I’ve got a really fun cozy to tell you about.
This is the first book in the series and there are three more. All of them are quite short but loads of fun.
This first book is free so check out the links after my review to grab your copy.
My Favorite Corpse
A Skullduggery Inn Cozy Read #1
by Kathy Carmichael
My Review
I knew I had to read this book when I learned the setting for the story was my hometown. How cool is that!
Ashley, the owner of the Skullduggery Inn, is a girl after my own heart. She’s a huge book fan and named the rooms in her inn after her favorite authors. My mother stayed at The Marriott Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island. Her favorite movie is Somewhere In Time and she got to stay in the room they used for the movie. There are references to books and movies laced throughout the story.
The story takes place in Fairhope, Alabama, on Mobile Bay. Ashley hurries down to the bay when she hears there’s a Jubilee. A Jubilee is when the small fish, crabs, shrimp and such swarm to shallow waters due to low oxygen in the bay. This only happens in two places in the world. Here and in Japan. I’ve been to several and you can literally wade in and scoop up some good eats.
That is Ashley’s plan until her excitement is shattered when she reaches down and stops just short of grabbing a human foot, which is still attached to a body. Panicked, she looks around for someone to help her when one of her guests,Trevor Stone, happens along. She sends him to notify the authorities and waits for his return. And she waits. And waits.
Finally she gives up and returns to the inn, where she finds Trevor sound asleep. He says he never saw the body so maybe she was mistaken.
When the police arrive she leads them to the spot where she found the body and all that’s there is a piece of driftwood. The officer is convinced that’s what she saw and mistook for a dead person in the dark. But Ashley knows better.
With nothing else she can do about it, she hurries to get her fresh catch ready to serve up to her guests later that night. Opening a pantry door she discovers come kittens. The mother cat slips outside and she rushes to catch her. Stumbling through the woods she steps through to the beach and what does she find. Sitting on a bench is the dead guy from the night before. He’s still dead and starting to smell ripe.
I really enjoyed the scenes with the kittens. It made me think of the restaurant owners on the causeway that takes you across Mobile Bay. They work with the local veterinarians to capture, vaccinate, and spay or neuter the cats before setting them loose again. This keeps them healthy and the population under control.
The cat coalition and restaurant owners work together to feed the cats. There are many dangers for them on the causeway. Snakes and alligators. They are not your friendly house cats. They’re feral and wise. I’m sure some slip through those traps and surprise the owners with their kittens.
Back to the scene of the crime. There’s no cell service so she has to return to the inn to call the police and once again, when they arrive, the body is gone. Ashley is in the middle of something strange and will get to the bottom of it one way or another.
This was such a good mystery, funny with a hint of romance. It was made more fun as I recognized a lot of the places described in the book. I knew the location of The Skullduggery Inn and the place where Ashley first saw the body in the bay. I often went fishing there with my brother.
Now, when I go there, I’ll be thinking of this book and looking for dead bodies. LOL
I should tell you, this is a short story, a teaser for more books to come. You are left hanging out to dry, but the ending is still a good one. I’ll be diving into more of this series.
4 Stars
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Synopsis
Novella. My Favorite Corpse centers around Ashley Sands, the owner of a mystery-themed inn located on the Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay. An amateur sleuth, Ashley finds a corpse washed to shore at her inn’s private beach. She must learn what happened before her guests begin checking out. While Ashley’s mystery weekend guests usually enjoy the occasional dead body, they prefer the never-previously-animated kind.
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FREEBIE ALERT!
This is a free download on Amazon right now. You can get a copy HERE.
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About The Author
She lives on Florida’s west coast, along with her husband, two not-so-wee sons, 2 black cats, and a bevy of dust bunnies.
Kathy loves talking with readers and other writers. She’s a popular guest lecturer at libraries, bookstores and writers’ conferences.
Despite rumors to the contrary, she has never been recruited by the CIA or the other CIA (Culinary Institute of America).
Other books in the series.
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