Getaway with Murder by Diane Kelly Series: Mountain Lodge Mystery #1
Published by St. Martin's Press on October 26, 2021
Source: NetGalley
Genres: Cozy Mystery
Pages: 304
Format: eARC
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Getaway With Murder is the first in a brand new cozy series from Diane Kelly set in a lodge in the Blue Ridge Mountains, where secrets hide behind every hill.
As if hitting the half-century mark wasn’t enough, Misty Murphy celebrated her landmark birthday by amicably ending her marriage and investing her settlement in a dilapidated mountain lodge at the top of the Blue Ridge Mountains. With the old inn teetering on both a bluff and bankruptcy, she must have lost her ever-loving mind.
Luckily, handyman Rocky Crowder has a knack for rehabbing virtual ruins and for doing it on a dime, and to Misty’s delight, the lodge is fully booked on opening night, every room filled with flexible folks who’d slipped into spandex and ascended the peak for a yoga retreat with plans to namastay for a full week. Misty and her guests are feeling zen—at least until the yoga instructor is found dead.
With a killer on the loose and the lodge’s reputation hanging in the balance, Misty must put her detective-skills to the test. Only one thing is as clear as a sunny mountain morning—she must solve the crime before the lodge ends up, once again, on the brink.
I like when I get to start a series at the beginning. Our amateur sleuth in Getaway with Murder is Misty Murphy, the new owner of the Mountaintop Lodge. Our murder victim is of course one of her guests.
Things I liked about Getaway with Murder:
- Our main character is 50, with plenty of life experience. Also, her love interest is a couple of years younger than her and not involved in law enforcement.
- The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina is a wonderful setting.
- The secondary, probably returning, characters are a slightly quirky bunch who will be fun to spend time with.
- The plot was well-done. The clues were there if you caught them, but also plenty of red herrings. And there were a few reasonable suspects in the circle.
Things I didn’t like:
- A few chapters were from the cat’s point of view, which I wasn’t expecting based on the blurb. I like pets in cozies, but don’t really need their thoughts or opinions.
- While Misty did a decent amount of investigating, she spends way more time spinning theories, mentally accusing anyone who had even a vague opportunity which got a bit annoying.
- Misty’s 50 and fresh off a divorce. I would have thought she would be a little less immediately trusting of people. And couldn’t she have had a couple of weeks at least without a love interest?
Overall I enjoyed the book. I’ll probably give the next in the series a chance, hoping for a little less of Misty theorizing to herself. And at least now I’ll be expecting the cat’s chapters.
About Diane Kelly
A former tax advisor, Diane Kelly inadvertently worked with white-collar criminals. Lest she end up in an orange jumpsuit, Diane decided self-employment would be a good idea. Her fingers hit the keyboard and thus began her “Death and Taxes” romantic mystery series. A graduate of her hometown’s Citizen Police Academy, Diane Kelly also writes the hilarious K-9 cop “Paw Enforcement” and House Flipper series. She has published many romantic comedies.
Diane’s books have been awarded the prestigious Romance Writers of America Golden Heart® Award and a Reviewers Choice Award.
What a great setting for a cozy mystery, and Misty sounds like a character I would really like. I’m going to have to try this series. 🙂
I liked Misty. She’s not the typical cozy mystery sleuth.
Loving the cover.
Hmm! I’m not sure about the chapters told from the cat’s perspective either. I guess done well they could be OK but I take it that they didn’t add anything to the story as a whole.
The cat saw a couple of things, but no, they didn’t add to the solution.