Welcome to Cozy Wednesday!
I am delighted to share my thoughts today about
Murder at Blackwood Inn: A Haunted Dead and Breakfast Mystery by Penny Warner!
Murder at Blackwood Inn: A Haunted Dead and Breakfast Mystery
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – California
Publisher : Crooked Lane Books
Publication date : September 23, 2025
Print length : 288 pages
Hardcover
ISBN-13 : 979-8892421850
Paperback
ISBN-13 : 979-8892422857
Kindle
ISBN-13 : 979-8892421867
ASIN : B0DRBFCQQD
Audiobook
ASIN B0FM4GVQWS
A haunted house and the occult are the least of Carissa Blackwood’s problems when her eccentric aunts are accused of murder in this cozy series debut by multiple award–winning author Penny Warner.
Ghostwriter Carissa Blackwood is having the worst year of her life. After leaving her cheating husband, she finally takes up the offer to help her two eccentric aunts manage the Blackwood Bed ’n’ Breakfast Inn in Pelican Point, California–a house they only recently inherited from their deceased father, Bram Blackwood. The old man dabbled in the occult, and his daughters haven’t fallen far from the family tree. Aunt Runa is into crystals and plans to hold séances at the reportedly “haunted” house. Aunt Hazel has an herbary and offers herbal cures for everything from headaches to paranormal visions. But it’s Hazel’s poison garden that really concerns Carissa.
When one of the townspeople dies from a poison that could have only come from Aunt Hazel’s garden, the town is quick to point fingers. It doesn’t help that one of Aunt Runa’s charms is found at the scene of the crime. With a little help from Noah, the mysterious and handsome handyman; Aiden, the charming newspaperman—and the ghost of Carissa’s grandfather—it’s up to Carissa to clear her aunts and find the real killer before someone else is checked out for good at the B&B.
Dollycas’s Thoughts
Carissa Blackwood is an out-of-work ghostwriter who can work anywhere, maybe even writing a book as herself. So she has left her no-good cheating husband behind and heads to Pelican Point, California, to help manage the Blackwood Bed ’n’ Breakfast Inn, a Victorian manor her Aunt Hazel and Aunt Runa inherited following the death of their father, Bram Blackwood. They have grand ideas for their B&B but need Carissa to help with the techy stuff and organization.
Hazel and Rune’s father “dabbled in the occult,” and it turns out they have their own passions. Runa is a collector of crystals and knows their “healing powers”. She also would like to hold séances to reach the ghosts haunting the inn. Hazel is a master gardener. She uses her herbary to make a variety of herbal cures.
Following a preview party the night before the inn’s opening, one of the guests is found dead. She was poisoned, and the poison could have come from Hazel’s special garden. Add to that, one of Rune’s crystals is also found near the body. Carissa knows she needs to find the real culprit to clear her aunts of the crime. She does have help: Aiden, the local newspaper reporter, Noah, the handyman at the inn, and even the ghost of Carissa’s grandfather wants to play a role. Can they work together to out the killer? Or will the killer strike again?
I enjoyed Ms. Warner’s other cozy series’, so I was very excited to see her name on this new book.
In the first Haunted Dead and Breakfast Mystery, she has introduced a great cast of characters. Carissa wants to help her aunts in any way that she can. It doesn’t take long for her to get the reservation and payment system under control. She enjoys getting to know her aunts again as an adult. Aunt Hazel is a sweet natured 60-year old 5’5″ woman with a sparkle in her eye who takes pride in her gardens. Aunt Runa couldn’t be more different from her younger sister. She is six feet tall, “thin as a rail” dyed black hair in a sharp bob with heavy bands highlighted with a streak of purple and moves almost faster than Carissa. Noah is a jack-of-all-trades who helped the ladies renovate the inn and is now their handyman. There is some mystery to the man. Aiden Quincy is the publisher of the Pelican Point Press with connections the aunts may need if they are charged and arrested. We meet other residents of Pelican Point; some are friendlier than others. I was happy to see how well the characters developed over the course of the story while leaving room for growth as the series continues.
The inn is a fascinating place, as most Victorians are. There is plenty of space for everything they need for the B&B, and they still have space for their private areas. The attic is a treasure trove of Carissa’s grandfather’s past. There are plenty of nooks and crannies, and it may even have secret rooms. Rune and Hazel have designed themed guest rooms: The Sleepy Hollow room, the Ghostbusters room, the Scooby Doo room, and The Birds room. The movie The Birds freaked me out when I was young so that room would be a big NO from me, but my kids would love the Ghostbusters room, and the grandchildren love Scooby Doo, and the Sleepy Hollow room sounds fun. It would be a great place to visit, and it opens up a world of possibilities for future books in the series, especially if the characters that check in are as interesting as the ones in this book.
Not everyone in Pelican Point is happy about the opening of Blackwood Bed ’n’ Breakfast Inn, but would someone kill to close it down? This gives Ms. Warner’s mystery a plethora of suspects with a variety of motives. She sets up some red herrings, twists, and turns that keep the pages flying. The mystery flowed at an excellent pace, and the subplots meshed nicely with the main plotline. I enjoyed the part a mysterious cat named Pye played in the story. I had an inkling about the guilty party, but I found myself so caught up in the story, I cast my personal investigation aside.
I loved Murder at Blackwood Inn from beginning to end. The characters are cleverly created, the setting is perfectly haunting, and the mystery is light and entertaining. I am excited for this series to continue so I can spend more time with these wonderful characters.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.
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About the Author
Penny Warner is the author of several mystery series, including the award-winning Dead Body Language series, the How to Host a Killer Party series, Death of a Chocolate Cheater, and three-time Agatha Award-winning middle-grade mysteries, the Code Busters Club.
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