Murders At The Montgomery Hall Hotel (The Prunella Pearce Mysteries Book 2)

Author:    Gina Kirkham

Genre:      Mystery

Paperback; Digital Book (Audiobook Available)

ISBN #:    9781504081832

Bloodhound Books

364 Pages

$8.62; $8.99 Amazon

October 31, 2022

⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Meanwhile, the local actress hired to play Psychic Selma for the weekend has been replaced by an impostor.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...

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

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.

https://www.amazon.com/Murders-Montgomery-Prunella-Pearce-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B0BJJBW1SV/ref

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6384595838

More on Gina Kirkham's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/k/gina-kirkham/

Murders at the Winterbottom Women's Institute (Prunella Pearce Mystery #1)

Author:    Gina Kirkham

Genre:     Mystery

Paperback; Digital Book

ISBN #:    9781914614965

Bloodhound Books

342 Pages

$11.57; $7.99 Amazon

May 11, 2022

⭐⭐⭐

Librarian Prunella Pearce has left heartbreak behind to start a new life in the village of Winterbottom, where there's little social life to be had aside from the meetings of The Winterbottom Women's Institue at the parish hall.

But a bit of excitement ensues when the group is about to elect a new president -- and the nominees for the position begin dropping like flies.  One is found face down in a lemon drizzle cake, stabbed with a crochet needle.  Another nearly dies spectacularly in the revolving doors of a Harrogate hotel.  When Pru and her friend Bree agree to do some undercover snooping to help the police, little do they know that one of the Winterbottom women is hiding a scandalous secret...

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

When Prunella Pearce caught her boyfriend of twelve years in bed with her best friend, she moved to a small village to begin anew.  As a librarian, she's found a semi-peaceful life and a new friend in Bree, a film researcher with a young son.  Her life, while not complete, is at least fairly peaceful.  That is, until she attends a meeting at the Women's Institute with Bree.  It appears Bree, along with several other women, has been nominated to be the new president.

But there's a problem -- one of the women has been found stabbed in the next with a crochet needle.  Now there's a murderer on the loose, and they seem to be targeting members of the group.  With the town wondering who's next, it's up to the police force to figure it all out...and with a little unauthorized help from the two women, they just might do that...

Oh, dear.  I really wanted to like this book.  But it's not really cozy, and I don't know what to label it.  First off, the characters aren't really given any depth.  Where is Bree's son while she's out getting plastered every chance she gets?  Is she leaving him alone?  Does he even exist?

I did not like the fact that senior women are depicted as "defective."  There is something wrong with every one of them.  As a matter of fact, they are all concerned with aging, and those that aren't dress themselves up like tarts to take on the town.  It appears Bree and Pru are the only ones not concerned about much... except drinking and sex.  I don't even know when they work, since they're never at their jobs.

There are a lot of conversations regarding sex, innuendos aplenty, mild sex scenes that don't have anything of much, and more conversations about sex.  This is what every woman has on her mind at one time or another, it appears.  Plus, Pru's relationship with Detective Andy Barnes jumps at a rapid pace itself.  One wonders if they even know anything about each other.

Then there is also the animal cruelty.  Not much; and not blatant, but unnecessary just the same.  It could have been handled differently.  I love animals and am not happy about that. 

Then at the last, we know who the murderer is right off.  We watch that person plan and kill, why they do it is rather sad, but I rarely read mysteries where the killer is known immediately.  It takes away the enjoyment of discovering who they are yourself, and there's really nothing to discover.  Except the fact that the women can't figure it out, even when the clues are there.  The ending had a different twist to it, and that was something, but again, as we knew the killer all along, it didn't really matter to me.  I wouldn't have finished this book except for the fact that I wanted to give the author a chance, and I will by reading the next in the series.

https://www.amazon.com/Murders-Winterbottom-Institute-Prunella-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B09YTH1BZB/ref

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5619631333

More on Rita Kirkham's Books:    https://www.amazon.com/stores/Gina-Kirkham/author/B072M12HYH?ref=ap_rdr&store_ref