Vi Agra Falls LP: A Bed-and-Breakfast Mystery (Bed-And-Breakfast Mysteries) [Large Print] [Paperback]

Mary Daheim (Author)

Book Description

Series: Bed-And-Breakfast Mysteries | Publication Date: August 26, 2008

Tucked away in a cozy cul-de-sac on Heraldsgate Hill, Judith McMonigle Flynn hopes for smooth sailing in her longtime role as an innkeeper. But Judith's skill in dealing with guests is matched only by her knack for coming across corpses.

Mystery lovers who enjoy madcap mayhem will have no reservations about returning to Hillside Manor in the twenty-fourth Bed-and-Breakfast book from USA Today bestselling author Mary Daheim.

Judith's worst nightmare comes true when Vivian Flynn—husband Joe's first wife—moves back into the neighborhood, bringing along her newest spouse, Billy "Blunder" Buss, a former minor-league baseball player who is many years younger than his shop-worn bride. Still, the B&B business is going well and the newlyweds don't seem to be causing problems for the Flynns. That seemingly calm summer idyll is broken when Vivian, who has become mysteriously wealthy, announces plans to tear down her own house and the recently vacated bungalow next door so she can build a big, bad condo. Judith, along with the rest of the neighbors in the cul-de-sac, is up in arms, vowing to fight the project to the death.

Vivian's past catches up with her when Frankie Buss comes to town. Billy and Frankie's late father, elderly Oklahoma rancher Potsy Buss, was married to Vivian for nine months before dying and bequeathing her his vast wealth. Frankie Buss intends to stir the pot of gold that Potsy left his widow, and he's trying to cut a deal with Vivian and her most recent mate, Billy. Naturally, where else would Frankie and his wife, Marva Lou, stay but at Hillside Manor?

And naturally, somebody checks out . . . permanently. The "somebody" isn't a Buss family member, and turns out to be a "nobody" because the body can't be identified. To save the B&B as well as her sanity, Judith must figure out not only who did it, but who it was who was found dead in Vivian's backyard.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Cozy buffs who've yet to encounter Daheim's popular Pacific Northwest series will find this entertaining 24th installment (after 2007's Scots on the Rocks) an easy entry point. Judith McMonigle Flynn, who operates a bed-and-breakfast in the Seattle neighborhood of Heraldsgate Hill, has recently remarried her ex-husband, Joe Flynn. Her complicated personal life becomes even more so after the arrival of Joe's ex-wife, Vivian, with her trophy husband in tow. Vivian soon sends ripples through Heraldsgate Hill when she announces plans to build a huge condominium in the community. When the body of an unidentified man is found hanging from a tree behind Vivian's house, Judith reluctantly resumes her familiar role as amateur sleuth. Longtime fans will smile at cousin Renie's exasperation with the prevaricating Judith (These lengthy preludes to your adventures drive me nuts). Endearingly eccentric characters are a plus. (Aug.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Mary Richardson Daheim is a Seattle native with a degree in communications 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 century­-old 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.

Product Details

• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: HarperLuxe (August 26, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061562718
• ISBN-13: 978-0061562716
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,609,094 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a romp!!!, September 19, 2008

By 

Dianne L. Ward "Dianne Larson Ward" (Aberdeen, Washington USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Vi Agra Falls: A Bed-and-Breakfast Mystery (Bed-And-Breakfast Mysteries) (Hardcover)

You are going to want to settle back in a comfy chair and keep reading once you begin Mary Daheim's Vi-Agra Falls, the newest addition to her popular Bed&Breakfast series. In any series a regular reader will have personal favorites. Vi-Agra Falls is most definitely in my top three!

Judith Flynn, owner of the Hillside Manor, her old family home turned B&B, has a problem. A big problem. Her husband Joe's former wife, Vivian, is back in the neighborhood stirring things up as only she can do. This time Vivian is not just an aggravation because of the relationship. She has a new young stud husband in tow and has mysteriously inherited mega-bucks from ....well...you have to read it. It's quite an amazing back story.

With her new wealth Vivian buys the house next door to hers and wants to tear down both her home and the neighboring house in the quiet, secluded cul de sac to build a high rise condo building. The entire neighborhood goes into an uproar of disbelief over the mere thought of the horrible impact the condo would have on their friendly little corner of the world.

On page 69, after throwing a large, wild, and very noisy outdoor party in her front yard, the inebriated party girl, Vivian, finds an unidentified dead body in her back yard! She naturally shows up at Judith's door seeking Joe's help and support only to pass out on the sofa. What could be more intriguing than stunned disbelief, confusion, a dead body, your spouse's unconscious ex-wife and a skeptical 911 operator all on one page? Fortunately, Judith and cousin Renie have had a little experience with dead bodies and solving crimes.

Judith soon finds the already interesting neighborhood filling with a crazy cast of characters, all of whom have their own agenda. You will find the characters easy to keep straight and the action non-stop!

This is just the beginning of 326 pages of twists and turns that will keep your attention and keep you laughing until the very end. It reminds me of another of my favorites, Daheim's "Major Vices" which was one of the early books in the series.

Mary Daheim is in top form with "Vi-Agra Falls". It's a must read.....and a keeper!

Get your own copy now...and put it on your list of gifts to give readers during the coming holidays. They will love it!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fresh cozy, August 26, 2008

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Vi Agra Falls LP: A Bed-and-Breakfast Mystery (Bed-And-Breakfast Mysteries) (Paperback)

In Seattle, Judith McMonigle Flynn owns and manages the Hillside Manor bed-and-breakfast. However, domestic tranquility and bliss vanish rather quickly when Joe's former wife "Her" with the ample cleavage as always openly on display, nouveau riche Vivian, arrives.; Accompanying her is her much younger boy toy spouse, former minor league baseball player Billy "Blunder" Buss.

However the Heraldsgate Hill cul de sac residents including Judith, her cousin Remy, and Joe are horrifically stunned when Vivian announces plans to build an ostentatious condo complex amidst their homes. Adding to the growing fiasco is the arrival of Billy's brother Frankie and his wife Marva Lou who stay at the B&B. Frankie is irate that his late father left a fortune to his trophy wife Vivian. When a corpse is found behind Vivian's new home, Judith can't help herself. She starts investigating though she denies to Remy every sleuthing step of involvement she takes.

This long running cozy keeps its freshness with the interrelationships, many dysfunctional between the cast including the cousins. The story line is fast-paced from the onset as an eccentric horde invades the Heraldsgate Hill neighborhood causing havoc to the residents and amusement for the reader. The investigation is cleverly handled to add to the overall fun of exacerbation as Judith reconsiders her second time with Joe due to his eccentric people invading their of people.

Harriet Klausner

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Murder and mayhem at the B&B, October 4, 2008

By 

Karen Potts (Lake Jackson, Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Vi Agra Falls: A Bed-and-Breakfast Mystery (Bed-And-Breakfast Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Bed-and-Breakfast owner Judith Flynn becomes embroiled in yet another murder case when an unidentified body shows up. Judith herself is about ready to commit murder when her husband Joe's ex-wife Vivian arrives at her house near the B&B and declares her intention of tearing down her home and the one next door in order to build a codomimium. Vivian's convoluted marital history and the various children from her many marriages add complications for Judith as she tries to solve the murder while disuading Vivian from her building plans. Judith's cousin Renie and her cranky mother Gertrude are on hand to lend their own brand of humor to this book, as are the usual array of guests at the B&B.