Death by the Finish Line (An Abby McCree Mystery Book 5)

Author:    Alexis Morgan

Genre:     Mystery

Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book

ISBN #:    9781496731272

Kensington Publishing

336 Pages

$8.99; $7.99 Amazon

December 28, 2021

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Overcommitted Abby has once again been drafted to use her organizing superpowers -- this time for a 5K charity run that's part of the Founder's Day Celebration in Snowberry Creek, Washington.  At least she has help, albeit from an unlikely source: Gil Pratt, a member of her handsome tenant Tripp Blackston's veterans group and co-owner of a motorcycle repair shop with his brother.  Abby and Gil might seem like an odd couple, but they work great together.

The event seems to be running smoothly -- until city council member James DiSalvo is found murdered in a raving along the race route.  Unfortunately, Gil's brother Gary had a very public argument with DiSalvo minutes before the race, making him the prime suspect.  Now the two race organizers must again team up to prove Gary's innocence -- before the real killer makes a run for it.  But one wrong step and Abby may be the next one to come in dead last...

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Abby McCree inherited her late aunt's Victorian home in Snowberry Creek, Washington.  It was fortuitous because after her divorce, she moved in and suddenly the town took to her right away.  Because of her business expertise, Abby has a habit of getting roped into events all year long by the mayor's assistant -- and her tenant, Tripp Blackston, is starting to become something more than just a tenant.

This time out she's working on the Salmon Scoot, a 5k run in which the proceeds of the event will benefit the high school.  Her co-chair is the unlikely Gil Pratt, co-owner of a motorcycle repair shop along with his brother.  Abby is surprised to find that Gil isn't scary at all, and they actually work well together.  But the day of the race, she witnesses an argument between Gil's brother Gary and James DiSalvo, a city council member.

Later, when DiSalvo's lifeless body is found along the race trail, Gary is arrested for the murder.  Gil is beside himself, knowing his brother isn't a killer.  Now Abby, even though she's promised both Tripp and Sheriff Gage Logan that she will stay out of it, is somehow dragged into the investigation anyway.  She's determined that any information she receives she'll turn over to Gage, but if the wrong person thinks Abby might know a little too much, it might also be the last thing she does learn...

This is the fifth book in the series and I have read them all and enjoyed every one of them.  I do like the fact that Abby's relationship with Tripp is progressing (albeit slowly), so there's that, but in this book she befriends biker Gil, who somehow develops a soft spot for Abby, and, of course, her baking skills.  We also get to see a little more of Gage's relationship with his daughter Sydney, and there's a sweet moment that should please anyone.

However, the dead man's daughter is haranguing Gage daily, and there's another woman who's muddying the waters, making it difficult for Abby to figure out the truth.  But her friends are around her, and their tidbits of information are giving her a clue as to what the dead man was truly like, and it might make things easier in the long run.

I will not give out any more information on the plot, but I will say that this book is chock full of action, and the clues are there, even if they are few and far between.  The murderer came as a surprise to me, and I am usually very good at this, so that was pleasant and enhanced my enjoyment of the book.  It was one that I read in one evening, and a very good cozy to keep you entertained.  We also get a hint as to what the next book will be like, and I truly wish I could read it now.  Ms. Morgan is a talented writer that knows how to pull in the reader and make them want to be part of the book itself, and I look forward to the next in the series.  Highly recommended.

I received an advance copy from the publisher and NetGalley but this in no way influenced my review.

https://www.amazon.com/Death-Finish-Line-McCree-Mystery/dp/1496731271/ref

Goodreads:      https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4346208916

More on Alexis Morgan's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/m/alexis-morgan/

Here Comes the Bribe (A Bed and Breakfast Mystery #30)

Author:  Mary Daheim
Genre:  Mystery

Hardcover; Paperback (LP); Ebook; Audiobook
ISBN #:  9780062318292; 9780062393043
William Morrow Publishing
304 Pages
$17.99; $21.93; $11.99 Amazon
April 5, 2016

Five Stars

Rodney Schmuck and his wife, Millie, Hillside Manor's latest guests, seem normal, well, except for that last name.  Innkeeper Judith McGonigle Flynn is touched to hear that the fortysomething couple is in town to visit family.  Rodney is especially eager to see his long-lost mother - who he insists is Judith.  Shocked to meet an alleged son she's sure she never had, she can't believe Rodney when he swears he has proof from a Norway General Hospital birth certificate listing Judith Anne Grover as his mother.

The father's name is Unknown.

Judith has never heard of Rodney, let alone given him life.  But she's got a bigger problem when one of the B&B guests turns up dead in the backyard.  To Judith's surprise, Joe is willing to help investigate.  He can't ignore a potential homicide that hits so close to home.

But Rodney is seeking compensation for Judith's so-called abandonment of him.  Perhaps she'll sign over Hillside Manor?  Fat chance of that, Judith declares, and wonders what kind of scheme Rodney has on his devious mind.  For that matter, she also wonders why the rest of the guests in his party are acting so strangely.  With Joe hot on the killer's trail, Cousin Renie is persuaded to help Judith discover the truth about the Schmucks and their mysterious hangers-on.  If they don't act fast, Hillside Manor could end up as Schmucks' Gold Mine.

********

Judith McGonigle Flynn is having a full house at her B&B.  She has an entire wedding party occupying the premises.  When the group shows up, one man - Rodney Schmuck - insists to Judith that he's her long-lost son, even though Judith knows she only has one child - and Rodney's not it.  He shows up and insists he has proof she's his mother, although Judith's never seen it, and the man won't stop calling her Mama.  The rest of the group is an odd assortment as well, but before they can truly make her crazy, one of the members, Rodney's wife Millie, is found dead one morning in the backyard out by the birdbath.  After being told Millie died of natural causes, Judith is relieved - right up until the point where she is informed that there is a suspicious substance that has been found around Millie's mouth, and it appears she may have been poisoned.

But who is the killer?  Which of the nutcases who are occupying her home - Rodney Schmuck and his daughter Bella (the bride); Clark Stone (the groom) and his parents Cynthia and Stuart Wicks; The Reverend George Kindred and his wife Elsie; Charles and Agnes Crump; and Dr. Sophie Kilmore and her husband Clayton Ormsby - could have a motive to want Millie dead?

Judith knows it could be any one of them, and with the reluctant help of her ever-present cousin Renie, wants to find out who killed Millie and why.  And even though Judith's husband Joe begs her to stay out of the investigation, Renie has no such hopes, and again follows Judith into yet another murder investigation.

With Millie's death, everyone knows the wedding will have to be postponed, but it appears to Judith that the preparations weren't really all that solvent in the first place.  And she soon discovers that all is not what it seems.  Her house guests may have more to them than meets the eye.  When they disappear from the B&B one night when Judith and Joe are sleeping, she wants to find out where they've gone.  And when she does find out that Millie was worth millions, and owned a home not too far from the B&B, she begins to wonder what they were doing there in the first place - besides trying to buy up everyone's property.  And it becomes clear to her that maybe a marriage wasn't their goal in the first place...

I absolutely loved this book.  You would think that after writing this series for so long, it would become tired and trite.  But Ms. Daheim is able to keep her characters alive and breathing, and inflects true personalities into them that is both fun and refreshing.  The banter between Judith and Renie can only be described as love-hate; Judith's dry wit and Renie's sarcasm feed off each other and the insults roll between them although both of them know nothing is meant by it.  Their poor long-suffering husbands, Joe and Bill, respectively, know what their wives are like and don't seem to expect miracles at this late date in the game.

There are also some conversations between Joe and Judith's mother Gert, who lives behind the B&B in a converted toolshed, that are hilarious.  Neither one can stand each other, and it shows.  Judith tends to ignore their conversations - which probably is a good idea.

When the book reaches a climax, and All is Revealed, it is wrapped up in a nice little package that leaves one as relieved as Judith must feel.  While not as involved as previous mysteries in this series, nevertheless it is a satisfying enough ending to make me look forward to the next in the series.  Highly recommended.

http://www.amazon.com/Here-Comes-Bribe-Bed-Breakfast/dp/0062318292/

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1596530116

More on Mary Daheim's books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/d/mary-daheim/