Dead and Breakfast: A Merry Ghost Inn Mystery

Melanie West, the heroine of this enjoyable series launch from Kingsbury (Mulled Murder), quits her financial analyst job in Portland, Ore., in order to help Liza Harris, the grandmother who raised her, convert a mansion to an inn located in coastal Sully’s Landing. Melanie and Liza’s efforts to save money by renovating the reputedly haunted house themselves lead to their discovery of a night-gowned skeleton inside a bedroom wall, delaying the inn’s planned opening. The Sully’s Landing police identify the remains as those of Angela Morelli, the wife of the previous owner, Vince Morelli, but no one is very forthcoming with details about the couple. Impatient with the slow police investigation, Melanie and Liza start their own sleuthing into the Morellis. Those who don’t care for ghosts will be pleased to find that this cozy’s focus is firmly on the living, in particular, Liza and Melanie’s partnership and Melanie’s continuing secret search for her long-lost mother. [em]Agent: Paige Wheeler, CMA Literary Agency. (Jan.) [/em]

This review has been updated with correct agency information.