Death in the Ozarks is a murder mystery set in a small town in the Ozarks. The lead character is Sally Witherspoon, who co-owns and manages Sally's Smasher, a popular biker bar in the town. Sally considers herself an amateur sleuth, focusing on helping friends and townsfolk with minor domestic mysteries. However one night as she is closing up, Sally is shocked to find her business partner and good friend, Bill Arnold, dead behind Sally's Smasher. Determined to find her friend's killer, Sally inserts herself into the police investigation as the tension and the body count rises.

Death in the Ozarks contains colourful characters in a colourful small town. As a bar owner and manager, Sally occupies a unique position in the town, with the opportunity to observe the townspeople, sometimes becoming aware of their secrets. The author does a good job of setting the stage and introducing the cast of characters. There is plenty of action and a steady pace. However, it didn't feel believable that a civilian would have access to a police investigation and be immersed in it, as Sally was. I appreciate what the author was going for - an amateur detective helping the police, in the style of Agatha Christie - but that often is quite unrealistic even in Dame Agatha's novels. Things also begin to unravel a bit in the final chapters when we jump from quite an action-packed scene at the end of one chapter, to a gathering in the bar at the beginning of the next one, where all the events are basically explained to the reader in a denouement that feels rather flat.

Thanks to Level Best for the copy to read.