MURDER WITH A TWIST, the second book in Allyson K. Abbott's Mack's Bar series combines a cozy neighborhood bar vibe with a main character who possesses an almost paranormal (yet logically-, scientifically-based) set of skills having nothing whatever to do with her job as owner of Mack's Bar.

It is not completely unknown that the sleuth of a cozy mystery have some mental quirk or neurological condition that adds to their ability to solve crime (Mr. Monk comes to mind, not to mention Sherlock Holmes) but Mack Dalton's severe form of synesthesia takes what is a solidly entertaining cozy mystery series and ramps it up, adding a fascinating layer to the method of crime solving that has me solidly hooked.

Setting aside that aspect, what is left is still good, very good in fact. Allyson K. Abbott has created very solid underpinnings to her mysteries. The main well-plotted conundrum is solved in part by a group of regulars at Mack's Bar who each bring their own set of skills to the table. Add to that the habit of the members of the group bringing in a short riddle or mystery to be solved that evening (and that the reader gets to have a go at solving before the solution is revealed in a few pages) and MURDER WITH A TWIST has a lot of sleuthing pleasure packed into it's pages.

Although a chunk of the book is spent in explaining to the reader exactly what synesthesia is, and how it impacts Mack's daily life (and how it can help in solving the mysteries) it is almost seamlessly woven into the rest of the plot, along with sufficient back-story to explain what we need to know to glean the best experience from reading MURDER WITH A TWIST (although I still recommend reading Murder on the Rocks if possible, just because it is so good).

Bottom line, MURDER WITH A TWIST is a terrific book, leaving me with the overwhelming longing to find a Mack's Bar equivalent in our own neighborhood. Allyson K. Abbott is the pseudonym of Beth Amos, who also writes under the name of Annelise Ryan.