Genre: Cozy Mystery
Published: October 24, 2023
Pages: 298
The third in the charming and engrossing Mountain Lodge mystery series by Diane Kelly, in Snow Place for Murder, the weather at the Mountaintop Lodge is truly frightful…
International resort developer Nigel Goodwin has traveled all the way from London, England to Misty Murphy’s little corner of North Carolina and bought out the Mountaintop Lodge for the week prior to Christmas. Their intention? To pitch an exclusive new resort concept to wealthy American investors.
But locals are at odds over the idea, and when a group comes to the lodge to express their worries to Mr. Goodwin and the potential investors, a blizzard hits Beech Mountain. Like the weather outside, things quickly get frosty, and Misty has to call local police to intervene. Handyman Rocky Crowder plows the lodge’s drive and, in an attempt to regain a jovial holiday atmosphere, smooths the snow pile into a makeshift sledding hill for the guests to enjoy.
Misty’s boys have finished their exams and are “home” from college for the winter break, planning to spend most of their time snowboarding at the ski resort. While taking a few runs down Rocky’s sledding hill, they discover a funny-looking, nose-shaped rock. Only it’s not a rock. It’s the frozen nose of Nigel Goodwin, who’s found dead and buried under the mound of snow.
Who put the developer on ice and why?
International resort developer Nigel Goodwin has traveled all the way from London, England to Misty Murphy’s little corner of North Carolina and bought out the Mountaintop Lodge for the week prior to Christmas. Their intention? To pitch an exclusive new resort concept to wealthy American investors.
But locals are at odds over the idea, and when a group comes to the lodge to express their worries to Mr. Goodwin and the potential investors, a blizzard hits Beech Mountain. Like the weather outside, things quickly get frosty, and Misty has to call local police to intervene. Handyman Rocky Crowder plows the lodge’s drive and, in an attempt to regain a jovial holiday atmosphere, smooths the snow pile into a makeshift sledding hill for the guests to enjoy.
Misty’s boys have finished their exams and are “home” from college for the winter break, planning to spend most of their time snowboarding at the ski resort. While taking a few runs down Rocky’s sledding hill, they discover a funny-looking, nose-shaped rock. Only it’s not a rock. It’s the frozen nose of Nigel Goodwin, who’s found dead and buried under the mound of snow.
Who put the developer on ice and why?
I received a copy of this book through Netgalley. This is my honest review.
When I requested this book, I was just looking for non-romance holiday stories to fill out my 12 Books of Christmas challenge, but the cat on the cover really drew me in. Unfortunately, this is a cozy mystery and I apparently struggle to love cozy mysteries.
In this story, I can understand why Misty is invested in trying to figure out who killed Nigel Goodwin, because it happened at her hotel. She very clearly has a vested interest in solving the murder, so it doesn't affect her hotel's reputation and reviews. And since she has access to all of the suspects hotel rooms throughout the day...This was at least a plausible set-up for an amateur sleuth to have more success than the detectives.
My problem is that I didn't feel invested in the outcome one way or the other. Nigel was awful and I didn't care that he was dead, so I definitely didn't care if justice was served.
Overall I give Snow Place for Murder 3.4721 out of 5 stars. - Katie
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 Citizens Police Academy of Mansfield, Texas. Diane combines her fascination with crime and her love of animals in her stories, which include the Paw Enforcement series, the House-Flipper Mysteries, and the Mountain Lodge Mysteries. 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.
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