Tag: A Hummingbird Hollow B&B Mystery

Welcome to Cozy-ish Wednesday!

I am happy to share my thoughts today about
Murder on Devil’s Pond by Ayla Rose!

Murder on Devil’s Pond (A Hummingbird Hollow B&B Mystery)
Cozy/Traditional Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – Vermont
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Crooked Lane Books (July 9, 2024)
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1639107118
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1639107117
Kindle ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CKSHSW8J
Audiobook ASIN B0D3WNM5TK

A quaint Vermont inn offers idyllic peace–until a body is found on the property–in this charming series debut, perfect for fans of Ellen Byron and Ellery Adams.

When thirty-three-year-old Hannah Solace returns to her hometown to renovate and reopen the inn she co-owns with her sister Reggie, her mission is to give the old Victorian hotel an entirely new life. She’s even planting pollinator gardens around the inn–native flowers and fruit trees to lure honeybees and houseguests alike.

Hannah’s fresh start is stymied by Reggie’s continual interference, unreliable contractors, a check-the-couch-for-coins budget, and townspeople Hannah left behind fifteen years ago. Her main source of camaraderie is Ezra Grayson, an eighty-year-old recluse who lives nearby. After an unsettling conversation with a disgruntled Ezra, Hannah is horrified to discover him dead on her property later that day.

Ezra had always had plenty of people to complain about, especially locals trying to force him out of his property for its prime real estate. As buzz around town grows after his death, Hannah finds herself on the short list of suspects. Hannah starts digging and quickly discovers that secrets lurk beneath the charming surface of the town she once again calls home.

Dollycas’s Thoughts

Hannah Solace needs a new start so she comes home to Jasper, Vermont to renovate and reopen an old Victorian hotel she owns with her sister as the Hummingbird Hollow B&B complete with pollinator gardens to draw bees, birds, and hopefully plenty of guests. She is on a tight budget and her sister Reggie has her own ideas about the B&B. She is also at odds with the landscaper working on her newest garden project. Hannah finds her eighty-year-old neighbor Ezra Grayson to be a fount of information regarding any plant, tree, or flower. Ezra can be cantankerous but she has a soft spot for him and his brown mastiff mix, Moose.

Ezra’s wife, Molly, passed away a while ago and he feels her presence in the home he has lived in his entire life and 40-plus years with her. But he has not kept up the maintenance and a recent fire has made it barely inhabitable. Yet he has no plans to leave no matter how much his two nephews and niece want him to, or how much money developers offer him for the prime piece of real estate.

Then Hannah finds Ezra dead on her property. She is devastated and is determined to find out who killed her friend. Could it be his own relatives? Or was a developer sick of waiting? She starts to discover that the people of the cozy town of Jasper have secrets. Secrets that may have led to Ezra Grayson’s murder.

I enjoyed meeting Hannah Solace and I admire what she wants to do with the Hummingbird Hollow B&B and the land. Her sister Reggie came across to me as harsh but I loved her six-year-old daughter Peach. She is a little spitfire. I felt for Ezra but the man did have some secrets. His friendship with Hannah was genuine and his life was cut short before he could confide in her fully.  Hannah left Jasper 15 years ago leaving behind some complicated relationships. There was some insight into them in this story as we meet several residents of Jasper, but we have just scratched the surface of these characters.

We are also introduced to Ezra’s family. They are all staying at Hannah’s Bee & Bee. Maura is Ezra’s niece, and Waylen and Rob are his nephews. Rob is joined by his wife Simone. They all encouraged Ezra to sell his land before his death and now believe they are his heirs. They all were complex and had their quirks and agendas making them easy to dislike.

The murders in this mystery are horrific, that and the explicit language take this story out of the cozy realm for me but that doesn’t mean I didn’t like the story because I did. The mystery was very well-plotted with many stellar twists and turns. Hannah takes a deep dive into Ezra’s life to find the answers she needs. Then she really had to think on her feet and fight to survive. I was out of breath following along with her and all she went through. The author had one more twist though and it broke my heart.

Murder on Devil’s Pond is a gripping mystery and a strong start for this series. Secrets and greed ring supreme and keep those pages flying. I am excited to return to the Hummingbird Hollow B&B. I hope we don’t have to wait too long.

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