Fiction, Paranormal Cozy Mystery
5*****
Blurb: Roxy Gleason, an innkeeper by trade and a bibliomancer by birth, has lived in the same small town on the Susquehanna River in Central Pennsylvania for her entire life. Tradition is strong here. Roxy understands the rules and is willing to play by them most of the time. She runs the Charmed Inn, which has been in her family for decades. The inn is all set to host a writers’ professional business weekend that’s been planned down to the very last hand-folded napkin, and Roxy is ready for the influx of creatives. She knows she’ll have a lot of different and sometimes unusual personalities to deal with, but this is a yearly function, so she’s not expecting anything to go awry. Her expectations are completely tanked when she finds a dead body on her daily walk by the river’s shore. Owen Schultz had checked in for the conference a few hours ago, and she’d last seen him having tea with her aunt in the dining room.
How did he get down here on the ferry, and who killed him?
THOUGHTS: I loved this book! It’s the first in a new series and is a paranormal cozy mystery. Roxy Gleason has taken over her family’s inn at her grandfather’s request. The inn had been in her family for decades and she’s the newest one to take over, though she’s a little nervous about living up to the standards set. In this one, there’s a whole group of authors coming in for an author weekend. But before they can get started, one of them is murdered and a manuscript goes missing.
Roxy is what’s called a bibliomancer which means books give her clues to different things, not just in the pages, but sometimes shining in gold letters that hover above the books. That gift will help her solve the problems she’s facing and still keep the inn’s reputation.
I loved the characters. They are fun (especially Roxy’s grandfather!) and there’s a bit of romance going on, which is a nice addition. I also love that the story takes place in Millersburg along the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania, an area I actually know well. A place that has the last ferry that crosses the Susquehanna. Adding this touch of reality to the story enhances the setting. And the satisfying ending doesn’t hurt.
Definitely recommended.
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