The Starlight Mint Surprise Murder by Marla A. WhiteMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Mel’s attempt at starting over leads to an attempt on her life!
After an on-the-job injury leaves Emmeline “Mel” O’Rourke unable to return to work as an LAPD patrol officer, she retires to start over in a mountain resort town as an innkeeper. She and her supportive family invested their savings in this new endeavor and finally got the long-closed Babbling Brook B&B up and running, just in time for the holiday tourist season. But when one of the B&B’s first guests is found dead in the inn’s great room, and no cause of death is forthcoming because the area is shut down due to a heavy and isolating winter storm, Mel worries the gossip mill and bad social media may brand her new business as a death trap. The former police officer takes matters into her own hands when local law enforcement drags their feet to find the answers she desperately needs.
Mel is a likable main character, and I quickly came to sympathize with her about her worries that the bad press was going to singlehandedly bankrupt her family. Her fear of heights, a result of her work injury, was well conveyed and so genuine that I felt her panic. The several secondary characters are also well drawn and offer some interesting romantic options, though, with all that was going on at the inn, they will have to wait for a future story to blossom.This exciting novella is one of the many marvelous offerings in the CHRISTMAS COOKIES collection of short stories and novellas published by The Wild Rose Press, Inc. I recommend THE STARLIGHT MINT SURPRISE MURDER to cozy mystery readers who enjoy a holiday or culinary-themed story.
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