Synopsis:
From the acclaimed New York Times, bestselling author of Still Missing, More Than You Know, and Gossip comes the first entry in a stylish and witty mystery series featuring a pair of unlikely investigators—a shrewd novel of manners with a dark heart of murder at its center, set in small-town New England.
Indulging their pleasure in travel and new experiences, recently retired private school head Maggie Detweiler and her old friend, socialite Hope Babbin, are heading to Maine. The trip—to attend a weeklong master cooking class at the picturesque Victorian-era Oquossoc Mountain Inn—is an experiment to test their compatibility for future expeditions.
Hope and Maggie have barely finished their first aperitifs when the inn’s tranquility is shattered by the arrival of Alexander and Lisa Antippas and Lisa’s actress sister, Glory. Imperious and rude, these Hollywood one-percenters quickly turn the inn upside-down with their demanding behavior, igniting a flurry of speculation and gossip among staff and guests alike.
But the disruption soon turns deadly. After a suspicious late-night fire is brought under control, Alex’s charred body is found in the ashes. Enter the town’s deputy sheriff, Buster Babbin, Hope’s long-estranged son and Maggie’s former student. A man who’s finally found his footing in life, Buster needs a win. But he’s quickly pushed aside by the “big boys,” senior law enforcement and high-powered state’s attorneys who swoop in to make a quick arrest.
Maggie knows that Buster has his deficits and his strengths. She also knows that justice does not always prevail—and that the difference between conviction and exoneration too often depends on lazy police work and the ambitions of prosecutors. She knows too, after a lifetime of observing human nature, that you have a great advantage in doing the right thing if you don’t care who gets the credit or whom you annoy.
Feeling that justice could use a helping hand–as could the deputy sheriff—Maggie and Hope decide that two women of experience equipped with a healthy curiosity, plenty of common sense, and a cheerfully cynical sense of humor have a useful role to play in uncovering the truth.
Rating: 5 stars
Review:
Death at Breakfast by Beth Gutcheon is a highly entertaining murder mystery that delighted me from the beginning. When two women arrive at an inn to take a cooking class together their stay turns into an unexpected adventure. What was meant to test how well the two companions travel together turned into an experiment of solving a murder…first there are the celebrities who like always act like they are bigger than life and charge through places like it’s their right. The make the lives of others serving them totally chaotic…and unsettles the rest of the people at the inn. Soon, there is a room that catches fire and it’s not long until a dead body is found. The two companions both Maggie and Hope decide that it’s up to them to solve the case before the wrong person is charged. They know with high profile people involved that the pressure on the police, as well as the deputy sheriff, will prove to be a struggle. All want the case closed and solved asap. Can the two women solve it before it’s too late?
Beth Gutheon’s latest novel, Death at Breakfast, provides us readers with a pair of sleuth women and a cozy atmosphere that turns into a deadly mysterious setting. The women pair with the deputy sheriff and it’s a race against time to solve the death. The masterfully woven tale brings a lot of humor, wit, and suspense to every page. The plot moved by fast creating an urge to read faster…then there’s the intrigue of who done it and why that lured me deeper into the heart of this novel. I loved the variety of characters…their personalities, as well as careers, varied and that, too made this one highly entertaining read. Both Maggie and Hope reminded me of Miss Fletcher and Miss Marple. I can definitely see this novel becoming a big TV hit with fans everywhere. Overall, I highly recommend this thriller and crime title to readers worldwide.
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