Review: Getaway with Murder by Diane Kelly

 

About the Book

Genre
Cozy Mystery

Format
E-ARC

Publisher
St. Martin’s Press

Release Date
October 26, 2021

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Getaway With Murder is the first in a cozy series from Diane Kelly set in a lodge in the Blue Ridge Mountains, where secrets hide behind every hill.

As if hitting the half-century mark wasn’t enough, Misty Murphy celebrated her landmark birthday by amicably ending her marriage and investing her settlement in a dilapidated mountain lodge at the top of the Blue Ridge Mountains. With the old inn teetering on both a bluff and bankruptcy, she must have lost her ever-loving mind.

Luckily, handyman Rocky Crowder has a knack for rehabbing virtual ruins and for doing it on a dime, and to Misty’s delight, the lodge is fully booked on opening night, every room filled with flexible folks who’d slipped into spandex and ascended the peak for a yoga retreat with plans to namastay for a full week. Misty and her guests are feeling zen—at least until the yoga instructor is found dead.

With a killer on the loose and the lodge’s reputation hanging in the balance, Misty must put her detective-skills to the test. Only one thing is as clear as a sunny mountain morning—she must solve the crime before the lodge ends up, once again, on the brink.

My Review

Misty Murphy’s life is about to change completely.  As she turns 50, her marriage ends and her two adult sons are away at college.  Misty needs to do something to make life interesting.  She purchases an old mountain lodge in the Blue Ridge Mountains.  She has no idea just how interesting things were about to get.

With the help of a local handyman, she fixes up the lodge and opens for business.  Her first customers are a group on a yoga retreat. Everything is going great until the yoga instructor is found dead.  Now Misty is determined to find a killer before her lodge is shut down. Not to mention that the idea of a killer running around her inn is more than a little unsettling.

This is the first book in the Mountain Lodge Mystery series.  It’s off to an exciting start. It’s a fast-paced whodunit that kept me on my toes.  The author tossed in many twists and turns.  It kept me guessing until the very end.

I loved the main characters right away.  They jumped right out of the pages.  The supporting cast are quirky and fun. I’ve never been to the Blue Ridge Mountains but the author made me feel as if I was there.  The lodge is the perfect setting for a cozy mystery. 

I’ve read a few other series by this author and I’ve always enjoyed her writing.  This book is no exception.  I’m looking forward to the next in this series.

For reading challenges:

Cruisin’ thru the Cozies Reading Challenge 2022
A Literary Escapes Reading Challenge 2022 (North Carolina)

FTC Disclosure: I voluntarily reviewed a free Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review.  All opinions expressed are my own.