Customer Reviews

Auntie Mayhem (Bed-And-Breakfast Mysteries)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Accompanying their husbands on a trip to England, Judith and Renie look forward to spending time with a former pen pal's family. They are invited to an old country manor while their husbands take a fishing trip to Scotland. The owner of the estate is Aunt Petulia, a 90-something dowager who controls and bullies her family with the promise of the considerable inheritance which will go to the favored relative upon her death. When Aunt Petulia is poisoned with chocolate candy, there are many suspects among her greedy heirs. Wills appear and disappear and it is unclear as to who is to inherit her fortune. There are several skeletons in the family closet, including illegitimate children and runaway teenagers. Judith and Renie are led a merry chase trying to discover the identity of the killer. When they find out who the killer is, they are almost the next victims. This is another enjoyable "cozy" from author Judy Dahiem, with the added attraction of having England as the background.

I loved this book. It is set in Yeovil and Somerset, England. My sister lives in Yeovil, so it really made me homesick for the English countrysides. The things she wrote about are true about those areas in England. I liked the characters, too. They were truly British. Like most of her books, I didn't figure the whodunit until almost the time that Judith did. And I love Renie. She is so much like me.
It's really a good book, especially if you like mysteries that are hard to figure out.

Judith and Renie and their respective spouses take a trip to England. While their husbands fish in Scotland, the girls visit relatives of Judith's pen pal. The matriarch of the family takes a liking to them, and when she is murdered, leaves them her gate house and a whole lot of trouble.

This is typical of the series, nothing really special about it, but it is entertaining.

A mysterious death in an English country manor with a variety of eccentric relatives, long-time family retainers and an altered will. Sounds like it could be fun? Think again. This is one long snoozer of a book where NOTHING HAPPENS. Through a tenuous girlhood connection, our two extremely annoying protaganists find themselves dropped in the middle of an English country house murder mystery and we are given no reason to CARE about the lot of them. And then there are the very strange transatlantic phone calls home -- the calls would stop the action in its tracks if there was actually anything going on. The biggest mystery? Why did I waste my time with this book.

I have been reading the series from the first book Just Desserts and have found them entertaining. The characters are familiar at this point, but I enjoy the premise that murder in one small town constantly would be a stretch so the author takes her show on the road. What particularly struck me with this book is that the mystery was good. The clues were all there like an old Agatha Chrisitie mystery and it is actually possible to solve the crime, unlike some authors who withhold information just to prove they are smater that you I guess. So sit back and enjoy the 8th book of the series and get the others as well

It, like the rest of the B&B mysteries was fun and I loved it.