Monday, December 12, 2016

Dead and Breakfast

Title: Dead and Breakfast
Author: Kate Kingsbury
Expected Publication: January 10th 2017 by Crooked Lane Books
Format: eBook, Hardcover Pgs 288
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and Crooked Lane for an opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: A Merry Ghost Inn Mystery #1

First in a new series by Kate Kingsbury introducing Melanie West and Liza Harris, a grandmother and granddaughter team that are the new owners of a bed and breakfast in Sully’s Landing on the Oregon coast. This is just not any inn; The Merry Ghost Inn comes complete with a spirit that reveals a sense of humor complete with a merry laugh.

During a remodel, a mysterious door is revealed and behind it, Melanie finds the decomposed remains of a woman in a nightgown. At this time, no one is sure who she is but as the story unfolds and the secrets of the area are exposed, Melanie and Liza have more questions than answers.

Of course, it is not a cozy mystery without the token eye-catching sheriff, the pet and a business owner determined to solve the mystery - and of course, they are all here. Ms. Kingsbury does throw in the background of both her main character (her ex-husband and missing mother) and a bit of the town (many characters to get to know). All of which are not necessary for the first book and feels more like filler then moving the story along. I am sure that somewhere down the line, in future books, it will all be necessary, but it did feel like too much to start with.

If you are a steady reader of cozy mysteries, the plot and formula are repetitive. The who is no shock and if you know that, the why is obvious.

Kate Kingsbury is the pseudonym for romance author Doreen Roberts Hight.

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