I made it, just by the skin of my teeth!
Thanks to Great Escapes Book Tours I found author Teresa Trent. This is a series I knew I had to read and A Dash of Murder (Pecan Bayou Series Book 1)
A Dash of Murder
(Pecan Bayou Series Book 1)
Cozy Mystery
Publisher: Tightwad Tess Press (September 14, 2011)
Paperback: 148 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1478113003
E-Book File Size: 349 KB
ASIN: B005NB1QSG
A Mystery for Ghost Hunters!
When Betsy’s Aunt Maggie wants to drag her along on a ghost hunting excursion at the local abandoned tuberculosis hospital she isn’t sure if she quite believes in ghosts. When she comes upon a fresh spirit in the form of a body, she starts to rethink about what really is haunting the hospital.
Betsy must solve the murder in spite of her father, who is a lieutenant on the Pecan Bayou Police Force, town citizens worried about the effect of the occult on their children, and handsome stranger from Dallas. How do you get blood out of a silk blouse? Betsy Livingston can tell you in her newspaper column, “The Happy Hinter”. When she’s not writing, or taking care of her young son, she’s busy solving mysteries in the tiny Texas town of Pecan Bayou.
Dollycas’s Thoughts
Being the first book in the series the author not only has to give us a mystery but also introduce us to the characters and give us a feel for the time and place. Teresa Trent does a great job at this.
The place happens to be the abandoned Johnson Tuberculosis Hospital which would be a spooky place to me no matter what time of year it is. The idea that there may be spirits lurking enough to bring ghost hunters to investigate adds to the haunted feeling. I was nervous about any hallway Betsy ventured into and one of the surprises she did find made me drop the book for just a moment. I don’t want a spoiler here but I am not talking about a ghost or even a dead body. Something that would have made me run screaming to the nearest exit.
The characters are very engaging. I love Betsy, The Happy Hinter. She seems very down to earth and someone I could probably be friends with. Her father has his hands full with a certain person creating havoc about the ghost hunters, the Scout troop on an overnight camp out, the drama at the old hospital, a murder to solve and of course the normal Halloween hijinks. I like the way all the characters rally together and helped out however they could.
The mystery was a good one too. Plenty of the expected twists and turns. I was totally surprised by the ending.
Trent does all this in less than 150 pages which I couldn’t believe. It was a very fast read and I really enjoyed it. She has left plenty of room for the characters to grow. I am late to this party though. The 6th book in the Pecan Bayou Series, Murder for a Rainy Day 
About This Author
Teresa Trent writes her Pecan Bayou Mystery Series from Houston, Texas. With a father in the army, her family moved often finally settling in Colorado. Living in Texas for the last 19 years she loves the people and even the weather. Murder for a Rainy Day includes a hurricane, and having endured Hurricane Ike and Hurricane Rita with her family, Teresa would much rather write about them than evacuate from them. Teresa includes Danny, a character with Down Syndrome in her Pecan Bayou family and in real life is the mother of an adult son with Down Syndrome/PDD. Creating the character of Danny and all of the other inhabitants of Pecan Bayou has been a joy for her. This book is the last one in the Pecan Bayou Series taking Betsy from single mom to mother of three. Teresa is now working on her next series that will take place in the Piney Woods of Texas.
Author Links:
Twitter
Teresa will be touring Murder For A Rainy Day with Great Escapes Book Tours starting November 24.
*This book is from my private collection.
I will look for this one:-)
Great review! This sounds like a really fun read with ghosts and ghosts hunters, I look forward to adding it to my TBR.