Author: Gina Kirkham
Genre: Mystery
Paperback; Digital Book (Audiobook Available)
ISBN #: 9781504081832
Bloodhound Books
364 Pages
$8.62; $8.99 Amazon
October 31, 2022
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Prunella Pearce, Bree, and the other ladies of the Winterbottom Women's Institute are planning to spend Halloween at the Montgomery Hall Hotel murder-mystery weekend -- just as the historical venue's past comes back to haunt it.
The hotel is now in the incapable hands of Tarragon Montgomery, with its faltering finances overseen by elderly matriarch Cecily.
Meanwhile, the local actress hired to play Psychic Selma for the weekend has been replaced by an impostor. But who is she, and what is her agenda?
Pru and Bree have some experience solving mysteries, but as Montgomery Hall is engulfed by a storm and the bodies start piling up, they may need a little assistance from Pru's delectable detective, Andy Barnes, in order to crack the case...
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Prunella Pearce, librarian, has been elected as president of the Winterbottom Women's Institute, and part of her duties is planning weekend getaways for the ladies, most of whom are elderly, with a few exceptions such as Pru and her friend Bree.
Since the two friends have just opened their detective agency, they are happy to receive their first case -- Tarragon Montgomery wants them to find out who is nicking pieces of the household. Since they are going to be there anyway, they book a weekend for the ladies for a murder-mystery by a local set of actors. There's going to be a psychic, and that's a plus. It's also going to be Halloween weekend, so the ladies are looking forward to a mystery hunt as well.
When they arrive on the beginnings of what appears to be a bad storm, what can be better? Except that Pru can't reach her boyfriend, the delectable detective Andy Barnes, who is on a case in another town. Without cell power, they're stuck here. Which wouldn't be so bad if there wasn't a murder...or two...or three..or...
I read the first book in this series and I was pleased with it. This is not a typical cozy, as while there is no sex, there certainly is a lot of innuendo, and not just by the younger ladies. The elders can hold their own in that department. Just letting you know...
I was intrigued by the fact that while the bodies do start piling up, there are some gruesome doings along with it. Poor Tarragon is saddled with a greedy wife and son, and his longtime butler Smithers is the one holding everything together. But the show must go on, and even with the heavy bickering between the actors, it does. Just not the way they expected...
I thought the plot was done nicely, giving us a chance to try and figure everything out. It actually didn't come together until almost the end of the book, which isn't a bad thing, as you have a nice mystery to sink your teeth into and try and figure out. Even when the rain clears there is still things to be sorted, and the confusion doesn't end for DI Barnes even then.
But it does all come together, and while the ending is definitely a surprise, it is also quite satisifying to read. I didn't feel that justice wasn't done, because it was; and I did like how it all turned out. Recommended.
More on Gina Kirkham's Books: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/k/gina-kirkham/
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