Customer Reviews

Just Desserts (Bed-And-Breakfast Mysteries)

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

 

 

This is the first in a series of Bed and Breakfast Mysteries by Mary Daheim. In this book Judith McMonigle, a middle-aged widow, has started a bed and breakfast. Eager to fill up her reservation book, Judith plays hostess to the Brodie family, a collection of eccentric characters whose house is being fumigated. They invite a fortune teller as "entertainment" for their weekend, and when the fortune teller dies, she is found to have many connections with different members of the family. During the murder investigation, Judith becomes reacquainted with an old flame who is now a police investigator. She, of course, deduces the killer before her former boyfriend, action which may not qualify him as a future boyfriend. This is fun, light reading, in the "cozy" genre.

Having read all of Tamar Myers books, I decided to give Mary Daheim a try. My husband & I stay in Bed & Breakfasts when we travel, so a mystery in one intrigued me. I wasn't disappointed. It was very good and I didn't guess the killer. I was amazed that the whole story took place in just a couple of days, but as they say, time flies when you're having fun! - solving a mystery that is.

Zany characters, poignant relationships make this a fun interesting read. I can hardly wait to read some more by this author. The end leaves you wanting to know more about what happened to these characters.

First in the famous Mary Daheim Bed & Breakfast Inn series, this is a must read for cozy mystery lovers because it's a truly delightful experience! There's the perfect atmosphere and ambiance, Inn full of crazy family members with hidden agendas, secrets, affairs - you name it, and all that topped with healthy servings of delicious food, mouth wateringly described through out the book, it was enough to keep me glued to the book but the mystery itself was so entertaining and had so many clues that it was the star of the book.

The story reminded me of my favorite type of Agatha Christie mystery; house full of guests/family members who are somehow involved in a murder, but no one knows who did it. Close family ties through marriage and blood make it tougher of a crime to be solved since one of the dear members is the killer, but whom? Widowed Judith is running the Inn with the occasional help of her grumpy mother Gertrude and help from her good friend and cousin Renie and the last thing she needs is a murder on the grounds. When a celebrity couple Otto and Oriana drop in with their grown offspring and other family members, she is pestered for fancy liquors and creative cooking with requests for cream puffs for dessert. All goes well during the family dinner until Madame Gushenka, card reader and entertainer hired by Oriana drops dead mid sentence. Upon closer inspection some truth comes out that shines new light on the crime and people guilty of being related to it. This was such a creative and twisted plot, very original and a total blast to follow.

I adore cozy mysteries, they are best savored in one or two sittings, short and sweet they make ma laugh and brainstorm and I rarely figure out the culprit but it's so much fun following the clues - and there are tons here - to see who the killer is. One of the best parts was how zany the Inn guests were! Each was memorable and interesting whether flawed or not and it made for a fun read. The only complaint I have is how the mystery was solved, I felt that the reader never got some of the info and it appeared magically at the end, making sense but something I couldn't catch on my own. I all ready started getting the other books in the series and will read them in order, mmm.. can't wait!

- Kasia S.

I will not continue reading this series. The characters were not endearing to me, and the writing was choppy. To be honest I struggled through it. At one point I wanted to put it down, but I kept on because I rally wanted to find out who the murderer was. When the murderer was revealed, it was such a let down. The description of what really happened was just plain boring.
I cannot recommend this book. I found it a waste of my time, and I really hate that I did not get if from the library to try it out. Such a disappointment considering I was looking foward to a good bed and breakfast cozy mystery.

I became hooked on Mary Danheim books with The Alpine Series. After reading them all I went in search of more of her writings. As luck would have it, I found The Bed and Breakfast Series. This is the first in the series and starts a journey with cousins Judith and Renie. They are not bad mysteries and the character evolvement is similar to The Alpine series characters and yet different enough to keep me reading. I started with this one and am now starting book #9 in the series Auntie Mayhem. I definitely recommend them all...enjoy the journey.

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

Just discovered this series of cozies, and after having read the first one, I am eager to go on to the rest. I liked the not-Seattle setting and thought the characters of Judith and Renie were hilarious. Maybe that is because I AM "of a certain age" (one reviewer I read had trouble relating), but I thought these feisty ladies were sharp, vibrant and a hoot. The mystery wasn't bad eitther, and honestly enough plotted that you could figure out who the murderer was, if you picked up on all the clues. In our present culture of youth, it was nice to see a story in which the formerly young still had a place in the world. This book was a delight, and I do recommend it.

I've been trying to get into this series and it's just not working. I've read other books in the series also and Judith and Renie have driven me crazy. They are annoying and nosy. The books jump all over the place and the final solutions just don't come together that well. The storyline and characters are just not that intriguing, I'm not even going to finish the last one I started.

Unfortunately, this book is about two middle-aged women who think being rude, most often for no apparent reason, can pass for wit. The mean-spirited sarcasm wares on you, making you not care about them in the end.