Bobby's Diner (The Bobby's Diner)

Bobby's Diner is the first book in the Bobby's Diner series by American author, Susan Wingate. Still grieving from the sudden death of their husband, Bobby Carlisle, his widow Georgette and his ex-wife Vanessa are shocked by a certain item in his will: Bobby has left his diner to them both as joint owners. Ever since Georgie arrived on the scene fifteen years earlier and stole her husband, Vanessa and her daughter Roberta have hated her. How is this ever going to work?

Bobby's Diner is a successful business, almost an institution in the small town of Sunnydale, Arizona, and both women are determined it will continue to be. So they come to terms, and they work hard to keep it going. When developer Zach Pinzer turns up at the diner's kitchen door with a lucrative offer to buy, they quickly see him off. But Zach is persistent, and not averse to using other means to get his deal.

The story is quite a good one, although this copy would benefit from an edit: it demonstrates the pitfalls of "replace all" in word processing; and while the plot may be a little predictable, the journey to the climax, featuring a crooked local politician, a city hit man, bonding over target practice, a town full of loyal customers, a wife suffering under coercion, two murders, one near-fatal shooting, and a cat called Gangster, that journey is a moving and entertaining one and more of this cast is definitely welcome.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and The Wild Rose Press