In Boarding with Murder, the first in the delightful B&B cosy series by Kathryn Long (aka Bailee Abbott), an out-of-work writer inherits a charming bed and breakfast after her beloved aunt passes away. The catch? Her aunt was murdered – and she's only the first victim. The book garnered significant praise, including from Midwest Book Review, which called it “the perfect recipe for reading entertainment.”
Long was kind enough to share her query for Boarding with Murder, which earned her an offer of representation:
Take one quaint B&B, two kind but quirky caretakers, a dead aunt, and a murdered friend. It's mystery a la ARSENIC AND OLD LACE. Alexis arrives in Sierra Pines to find she's inherited a B&B and a lot more. Her dear friends, the elderly and quirky Bellwether siblings, are suspected of murder. Ali wants to help, if only they didn't act so guilty. And the evidence is mounting. Can Ali find the killer before the Bellwethers are placed behind bars or even worse, before someone else is murdered?
When unemployed show writer Ali Winston arrives at the Sierra Pines B&B for a relaxing visit with her dear aunt, the trip instantly earns a Rotten Tomatoes one-star review. Aunt Julia is dead! Her eccentric, geriatric actor pals, the Bellwether siblings, are crying foul play, but no one is listening—except maybe Ali. Reeling from her aunt's unexpected death, Ali agrees to stay at the B&B until she can find a buyer for her newly inherited B&B and look into the Bellwethers' accusations.
After a second body drops, right under the B&B's roof, Sheriff Quint Sterling investigates. But the evidence popping up points to the Bellwethers as number one suspects. Could Julia's death somehow be connected? Determined to prove the Bellwethers' innocence, Ali puts her sharp wit and dogged tenacity to use in uncovering the truth. If only Sterling would stop distracting her with his charm and good looks while insisting she keep her hands off his case. One thing's for certain. Ali's debut as an amateur sleuth will be cancelled, unless she can put a spotlight on the real killer before he makes her the leading lady in his next performance. With the murderous charm of ARSENIC AND OLD LACE, BOARDING WITH MURDER is the first in a planned cozy series, complete at 76,000 words.
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