Inn Keeping with Murder-I'm a sucker for a big old Victorian House even if there's a murder in it

I have a thing for big old Victorian houses,(yes, I live in one) so the cover of this book drew me in immediately. The characters drew me in further. An good start to what is evidently going to be a new cozy series.

Julia Applegate owns the St. Claire Inn on Mercer Island which has been converted into a high end B&B. She and the close friends in her book club have formed a tight bond that is almost family. When a good friend of theirs apparently commits suicide and then one of their own members drops dead in the Inn right in front of them, they are determined to find the culprit.
The St. Claire Inn is haunted and even the ghosts get in on the action of helping to solve the murders. A Great Dane and two dachshunds round out the cast of pretty interesting characters.

I felt the answer to the mystery was telegraphed pretty early in the book. I'm not usually good at figuring out whodunit so it was unusual for me to have nailed it so early. I did enjoy the characters and the setting. I'm enjoying books where the characters are a bit older and yet are still fully drawn individuals. I love this trend of older characters in mysteries.

If there are more books forthcoming, I'll be back for them. I think the potential in the characters is enormous and the setting of an Inn with strangers coming and going could be a great platform for mysteries. I'll watch and see where this goes.

Would I pay money for it?   Yes

Would I read more by this author? Yes

Would I recommend this to a friend? Yes

Grayson Manor Haunting-Was there a horror story cliche that this book missed? I think not!

So Addison Lockhart's mom passes away and Addison inherits a very grand house in the country that she didn't even know existed but is where her mother grew up. When she arrives at the house she find that it comes with locked rooms, a hunky contractor willing to work on it, a ghost haunting it unable to move on because of unfinished business and...Wait a minute. Do these elements feel familiar? Is there any cliché for haunted house stories that this book has missed? I don't think so. The longer I read, the more it felt like every plotline I've ever seen used in a haunted house story was here in this book. The grandmother that she didn't know she had reappears. The blood stained dress found in the house. I found it so cliché that I had a hard time enjoying it.

There are many types of horror stories that I have no interest in but haunted house stories are one type I really enjoy. This looked like a slam dunk for me. Unfortunately, it felt like a retread of many other haunted house stories and a shallow one at that. I didn't feel like there was much depth to the story or to the characters. The one thing that I always need in my stories is atmosphere and that was sadly lacking here. It wasn't creepy and it didn't make me feel haunted. When we had “an eerie stillness” and “a deadly quiet” in the same paragraph, I felt like the author was just trying too hard. I would be willing to give this author another try because I know she has written other things that have been well received, but this one did left me very flat.

Would I pay money for it?   No

Would I read more by this author? Yes

Would I recommend this to a friend? No