Getaway With Murder: The Mountain Lodge Mysteries

Diane Kelly

Oct 2021 · Mountain Lodge Mysteries Book 1 · Sold by St. Martin's Paperbacks

About this ebook

Getaway With Murder is the first in a cozy series from Diane Kelly set in a lodge in the Blue Ridge Mountains, where secrets hide behind every hill.

As if hitting the half-century mark wasn’t enough, Misty Murphy celebrated her landmark birthday by amicably ending her marriage and investing her settlement in a dilapidated mountain lodge at the top of the Blue Ridge Mountains. With the old inn teetering on both a bluff and bankruptcy, she must have lost her ever-loving mind.

Luckily, handyman Rocky Crowder has a knack for rehabbing virtual ruins and for doing it on a dime, and to Misty’s delight, the lodge is fully booked on opening night, every room filled with flexible folks who’d slipped into spandex and ascended the peak for a yoga retreat with plans to namastay for a full week. Misty and her guests are feeling zen—at least until the yoga instructor is found dead.

With a killer on the loose and the lodge’s reputation hanging in the balance, Misty must put her detective-skills to the test. Only one thing is as clear as a sunny mountain morning—she must solve the crime before the lodge ends up, once again, on the brink.

Ratings and reviews

Getaway with Murder by Diane Kelly is the debut of The Mountain Lodge Mysteries. Misty Murphy has just signed her divorce papers ending her twenty-year marriage on her fiftieth birthday. She is starting over in Beech Mountain, North Carolina. Misty has purchased a rustic lodge where she spent many vacations. Her new venture gets off to a bad start when minor drainage damage turns into a major problem. Misty is fortunate to get Rocky Crowder, the local handyman, to complete the repairs just in time for a yoga retreat. The owner of the yoga studio turns out to be demanding and rude. The yoga instructor is murdered putting Misty’s new venture at risk. Misty must use her skills to locate the killer before her new lodge is sunk permanently. Getaway with Murder is an engaging new cozy mystery. It is well-written with steady pacing and realistic characters. Misty is a smart, resourceful, and friendly. I like that she is fifty and experiencing menopause systems. I could certainly relate to her hot flashes. There are some great secondary characters that include Rocky the handyman, Patty who owns the local diner, and Brynn the assistant and housekeeper. I thought Diane Kelly captured the area with her beautiful descriptions. The winding roads up the mountain, the trees, the cool air, the Southern food, the mountains, and the Appalachian trail. The whodunit was fun with several suspects. I enjoyed piecing together the clues. I liked Misty’s approach to sleuthing. There is humor scattered throughout the story and I loved the chapters from Yeti’s (Misty’s cat) point-of-view. I thought the author really captured a cat’s personality (this is a feline with catitude). Getaway with Murder was a fun story that made me smile. I am eager for the next book in The Mountain Lodge Mysteries. Getaway with Murder is a welcome whodunit with a hunky handyman, a Wiccan assistant, an intense yoga instructor, a missing singing bowl, a lodge in peril, and a setup trail trekker.

murder, murder-investigation, pets, divorcee, of-a-certain-age, cozy-mystery, small-business, small-town, hospitality-industry**** The characters are particularly well drawn and the sleuthing is pretty good. The publisher's blurb is a pretty good hook, so I won't go over that territory and spoilers are just rude. The red herrings were diabolical, but I didn't get the point of listening to random cat thoughts. But I really liked it and hope for the next one to arrive. I requested and received a free ebook copy from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley. Thank you!

About the author

DIANE KELLY is a former state assistant attorney general and tax advisor who spent much of her career fighting, or inadvertently working for, white-collar criminals. She is also a proud graduate of the Mansfield, Texas Citizens Police Academy. Diane combines her fascination with crime and her love of animals in her stories. Diane now lives in North Carolina, where she spends her days catering to her demanding cats or walking her dogs in the region’s beautiful woods. She is the author of the Tara Holloway series, the Paw Enforcement series, and the House Flipper series. Getaway With Murder is the first in the Mountain Lodge series.