading a book is to tell me it takes place in the 1980s. For me that means all the nostalgia, none of the cell phones. Remember phone booths? Good (albeit smelly) times.

So here’s an ‘80s-set mystery about a 41-year-old diner waitress who tries to solve a murder in her small Washington town. I don’t know about you, but ‘80s + diner waitress calls to mind Alice, Vera, and Flo. Heart of a Runaway Girl’s heroine, Mabel, is a mashup of all three. She’s sweet and motherly like Alice, does a lot of idiotic things like Vera, and has a heaping helping of sass like Flo. She’ll call you Luv before racing out the door to chase bad guys, with no training or protection, for the opportunity to put them behind bars while telling them to kiss her grits.

Obviously this is a bit of an inside-joke review, because if you didn’t watch the TV show “Alice” every day after school like I did you’ll probably have to google the reference. Or you could just read other Alice-free reviews for this book, most of which are glowing. (And probably more accurate vibe-wise, because it’s a mystery not a comedy.) I’m a titch less enthusiastic than my peers, mainly because Mabel didn’t feel like a consistent character to me (see above). I didn’t connect with her motivations or actions. This is the start of a series though, so hopefully she’ll find her groove more in book two.

PUBLISHER SYNOPSIS:

An original, captivating mystery series debuts

In a 1980s mountain town fueled by the drug trade, a young couple gets into an argument at Mabel's Diner. Then the teen girl winds up brutally murdered, and the black boyfriend automatically jailed. Haunted by the tragedy, big-hearted, big-haired, single mom and waitress, Mabel Davison steps in and asks questions few want answered. But she's unprepared for the secrets she uncovers, and now more lives may be destroyed, including her own.