Book 14, 2018
Feb. 16th, 2018 10:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chez_jaeLast night, I finished reading Better Dead by Pamela Kopfler. It's the first book in the cozy mystery series "B&B Spirits", which features innkeeper Holly Davis.
Holly's husband, Burl, passed away before she could serve him with divorce papers for cheating on her. However, Burl isn't resting in peace; he's returned to Holly Grove, the plantation home that has been in Holly's family for generations, and that she runs as a bed and breakfast. Holly has enough issues, trying to keep the B&B afloat; she doesn't need Burl around, driving her nuts. Holly has other problems: the bridge club that rents a parlor for a weekly get-together found her passed out on the floor and spread the rumor that Holly is headed for re-hab, her high school flame, Jake, is back in town, and Burl confesses to her that he was running a drug smuggling operation out of Holly Grove. Burl claims he can't move on to his heavenly reward until he makes things right. Holly agrees to help him, if he will agree to actively haunt the B&B. She figures having a ghost will boost her reservations. Soon, Holly is up to her ears with guests, a reality TV show, a psychic, an intruder, smugglers, and more suspects than she can shake a stick at. The big question is, can she trust Jake?
Cute and lively story. It had it's laugh out loud moments, as well as some that were tense and dangerous. Characterizations were done well, and I appreciated that the mystery was not a murder so much as a smuggling operation.
Favorite line: "If I can't cook, the least I can do is taste."
I volunteer as tribute!
Not terribly engrossing, but an enjoyable read. Four stars:
****
Holly's husband, Burl, passed away before she could serve him with divorce papers for cheating on her. However, Burl isn't resting in peace; he's returned to Holly Grove, the plantation home that has been in Holly's family for generations, and that she runs as a bed and breakfast. Holly has enough issues, trying to keep the B&B afloat; she doesn't need Burl around, driving her nuts. Holly has other problems: the bridge club that rents a parlor for a weekly get-together found her passed out on the floor and spread the rumor that Holly is headed for re-hab, her high school flame, Jake, is back in town, and Burl confesses to her that he was running a drug smuggling operation out of Holly Grove. Burl claims he can't move on to his heavenly reward until he makes things right. Holly agrees to help him, if he will agree to actively haunt the B&B. She figures having a ghost will boost her reservations. Soon, Holly is up to her ears with guests, a reality TV show, a psychic, an intruder, smugglers, and more suspects than she can shake a stick at. The big question is, can she trust Jake?
Cute and lively story. It had it's laugh out loud moments, as well as some that were tense and dangerous. Characterizations were done well, and I appreciated that the mystery was not a murder so much as a smuggling operation.
Favorite line: "If I can't cook, the least I can do is taste."
I volunteer as tribute!
Not terribly engrossing, but an enjoyable read. Four stars:
****
