Today I am happy to be joining Books-on-Tour for a cosy mystery called A Twist in the Tail (The Oyster Cove Guesthouse Book 1) by Leighann Dobbs. Thank you to Bookouture and Netgalley for the advance copy which I have reviewed honestly.
A Twist in the Tail (The Oyster Cove Guesthouse Book 1)
FROM THE AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR OF THE USA TODAY BESTSELLING MYSTIC NOTCH SERIES…
‘Talk about inconvenient. Not only did I have a dilapidated mansion and no money to repair it with, two cats I had no idea how to care for and a room full of cranky guests waiting for their breakfast, I also had a dead body on my hands.’
Josie Waters has to admit she may have acted a bit hastily when she agreed to purchase the Oyster Cove Guesthouse – a charmingly gabled Victorian mansion on the breathtaking Maine coast – from elderly family friend Millie Sullivan. But Josie was desperate to flee Ohio and in particular her ex-husband, a chef who loved his job so much he left her for it. And anyway, how hard can running a guesthouse be?
The truth is, Oyster Cove Guesthouse is a mouldering money pit with falling-in roof and a cohort of regular guests who are as mischievous as a litter of kittens. And Millie keeps dropping by to dispense unasked-for advice. And Josie might have made a mistake in promising to adopt Oyster Cove’s two resident cats Nero and Marlowe, and treat them in the manner to which they’ve become accustomed. Josie has never had a cat before… let alone two feisty felines who think they own the place.
Ok, it’s not going well. At least it can’t get any worse, Josie thinks. Until her first guest ends up dead.
A joy to read, with a twist you’ll never guess! A page-turning new mystery series from a bestselling author, purrfect for murder mystery fans, cat lovers and everyone in between.
My Thoughts
I like to read cosy mysteries and this was the first I have read by Leighann Dobbs, a well-known author in this genre.
Josie Waters thought her day was bad enough. She was just about to present Charles Prescott with his perfectly cooked boiled egg when the building inspector arrives. She has only just taken ownership of the large, rundown Oyster Cove Guesthouse and parts of the ancient building were closed off from guests for renovation. As well as the building, Josie finds that the previous elderly owners two cats, Nero and Marlowe are included in the purchase!
When the building inspector insists on finding out where the persistent purring is coming from they stumble upon a body in a disused part of the guesthouse. No wonder Josie couldn’t find Charles to present him with his perfectly cooked egg, he was lying dead at the bottom of the stairs!. It looks like he has been murdered.
When suspicions turn to Josie, her elderly mother and best friend set out to solve the crime. However, they are not alone. Marlowe and Nero are very special sleuth cats and they too are determined to find the killer and solve the crime.
This promises to be an excellent series with rich, multi-layered characters a location with generations of history and also the very unique investigating cat duo. It held just the right amount of tongue in cheek humour I love to see in a cosy mystery and the plot was clever and kept me guessing.
A quick, refreshingly different murder mystery, I thoroughly enjoyed it and will have my eyes peeled for the next one in this brand new series.
About the Author
USA Today bestselling author, Leighann Dobbs, discovered her passion for writing after a twenty year career as a software engineer. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband Bruce, their trusty Chihuahua mix Mojo and beautiful rescue cat, Kitty. When she’s not reading, gardening, making jewelry or selling antiques, she likes to write cozy mystery and historical romance books.
Her book “Dead Wrong” won the “Best Mystery Romance” award at the 2014 Indie Romance Convention.
Her book “Ghostly Paws” was the 2015 Chanticleer Mystery & Mayhem First Place category winner in the Animal Mystery category.
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