Open For Murder
It’s Memorial Day weekend in Spirit Canyon, and for Zo, that means the return of summer shoppers. It also means the return of her good friend Beth, who’s moved back to the area to reopen her family’s premier hotel, Spirit Canyon Lodge. Beth and Zo spent many childhood summers there, and Zo can’t wait to reconnect and celebrate the Grand Opening. But the festivities go from bad to worse when a power outage knocks out the lights, and morning reveals a competitor’s dead body found on the premises.
Soon enough, Beth is the prime suspect in the suspicious death. Fortunately, Zo isn’t afraid to put her investigative skills to work and prove her friend’s innocence. To start digging for information, she appeals to Max Harrington, a local Forest Ranger and an unlikely ally. Though they’ve argued about Happy Camper’s tours, in this case, they agree on one thing: Beth isn’t a murderer. Stranger things have happened than their collaboration. After all, this is Spirit Canyon. But as the list of suspects grows, Zo will have to keep her guard up if she doesn’t want to be the next lodge guest to check out.
Series: A Happy Camper Mystery – Book #1
Author: Mary Angela
Genre/Category: Cozy – Amateur Sleuth/ Business
Publisher: Lyrical Press
Page Count: 207
Rating: 
Okay, so… most people know I love cozies about witches, animals, and South Dakota. Strangely enough, a town called Spirit Canyon has no witches, but that’s okay; it has everything else. Tourist towns in the Black Hills are abundant, and there are surprisingly a fair amount of cozies set in this delightful state. Naturally, when a new amateur sleuth series set in the hills comes across my desk, I jump on it with both feet. Open For Murder is a good start for a new series with some fun and quirky characters.
Zo isn’t your average business owner or amateur sleuth, but her shop would be interesting to look through. Her personality has some issues; mainly, she appears to be defensive and immature at times. I think her mother and father should definitely be featured more in future books. The rest of the cast is still being developed, and we should see quite a bit of growth in the next book. The setting couldn’t be better. I love that the author brought Homestake Gold Mine into the story. Many of my relatives worked in the mine, and a few friends died there as well, so it holds a special place in my heart. It was nice to revisit Lead and Deadwood and see it through another writer’s eyes.
The mystery was a bit too light, the evidence shaky and the suspect’s motives average. There is no real reason why the Chief of Police would suspect Zo’s friend Beth, other than she is new to town. But even that doesn’t hold water as Beth spent much of her childhood in the town. I felt that the killer and the unveiling were well done, but the motive was never in doubt. Overall, Open For Murder is a nice amateur sleuth/business based cozy that is easy to read, detailed enough to be interesting, and not overly dramatic. I look forward to the next installment.
Another business-related or amateur sleuth cozy readers will enjoy is Sandra Bretting’s charming southern series “A Missy Dubois Mystery” or Sarah Fox’s excellent book-inspired pub series “A Literary Pub Mystery”.
About the Author:
Mary is a mother, writer, teacher, and lover of books—literary and otherwise. She first experienced genre confusion when one of her professors asked what type of writing interested her, and I answered “historical romance.” Although she hasn’t pursued romance writing, she has followed her dream of writing traditional mysteries set in South Dakota.
Mary taught college English and humanities for over ten years and still guest teaches upon request. When she is not in the classroom, she loves spending time with her family. She is married to her partner in crime and has two wonderful daughters. Mary and her family love to travel together, read together, and eat pizza together. And when it comes to watching movies, they can always agree on their favorite characters: Scooby-Doo and the Mystery Gang!
Mary loves hearing from readers, students, and just about anyone else who might want to talk about books, writing, or South Dakota’s weather. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and The Authors Guild.
Represented by: BookEnds Literary Agency
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