Getaway With Murder
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.
The Details
Series: The Mountain Lodge Mysteries – Book #1
Author: Diane Kelly
Genre/Category: Cozy – Amateur Sleuth/Inn
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
ISBN: 1250815975
Page Count: 304
Rating: 
The Review
Getaway With Murder is a strong entry in a new series. I fell in love with the main character, Misty, almost from the first page. The other cast of characters will steal hearts, and the mountain top Inn will keep readers wanting to know more. You couldn’t ask for a better location for a murder, and the small-town location high in the Blue Ridge Mountains makes the series stand out among others of its kind.
Misty uses her divorce settlement to buy an old run-down inn that she loved from family visits as she grew up and her children enjoyed. She didn’t realize how much she would need to fix a few hidden issues, but when they spring out of nowhere on her first night, she almost panics and runs away. Misty is determined to make her business hopes come true; repairs are just power for the course. Luckily, she meets Rocky Crowder, who saves her mountain-top dream and her pocketbook. With the repairs completed just in time for her first guests to check in, she is beginning to feel that everything will work out. Unfortunately, the murder of a guest almost puts her out of business before the ink dries on the registry.
The suspects are mainly guests at the Inn, students, and friends of the victim. But what appears to be innocent bystanders soon turns into a lesson in what you see is not always what you get. Misty realizes quickly that she has to find the killer and solve the case before her Inn becomes nothing more than a bitter-sweet memory.
Clues are peppered throughout the story, suspects change almost from one page to the next, and readers may find that they aren’t sure who the killer is until the very end. The supporting cast of characters warms the heart and leaves readers wanting to learn more about their backstories. The Inn is described lovingly and reminds me of a few I spent my childhood in with my parents. All of this is what makes Getaway With Murder a delightful mystery and keeps readers reading. I can’t wait for the next installment.
The Author
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” series. She recently launched a House Flipper series and 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.
Another series from Diane Kelly that readers will enjoy is the “A House Flipper Mystery” series, starting with the first book, Dead as a Door Knocker.
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