Book 96, 2020

Haunted Homicide by Lucy Ness

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I stayed up a bit late last night to finish the final chapter or two of Haunted Homicide by Lucy Ness. It's the first in a new series, called the "Haunted Mansion" mysteries. The protagonist is Avery Morgan, who fled the spiritualist community in Lily Dale, NY for a more sane life in Portage Path, OH. There, she's been hired as the business manager of the Portage Path Women's Club (PPWC).

Avery is excited and anxious to begin anew in Portage Path, but it seems she'll have an uphill battle. The PPWC is losing relevancy in the modern age, there's been a fire in one of the meeting rooms, and the club's president, Muriel Sadler, cast the only 'nay' vote when it came to hiring Avery. Muriel wanted her granddaughter, Kendall, to get the job, and she minces no words when it comes to letting Avery know it. Just as Avery is immersing herself in learning the club's history and getting a handle on what needs to be done, she literally stumbles over Muriel's dead body in the basement. If that wasn't terrifying enough, Avery also encounters the ghost of Clemmie Bow, a flapper who was killed in the club back when it was a private home.

The murder just adds another strike against the PPWC, and the remaining board members ask Avery to see if she can help figure out who murdered Muriel. They want to put members' minds at ease, as well as try to attract new members to the club. Avery reluctantly begins to investigate, aided by Clemmie. Along the way, she uncovers dark secrets involving some of the uppercrust families that the club members hail from, but will she reveal a secret someone would kill to keep?

I liked this story, but it didn't grab my attention, which is why it took me so long to read it. The characters were portrayed well, including the odious Muriel. Avery has two potential love interests, one of whom is--you guessed it--the detective investigating the murder. At least he didn't come across as a complete ass. The plot didn't zoom along, but I find I appreciated the slower pace and the building of clues and discoveries.

Favorite line: I also discovered a whole trunk of old hats. There were picture hats and cloches, hats a woman could wear to tea, and fancier headdresses for formal affairs.
*dies of hat envy*

Wish I could give this a 3 1/2, but I'll go with a 4.