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Murder on Devil's Pond

ebook
3 of 3 copies available
3 of 3 copies available
2025 LILIAN JACKSON BRAUN MEMORIAL AWARD NOMINEE!
A quaint Vermont inn offers idyllic peace–until a body is found  on the property–in this charming series debut, perfect for fans of Ellen Byron and Ellery Adams.

When thirty-three-year-old Hannah Solace returns to her hometown to renovate and reopen the inn she co-owns with her sister Reggie, her mission is to give the old Victorian hotel an entirely new life. She’s even planting pollinator gardens around the inn–native flowers and fruit trees to lure honeybees and houseguests alike. 
Hannah’s fresh start is stymied by Reggie’s continual interference, unreliable contractors, a check-the-couch-for-coins budget, and townspeople Hannah left behind fifteen years ago. Her main source of camaraderie is Ezra Grayson, an eighty-year-old recluse who lives nearby. After an unsettling conversation with a disgruntled Ezra, Hannah is horrified to discover him dead on her property later that day. 
Ezra had always had plenty of people to complain about, especially locals trying to force him out of his property for its prime real estate. As buzz around town grows after his death, Hannah finds herself on the short list of suspects. Hannah starts digging and quickly discovers that secrets lurk beneath the charming surface of the town she once again calls home.
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    • Booklist

      June 1, 2024
      Hannah Solace, owner with her sister of Hummingbird Hollow, a B&B in rural Vermont, likes curmudgeonly Ezra Grayson and his mastiff mix, Moose, even if the rest of the town wishes he'd go into senior housing so his run-down house on Main Street can be razed. Chief among those who are seeking to take over are his two nephews and niece, whom he terms ""vultures."" The day after visiting him seeking advice on the plantings around the B&B, Hannah finds Ezra dead on the edge of Devil's Pond, which abuts her property, Moose standing guard. When one of the nephews learns Ezra's sole heir is Hannah, she knows she is not only a suspect but also at risk. Detective Noah Booker is doing his best, but Hannah believes the answer to Ezra's murder lies with the inheritance. As she talks with Ezra's friends, his late wife's friends, and even her own father, from whom she is estranged, a complex picture emerges. This new cozy series is sure to be appreciated by fans of Victoria Gilbert and Mary Daheim.

      COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

    • Kirkus

      June 15, 2024
      The murder of an elderly gentleman causes a sensation in a little Vermont town. Breaking free from a bad relationship, Hannah Solace returns to her hometown after her sister, Reggie, offers her a chance to run the inn she got in the nasty divorce from her husband, Chad, following his affair with her best friend. Hannah's become friendly with 80-year-old Ezra Grayson, who, unable to recover from the death of his wife, lives in a decrepit house with his dog, Moose. His two nephews and a niece, who want him to sell the place and move to a retirement home, are all staying at the inn. In addition, several others in town are pushing him to sell his land. So when Hannah finds Ezra dead in Devil's Pond, clearly having been murdered, there are plenty of suspects. She adopts Moose and can't help but do a little investigating of her own. The three cousins are a lot less sad over their uncle's death than Hannah is. Then Ezra's lawyer gives Hannah some shocking news: Ezra's left her everything he owns, both the property and a healthy bank account. The lawyer keeps the news quiet, but it makes Hannah a suspect in the eyes of the police and will certainly earn her the ire of his family. The solution to the mystery of Ezra's death and the disposition of his estate may lie in an old relationship involving Ezra and Hannah's father. Past secrets and present problems combine in a character-driven cozy.

      COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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