Audiobook Review - BE OUR GHOST, Book #3 in A Merry Ghost Mystery by Kate Kingsbury

Title: Be Our Ghost 

Author: Kate Kingsbury

Narrator: Tavia Gilbert
Genre: Amateur Sleuth Mystery
Release Date: October 9, 2018

About the Book:

If bed-and-breakfast owners Melanie and Liza, along with their laughing ghost tenant, can't find a real estate developer's killer, their own estate will end up with their next of kin.

The Merry Ghost Inn is well and truly open for business. Melanie West, her grandmother, Liza, and their beloved sheepdog and wolfhound mix, Max, are rapidly getting the hang of running their charming bed-and-breakfast inn on the rocky Oregon coast. Not that business goes without a hitch - when your hostelry boasts its own laughing resident ghost, you'd better expect the out of the ordinary. But Melanie and Liza take it all in stride...until a hotshot real estate developer arrives in Sully's Landing, touting his plans to build a tacky amusement arcade smack dab in the middle of the tasteful cliffside town.

No one in Sully's Landing can stand the gaudy developer, but it's still a shock when he ends up murdered. It's even more shocking when Liza's friend Doug emerges as the chief suspect. Melanie and Liza put on their sleuthing caps yet again and set out to clear Doug's name. 

They nearly check into accommodations six feet under when, en route to the crime scene, their brakes give out and they narrowly miss plunging over the cliffs to the beach below. Meanwhile, the merry ghost who haunts the inn tries to help by dropping clues for Melanie to find, but her mind is otherwise preoccupied when the killer kidnaps Liza and holds her prisoner.

Now it's up to Melanie to piece together the ghost's clues, save her mother, exonerate her friend, keep her guests happy, and make sure Max gets his walkies in Kate Kingsbury's third mirthful Merry Ghost Inn mystery, Be Our Ghost.

Buy Links:

 Amazon 

Audible

My Review:

"Be Our Ghost" is Book #3 in this Merry Ghost In series. Usually by this time I start to get bored with a series, but I couldn't stop listening to this one. Characters that I love, a fantastic narrator and a good mystery all come together to make this a great book to listen to. Again, this can be a stand-alone, but I think you would enjoy it more if you read these books in succession to get the background. 

This time, our super sleuth duo become dragged into a murder investigation after Liza's good friend Doug is suspected of murder. But someone doesn't like them snooping around and Melanie and Liza find themselves being targeted with their lives at stake. Their only hope is to find out who really killed the real estate developer before they become the next victims.

With the help of a clue from Orville, the Merry Ghost, Melanie starts coming to some surprising conclusions.

I loved this series and wish there were more. I did see other books by this author that look promising and I will soon be checking those out as well.

 

My Rating:

About the Author:

Kate Kingsbury grew up in London, England, and at a very early age began telling stories to her school friends during the London Blitz of WW II while huddling in bomb shelters. Kate moved to the U.S. in the early sixties, and had passed her 50th birthday when she published her first book. Writing as Doreen Roberts, (her real name at the time) she published 26 romance novels for Harlequin/Silhouette. In 1991 her first Pennyfoot Hotel book was published and since then Kate has written 35 mysteries, including the Manor House mysteries, the Bellehaven House mysteries(written as Rebecca Kent) and the Raven's Nest mysteries, (written as Allison Kingsley.) Her new series, The Merry Ghost Inn Mysteries debuted in January, 2017 with Dead and Breakfast, featuring a B & B on the Oregon coast. She has one son, Regan, and lives with her husband, Bill, in the beautiful state of Oregon.

Audio Book Review - DOOM WITH A VIEW: A Merry Ghost Inn Mystery #2 by Kate Kingsbury

 

Title: Doom with a View

Author: Kate Kingsbury

Narrator: Tavia Gilbert
Genre: Amateur Sleuth Mystery
Release Date: September 12, 2017

About the Book:

With the arrival of six senior reading group members at the Merry Ghost Inn, the long-awaited grand opening week has finally begun for Melanie West and her grandmother Liza. All is well with the Oregon coast-side B&B until Melanie's dog, Max, finds the dead body of one of their guests.

Everyone at the inn immediately falls under suspicion, including the innkeepers themselves. Melanie and Liza are not sure who they can trust, and the idea of cohabitating with a murderer is enough to send chills down anyone's spine. To make matters worse, the curmudgeonly town detective wants them to steer clear of the investigation, but doesn't seem too inspired to solve the case in a timely fashion himself. To clear their own names and to avoid the blight on the inn's reputation that yet another dead body will bring, Melanie and Liza dive headlong into the murder investigation.

With a little help from their chuckling ghost, Melanie and Liza dodge the detective, tip-toe around their suspicious guests, and still serve up delicious bed-and-breakfast meals on time in Kate Kingsbury's delightful second Merry Ghost Inn mystery, Doom with a View.

Buy Links: Amazon 

My Review:

Yes, I'm binge-listening this series. After listening to the audio book of "Dead and Breakfast", I immediately went back to Audible to get Book #2 in the Merry Ghost Inn series. It's such a light, fun book to listen to. It can be a stand-alone, but I suggest you listen to Book #1 first to get a bit of background.

In "Doom with a View", Melanie and Liza finally have the grand opening of their B&B. Everything is going well until Melanie's dog Max discovers one of the new guests dead in the driveway. The police tell the houseguests to not leave town until the murder is solved, but Melanie and Liza have new guests arriving soon and they need the first guests to leave! Since the detective seems to be dragging his feet, our two ladies are at it again to solve this mystery with a wee bit of help from their laughing ghost currently in residence.

So now I'm ready to start Book #3. Thank you Kate Kingsbury for such a delightful book. And thank you Tavia Gilbert for your excellent narration and for bringing these awesome characters to life.

 

My Rating:

About the Author:

Kate Kingsbury grew up in London, England, and at a very early age began telling stories to her school friends during the London Blitz of WW II while huddling in bomb shelters. Kate moved to the U.S. in the early sixties, and had passed her 50th birthday when she published her first book. Writing as Doreen Roberts, (her real name at the time) she published 26 romance novels for Harlequin/Silhouette. In 1991 her first Pennyfoot Hotel book was published and since then Kate has written 35 mysteries, including the Manor House mysteries, the Bellehaven House mysteries(written as Rebecca Kent) and the Raven's Nest mysteries, (written as Allison Kingsley.) Her new series, The Merry Ghost Inn Mysteries debuted in January, 2017 with Dead and Breakfast, featuring a B & B on the Oregon coast. She has one son, Regan, and lives with her husband, Bill, in the beautiful state of Oregon.

Audiobook Review - DEAD AND BREAKFAST: A MERRY GHOST INN MYSTERY by Kate Kingsbury

 

Title: Dead and Breakfast
Author: Kate Kingsbury
Narrator: Tavia Gilbert

Genre: Amateur Sleuth Mystery
Release Date: January 10, 2017

About the Book:

Melanie West is getting her life back on track after a messy divorce when her grandmother, Liza Harris, asks her to join her in opening a bed-and-breakfast inn. Together, Liza and Melanie purchase a purportedly haunted mansion on the Oregon coast and jump right into clearing out the cobwebs. But while attempting to remove wallpaper in an upstairs bedroom, the new B&B owners stumble upon a very real skeleton in their closet. The police suspect the skeleton is that of the wife of the previous owner of the B&B, but no one in town seems to want to say much about her.

As the inn owners try to juggle renovations with their own amateur investigations, their grand opening looms closer and closer - and a friendly ghost in their walls starts playing tricks. But it all comes crashing to a halt when a new body is found stabbed to death on the beach below the inn - the victim chillingly close in resemblance to Melanie herself. It seems someone doesn't appreciate newcomers prying into the small town's past, and now it's up to Melanie and Liza to get to the bottom of these murders to save their business - and their lives.

Buy Links: Amazon 

My Review:

"Dead and Breakfast" was my first experience with Kate Kingsbury books. But after listening to this first book in the Merry Ghost Inn Mystery collection, I immediately added the next book!

Melanie and her grandmother Liza go in as partners, purchasing an old house that they intend to turn into a Bed and Breakfast. While renovating the home and removing some very old wallpaper, they accidently discover a closet that the wallpaper had been covering. Yes, there is a skeleton in the closet! A real one! How are Melanie and Liza going to meet their deadline for opening the B&B if the police close off the second floor rooms until the case is solved? And since this is a cold case, the police aren't doing much. So Melanie and Liza decide to do a bit of investigating themselves.

This is a stand-alone story but if it's a good idea to listen (or read) this one first before moving on to the next book in the series. And I'm pretty sure you will want to move on to the next book. This was an absolute delight to read (er... I mean "listen"). I loved the characters and the storyline had enough mystery to keep me wanting to listen to more.

I also want to commend the narrator, Tavia Gilbert. She was beyond excellent! Loved her narration and various voices.

This is a light-hearted book and a joy to add to my collection. 

My Rating:

About the Author:

Kate Kingsbury grew up in London, England, and at a very early age began telling stories to her school friends during the London Blitz of WW II while huddling in bomb shelters. Kate moved to the U.S. in the early sixties, and had passed her 50th birthday when she published her first book. Writing as Doreen Roberts, (her real name at the time) she published 26 romance novels for Harlequin/Silhouette. In 1991 her first Pennyfoot Hotel book was published and since then Kate has written 35 mysteries, including the Manor House mysteries, the Bellehaven House mysteries(written as Rebecca Kent) and the Raven's Nest mysteries, (written as Allison Kingsley.) Her new series, The Merry Ghost Inn Mysteries debuted in January, 2017 with Dead and Breakfast, featuring a B & B on the Oregon coast. She has one son, Regan, and lives with her husband, Bill, in the beautiful state of Oregon.