11/14/2016
Melanie West, the heroine of this enjoyable series launch from Kingsbury (Mulled Murder), quits her financial analyst job in Portland, Ore., in order to help Liza Harris, the grandmother who raised her, convert a mansion to an inn located in coastal Sully’s Landing. Melanie and Liza’s efforts to save money by renovating the reputedly haunted house themselves lead to their discovery of a night-gowned skeleton inside a bedroom wall, delaying the inn’s planned opening. The Sully’s Landing police identify the remains as those of Angela Morelli, the wife of the previous owner, Vince Morelli, but no one is very forthcoming with details about the couple. Impatient with the slow police investigation, Melanie and Liza start their own sleuthing into the Morellis. Those who don’t care for ghosts will be pleased to find that this cozy’s focus is firmly on the living, in particular, Liza and Melanie’s partnership and Melanie’s continuing secret search for her long-lost mother. Agent: Paige Wheeler, CMA Literary Agency. (Jan.) This review has been updated with correct agency information.
Dead and Breakfast: A Merry Ghost Inn Mystery
Narrated by Tavia Gilbert
Kate KingsburyUnabridged — 7 hours, 29 minutes
Dead and Breakfast: A Merry Ghost Inn Mystery
Narrated by Tavia Gilbert
Kate KingsburyUnabridged — 7 hours, 29 minutes
Overview
Melanie West is getting her life back on track after a messy divorce when her grandmother, Liza Harris, asks her to join her in opening a bed-and-breakfast inn. Together, Liza and Melanie purchase a purportedly haunted mansion on the Oregon coast and jump right into clearing out the cobwebs. But while attempting to remove wallpaper in an upstairs bedroom, the new B&B owners stumble upon a very real skeleton in their closet.
The police suspect the skeleton is that of the wife of the previous owner of the B&B, but no one in town seems to want to say much about her. As the inn owners try to juggle renovations with their own amateur investigations, their grand opening looms closer and closer-and a friendly ghost in their walls starts playing tricks. But it all comes crashing to a halt when a new body is found stabbed to death on the beach below the inn-the victim chillingly close in resemblance to Melanie herself.
It seems someone doesn't appreciate newcomers prying into the small town's past, and now it's up to Melanie and Liza to get to the bottom of these murders to save their business-and their lives.
Editorial Reviews
Praise for Dead and Breakfast:
"[An] enjoyable series launch from Kingsbury."
—Publishers Weekly
"Lighthearted and charming...Who wouldn’t want to open a B&B on the Oregon coast after reading Kingsbury’s delightful mystery?"
—Library Journal
"The prolific Kingsbury launches a new series with likable characters and a beautiful setting."
—Kirkus Reviews
“Kingsbury’s crime-solving pair are wonderfully appealing, whether they are ferreting out the town’s secrets or dealing with the grief in their own lives. Fans of M.C. Beaton’s Agatha Raisin series will find lots of similarities here.”
—Booklist
"This is one of those rare cozies that do justice and pride to that awesome Murder She Wrote type of perfection."
—Suspense Magazine
"Utterly addicting. I will definitely be picking up the next book in the series!"
—Night Owl Reviews Top Pick
“What could be more intriguing than spending the night in a creaky old bed-and-breakfast haunted by a chuckling ghost? A charming grandmother/granddaughter duo, unsettling small-town secrets, and a long-hidden skeleton at the Merry Ghost Inn add up to a winning debut for this ghostly cozy series.”
—Juliet Blackwell, New York Times bestselling author of the Haunted Home Renovation series
"Dead and Breakfast is a page-turner from the first scene, where the about-to-open B&B unexpectedly becomes a crime scene. Melanie and her grandmother Liza are smart, believable, easy-to-like people and the writing is pitch-perfect. You’ll want to book an immediate reservation for the Merry Ghost Inn. Better hurry—Kate Kingsbury’s fine new series is about to get all booked up!"
—Susan Wittig Albert, New York Times bestselling author of Blood Orange and Bittersweet
“What’s not to like about a laughing ghost? Dead and Breakfast is a spirited beginning to Kate Kingsbury’s new Merry Ghost Inn series. More laughter to come.”
—Carolyn Hart, New York Times bestselling author of Ghost Times Two
“Dead and Breakfast is an intriguing whodunit enriched with two plucky heroines opening a seaside bed and breakfast, a ghost with a delightful laugh, and a splash of romance. All the ingredients necessary for an entertaining red from start to surprising finish.”
—Sally Goldenbaum, USA Today bestselling author of the Seaside Knitters Society mysteries
“Kate Kingsbury is a pro—and it shows in every witty line of Dead and Breakfast. West coast setting, B&B with a secret room and a skeleton. What’s not to love? This book is so well done it almost reads itself. Treat yourself to the first in a new series—a must read.”
—Carolyn Haines, USA Today bestselling author of Rock-A-Bye Bones
“A laughing ghost, a winsome dog, and a charming Oregon coastal village make the Merry Ghost Inn mysteries a place you’ll want to visit again and again.”
—Leslie Budewitz, two-time Agatha Award-winning author of the Seattle Spice Shop mysteries
Praise for Kate Kingsbury:
"The novel, fast-paced and well-peopled, satisfies straight through to the conclusion."
—The Huffington Post on Mistletoe and Mayhem
"Kate Kingsbury is the queen of English cozy mysteries."
—Fresh Fiction on Mistletoe and Mayhem
"The perfect stocking stuffer for the cozy fan in your life."
—Publishers Weekly on Decked with Folly
"Delightful...Starring an intrepid heroine."
—Midwest Book Review on Shrouds of Holly
"A pre-World War I whodunit in the classic style, furnished with amusing characters."
—Kirkus Reviews on Slay Bells
"A true holiday gem...An amazing accomplishment."
—Mystery Scene on Slay Bells
"Kingsbury’s books are lighthearted and serious, amusing and well plotted."
—The Salem (OR) Statesmen Journal
12/01/2016
Freeing herself of her old life and her ex-husband, Melanie West moves to beautiful Sully's Landing on the Oregon coast to open a B&B with her grandmother Liza Harris. Neither of them is prepared when they find a corpse in a hidden closet as they are renovating a bedroom. The skeleton is identified as Angela Morelli, wife of the house's former owner. With their renovations on hold, Mel and Liza launch their own probe into the case to expedite the opening of the inn. Helped along by the presence of a laughing ghost, Mel and Liza question various suspects, but their amateur sleuthing may turn deadly. VERDICT The author of the "PennyFoot Hotel" mysteries begins a promising cozy series with this lighthearted and charming title. Who wouldn't want to open a B&B on the Oregon coast after reading Kingsbury's delightful mystery?
2016-11-07
A divorcée and her grandmother are trying to open a B&B on the Oregon coast, but their plan is derailed by a shocking discovery.Melanie West and her grandmother Liza Harris have been working to get the large, possibly haunted house they've purchased ready for a grand opening. While scraping old wallpaper off a bedroom wall, they uncover a hidden room complete with a long-dead tenant. Officer Ben Carter is sympathetic to their plight, but they must discontinue their work until the low-priority case can be investigated. Desperate to keep things on track, the women decide to do some sleuthing on their own. The corpse, it seems, is that of Angela Morelli, the house's previous owner, who vanished, possibly with a lover, leaving her disabled husband, Vincent, to ponder her fate. After Vincent's recent death, his son was only too happy to sell the place quickly. While they work on the areas of the Merry Ghost Inn the police allow them into, Melanie and Liza plot to meet the wealthy Sullivan family, who lived there before the Morellis. Several other men, one of whom may have been Angela's mysterious lover, are also on their list to investigate. Melanie, meanwhile, has her hands full trying to trace her mother, who vanished many years ago in England, and fending off the advances of her ex-husband, who wants her back. Could it be her ex who almost ran her over in a parking lot and then tried to force her off the road? When a woman who strongly resembles Melanie is murdered, she and Liza are forced to reckon with what looks like a determined killer's unwelcome attention. The prolific Kingsbury (Mulled Murder, 2013, etc.) launches a new series with likable characters and a beautiful setting but very little to set this cozy apart from many others.
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940169750560 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Blackstone Audio, Inc. |
| Publication date: | 01/10/2017 |
| Series: | Merry Ghost Inn Mysteries , #1 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
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