Bed and Breakfast Series by Mary Daheim
Bed and Breakfast #1
Just Desserts
Mary Daheim
When the garishly grotesque clan of wealthy carpet-sweeper magnate Otto Broadie sweeps down upon Judith McMonigle's Hillside Manor Inn, it looks like there'll be a wild night of drinking, dining, and fortune-telling in the offing. But when their soothsayer-for-hire Madame Gushenka drops dead after someone douses her tea leaves with bug killer, harried hostess Judith and her irrepressible cousin Renie are left to clean up the mess. One of the Brodie bunch would dearly love to sweep the Madame's murder under the rug, however, and that might mean eliminating the nosy Ms. McMonigle as well. But with the help of her one-time beau, policeman Joe Flynn, Judith is determined to rattle the dust off some closeted family skeletons, in order to coax a killer out of hiding before coffee is served.Review"Zany adventures with plots that would make dame Agatha proud."-- "Mystery Lovers Bookshop News About the AuthorMary Richardson Daheim is a Seattle native with a communications degree from the University of Washington. Realizing at an early age that getting published in books with real covers might elude her for years, she worked on daily newspapers and in public relations to help avoid her creditors. She lives in her hometown in a centuryold house not unlike Hillside Manor, except for the body count. Daheim is also the author of the Alpine mystery series and the mother of three daughters and grandmother of two granddaughters, all of whom live within shrieking distance.
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Bed and Breakfast #18
Silver Scream
Mary Daheim
While witches fly and ghosts go by on a Halloween weekend, a Hollywood cast and crew descend upon Hillside Manor. Judith McMonigle Flynn′s worst nightmare is realised when yet another guest, mega-producer Bruno Zepf, drowns in the kitchen sink. When is a murder not a murder, but an accident that could cost Judith her beloved B&B? The police are baffled, so Judith and cousin Renie try to find a killer - any killer will do - to fend off a five-star lawsuit. From Publishers WeeklyIn her 18th cozy B&B mystery, Daheim offers more amusing action than in last year's Suture Self, now that her two sleuthing heroines, Judith Flynn and cousin Renie, have almost fully recovered from surgery and are no longer stuck in a hospital room. When a group of Hollywood hotshots arrives on Halloween weekend for a movie premiere and takes over Judith's beloved B&B, Hillside Manor, she's ready for anythingexcept the sudden death of famous producer Bruno Zepf, whose body she finds slumped into the standing water of her kitchen sink. Fearing she may be sued for negligence, Judith with Renie's help begins to investigate everyone involved with Zepf, in an effort to prove the accident was murder and exonerate Hillside Manor. Just as they've almost exhausted their leads among the stars, a new suspect appears on the scene and the plot hurtles to its surprising conclusion. The fog, mist and rain of a Pacific Northwest October add to the Halloween atmosphere, while the trick-or-treating ghosts and goblins aren't the only strange characters afoot. The neurotic producer, the egocentric actor, the blossoming starlet and the overzealous director, who literally looks at life through a camera that he keeps around his neck, are ghoulish enough for any Halloween. Also contributing to the holiday fun are the zany antics of Gertrude, Judith's aging mother, and the carryings-on of Renie's three children, plus the banter between the two irresistible cousins. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. From BooklistA quaint bed-and-breakfast seems so cozy. Yes, but guests of the Hillside Manor in Seattle might think differently if they knew how many crimes had been committed there in the past. Now, it's Hollywood producer Bruno Zepf and members of the cast and crew of his latest picture who have reservations at the lethal inn, sight of several previous episodes in Daheim's Bad and Breakfast series. Bruno's film is set to premiere in Seattle, and he thinks it's good luck to spend the night before the festivities at a B and B. This time, Bruno's luck runs out. He's found drowned in a sink, and it's up to the inn's owner and series star, Judith Flynn, to find the killer, presumably among the backbiting Hollywoodites. Although this series sets up like a cozy, there's always a slightly over-the-top zaniness to the characters and their actions; this time is no exception, what with all those easy-to-parody L.A. types. A bit silly but bound to please series fans. Ilene CooperCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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