Murder on Devil’s Pond
Series: A Hummingbird Hollow B&B Mystery #1
Author: Ayla Rose
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Page Count: 293
My Rating:
Book Summary
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.
More Facts for Readers about our Sleuth & Setting:
Main Sleuth: Hannah Teululah Solace
Sidekick: Reggie Solace (older sister by about 10-11 years)
Physical Description: Hannah is 33 years old. Not much physical description was given except at one point mention of curly hair. She is physically fit (her character enjoys walking, kayaking, gardening, hiking, etc). It’s nice because you can imprint whatever appearance you want. Maybe a future book would give more description in this regard.
Location: Jasper, Vermont
Profession: Inn Keeper who also does gardening (pollinator focused)
Time of Year: Late August
Pet: ‘Moose’ a brown mastiff mix and ‘Turnip’ a cat (not described in detail)
Love Interests: Possibly Ash Kade (landscaper) or Detective Noah Booker
Family: Hannah has an older sister (Reggie, about a decade older), a niece named Teululah, and a father (estranged, widower).
Diversity? Unsure. The character’s races weren’t really mentioned. My impression is that they are all white characters, even the side characters, but then again I can’t recall specific mentions so it could be that I’m just envisioning/projecting the typical cozy characters. I’m totally open to anyone else’s intepretation!
My Review
Ahhh yesss… a good classic cozy mystery. Good vibes all around. We got plenty of details about the town, the sleuth’s B & B business, the family dynamics, and the host of suspects without being bogged down / entrenched in too much filler or random factoids. You know what I mean? Sometimes cozies have too much research, too much special interest, which can be very educational at times, it’s nice to learn things, but boy can it really ruin a story a times too. This cozy had a perfect blend of small-town slide-of-life, decades-long drama to unearth, and modern-day concepts (like a pollinator garden) to inform the reader on. A lovely blend of sleuthing and informing!
I don’t have a green thumb and I didn’t feel like I *needed* to have one to vibe with this cozy book and understand the tidbits that the author peppered in. I genuinely enjoyed the character interactions and I didn’t feel like anything was ‘too far-fetched’ – it just made sense! More fun was that fact there was a mystery within a mystery. We had the modern-day murder we were trying to solve, but also a hidden decades-past mystery to solve involving the victim.
I’m genuinely interested in knowing what happens to our sleuth next and wanting to learn if she resolves some family and family-friend issues, a big financial question-mark, but also the possible love-triangle that the author has begun sowing the seeds for – a gardening pun that’s very much intended!
I just wish the editing team had taken their time a bit more. There were at least five or six typos in the book which always make it seem small press or super rushed. Totally not the author’s fault, but makes the publishing house appear a bit sloppy. So beware if that sort of things takes you out of your reading eliminate. It doesn’t knock any stars off from me though. The writing is solid, the characters memorable, and it’s an easy breezy story-telling throughout.
