Book 17, 2025

[chez_jae]

Snow Place for Murder by Diane Kelly

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


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Since I have the day off, I finished reading Snow Place for Murder this morning. It’s the third “Mountain Lodge” mystery by author Diane Kelly. The main character is Misty Murphy, owner/operator of the Mountain Lodge in North Carolina.

Nigel Goodwin, a property developer from England, has booked the Mountain Lodge for a week as he attempts to woo investors for a proposed ski resort not far from Misty’s lodge. While she’s pleased with the full booking, Misty is somewhat concerned about how a new resort may affect her business. She’s not the only one—several locals have voiced opposition as well. In the meantime, Misty’s sons have joined her at the lodge while on college break. They’re there to help their mother and get in some runs down the local ski hill. When they go sledding down a small slope in back of the lodge, the boys discover the frozen body of Nigel Goodwin. Now the pressure is on to find a killer before the guests check out of the lodge at the end of the week.

A likable story. It was set around Christmas, but the holiday wasn’t mentioned much so I didn’t feel off for reading it in February. I enjoy Misty’s brand of sleuthing, which typically amounts to doing some research online and reporting her finds to local law enforcement. She also reports anything she overhears that may have relevance. The investors were an interesting, diverse group of characters, and the familiar characters are all people you’d like to know. The plot didn’t pelt along, but it unfolded at a steady pace that made sense as it went along. There was, however, one horrific editing error:

On page 235, we have In minutes, I was back at the lodge, telling Rocky and the kids what I’d witnessed. On page 242 was this gem: Headlights flashed out front and, a couple of minutes later, my boys and Pebble came through the doors, jovially jostling each other as they carried their snowboards and gear. Lest you think they went back to the slopes after Misty talked to them earlier, when they “returned” she jumped them about not answering their phones. Wouldn’t she have done that at the time she told them what she’d witnessed? Editing is important!

Favorite lines:
♦ “Can I get you a cup of coffee before you ruin my day?”
♦ I was straining so hard to hear their conversation it was a wonder I didn’t suffer an aneurysm.

Very good (for the most part!). Four stars.