Arrowed: Resort to Murder IV

In Daniels’s pleasant fourth mystery featuring Julienne LaMere, a resort manager-in-training (after 2018’s Spiked), Julienne’s boss sends her to a wellness resort he recently purchased near Santa Fe, N.Mex., to train the staff. Her hunky boyfriend, Mason Sheridan, a professional photographer, accompanies her, but their hopes for a romantic getaway are dashed by a murder. While she and Mason are making out on a pathway next to the resort lounge, her ankle is clutched by Merritt Howell, the head of a corporation holding an executive retreat at the resort, who has been shot in the chest with an arrow. Just before dying, Howell proclaims, “It’s the curse. I can’t believe it, the curse got me.” Julienne later learns he was referring to a “local legend of a vengeful brave,” and that an arrow matching the murder weapon on display in the resort library has vanished. Julienne’s success at crime solving leads her to be assigned to assist the police in nailing the killer. Daniels gently pokes fun at genre tropes, while making her characters feel real. Jessica Fletcher fans will welcome more of Julienne. (Self-published)