Bed & Breakfast – Valerie's Musings

4 out of 5 stars.

Greetings! Today, I’m hosting a stop on the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour for Of Murder and Men by Lynn Cahoon and I really enjoyed it.

Of Murder And Men - Book Cover

Purchase Links: Amazon – B&N – Kobo

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Synopsis

Love is in the air in Aspen Hills, and it’s making a terrible mess of Cat Latimer’s writers’ retreat—especially when blood stains the plot . . .

Ever since her business partner, Shauna, fell for a wealthy landowner in town, Cat has been working double time to keep her writers’ retreat running. And with the January session almost underway, that spells trouble. As if scheduling mishaps aren’t disastrous enough, Shauna skips out on kitchen duties one morning, forcing Cat to serve unsuspecting guests store-bought muffins . . .

But best laid plans really go awry when Shauna discovers her beau missing from their bed. When his body later turns up in the horse barn, they quickly find out the victim’s scandalous lifestyle left many dying for revenge. While balancing an eccentric group of aspiring writers and a suspect list for the record books, Cat soon finds herself on the heels of a killer—and authoring her most deadly conclusion yet . . .

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Review

I enjoyed this book quite a bit. I own the first two, but I haven’t had a chance to read them. This is the first in the series that I’ve been able to read. It was a great storyline and kept me guessing until the end.

I enjoyed the characters quite a bit. Cat is a lot like me and I’m enjoying getting to know her and Shauna and Seth. It was also nice to see some tie-ins to Ms. Cahoon’s other series, the Tourist Trap mysteries.

The setting sounds lovely. I’ve been to Colorado once and it’s definitely a state I’d like to visit again!

This was a light, fun read and I recommend it. I didn’t feel at all lost even tho’ I was starting with book #3 but I will probably also go back and re-read the first two. Pick it up and enjoy!

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4.5 out of 5 stars

Smugglers and Scones is the 1st book in a new series, Moorehaven Mysteries, by Morgan Talbot and what a great beginning to the series it is! I cannot wait for the 2nd installment, even tho’ this one was just released on January 31!

** Stay tuned in a few days for an author interview with Morgan Talbot! **

Smugglers & Scones - Moorehaven Mysteries: Book 1 - Morgan C. Talbot - blue background with a steaming cup of coffee and two scones split in the middle with blueberries spilling out

Purchase Links: Amazon

Brief Synopsis

Pippa Worthy runs Moorehaven, the Oregon Coast’s quirkiest bed-and-breakfast and former home of world-famous mystery writer A. Raymond Moore. Guests come there to write their own crime novels. When a real-life murder takes a local’s life and washes a handsome boat pilot into her arms, Pippa is yanked into a deadly plot of her own. A tangle of secrets crashes past into present, and Pippa must uncover clues dating back to Seacrest’s Prohibition days, including a secret Moore himself hid from the world.

Juggling her book-writing guests, small-town intrigues, secret club agendas, and a possibly fatal attraction, Pippa must sort fact from fiction to know who to trust before a desperate killer claims a final revenge nearly a century in the making. (Source: Goodreads)

line of baked goods - cupcake with chocolate frosting and a cherry, triple layer cake with strawberries, muffin, and cookie repeated — © Graphic Garden

Review

I absolutely loved this first book in the Moorehaven Mysteries series! I was hooked from the start and it didn’t take me that long to read it. I started it late Thursday night and was finished by early Saturday morning. Not bad, considering that I did work on Friday!

I love the characters in this series. Pippa, Uncle Hilt, Lake, Jordan, and all the rest are just delightful. They’re well-rounded characters, complex, likeable and believable. I’m really looking forward to learning more about them and seeing where Pippa and Lake’s relationship leads them, if anywhere!

The setting descriptions were rich without being too over the top. The town sounds like a lovely place to visit or live. The story line moved along at a good pace. I never guessed who the villain was until Pippa figured it out herself. I had considered someone close to the villain, but not the villain himself.

I have to admit being a bit amazed at all the back story Ms. Talbot created for the author, A. Raymond Moore, his family, and the house that now houses the Bed & Breakfast. I’ve read a few books where authors have written things like “journal entries” by other characters and such, but I think this is the most complete back story I’ve ever seen. I’m very impressed.

I loved this book and I highly recommend it! I cannot wait for the second one to come out!

** I received a free ecopy of this book from the author. I was not compensated for this review. All opinions and conclusions expressed are my own. **

About the Author

Morgan Talbot, author - White woman in her 30s or 40s, dark brown hair, wearing sunglasses halfway down her nose, a grey overshirt and a purple blouse

Morgan is an outdoorsy girl with a deep and abiding love for the natural sciences. Her degrees involve English and jujitsu. She enjoys hiking, camping, and wandering in the woods looking for the trail to the car, but there isn’t enough chocolate on the planet to bribe her into rock climbing. When she’s not writing, she can be found making puzzles, getting lost on the way to geocaches, reading stories to her children, or taking far too many pictures of the same tree or rock. She lives in Eastern Washington with her family.

Tag: Bed & Breakfast