Peach Clobbered: A Georgia B&B Mystery
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Crooked Lane Books (July 9, 2019)

Synopsis

What’s black and white and dead all over? Georgia bed and breakfast proprietor Nina Fleet finds out when she comes across a corpse in a penguin costume.

Nina Fleet’s life ought to be as sweet as a Georgia peach. Awarded a tidy sum in her divorce, Nina retired at 41 to a historic Queen Anne house in quaint Cymbeline, GA. But Nina’s barely settled into her new B&B-to-be when a penguin shows up on her porch. Or, at least, a man wearing a penguin suit.

Harry Westcott is making ends meet as an ice cream shop’s mascot and has a letter from his great-aunt, pledging to leave him the house. Too bad that’s not what her will says. Meanwhile, the Sisters of Perpetual Poverty have lost their lease. Real estate developer Gregory Bainbridge intends to turn the convent into a golfing community, so Cymbeline’s mayor persuades Nina to take in the elderly nuns. And then Nina finds the “penguin” again, this time lying in an alley with a kitchen knife in his chest.

A peek under the beak tells Nina it’s not Harry inside the costume, but Bainbridge. What was he doing in Harry’s penguin suit? Was the developer really the intended victim, or did the culprit mean to kill Harry? Whoever is out to stop Harry from contesting the sale of his great-aunt’s house may also be after Nina, so she teams up with him to cage the killer before someone clips her wings in Peach Clobbered, Anna Gerard’s charming first Georgia B&B mystery.

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Review

I loved this book – from the witty dialogue, quirky characters, and southern setting.  It is a winning combination.

This is a new series you will want to read and should you read this book (and you should!) you might be surprised at the turn of events and who the killer turns out to be in the end.  I love a good mystery that keeps me guessing and surprises me in the end.

Nina (Nine-ah) has left the big city of Atlanta and has found her new home in Cymbeline after a disastrous marriage.  As with all small towns, there are politics and it is all in who you know to get things done.  The historic home that she has purchased is now a B&B at the behest of the Mayor (hence the fast tracking of certain things) to house a motley group of nuns.  While this may not be her plans for her home, she falls into the groove pretty quickly and it helps that the nuns aren’t your typical guests.  She does have a thorn in her side, Harry.  He is a nephew of the previous owner and is contesting her purchasing the house.  This causes for some sticky situations peppered throughout the book, but it adds another twist in the tale.

I thought that the cast of characters was just right – not too many and not too few.  I felt like the characters were well developed for a first book and expect that to continue with future books.  I do think there could have been a little bit more about how Nina came to Cymbeline and why she left Atlanta.  There are a few mentions but not enough for my liking but hopefully, there will be a further exploration into her past life.

I am curious to see how this situation with Harry will play itself out.  He is an actor and has done various roles, so will he want to continue contesting the sale of the house or will he move on if his career takes off?  Only future books will tell.

This peach of a book is entertaining and we give it 5 paws up.

About the Author

DIANE A.S. STUCKART is the New York Times bestselling author of the Black Cat Bookshop Mystery series (writing as Ali Brandon). She’s also the author of the award-winning Leonardo da Vinci historical mysteries, as well as several historical romances and numerous mystery, fantasy, and romance short stories. The first book in her Tarot Cats Mystery series is FOOL’S MOON, available in trade, large print, and Kindle versions. Her Georgia B&B Mystery series from Crooked Lane Books launched July 2019 with PEACH CLOBBERED, written as Anna Gerard.

Diane is a member of Mystery Writers of America and has served as the 2018 and 2019 Chapter President of the MWA Florida chapter. In addition to her mystery writing affiliations, she’s a member of the Cat Writers’ Association and belongs to the Palm Beach County Beekeepers Association. She’s a native Texan with a degree in Journalism from the University of Oklahoma, but has been living in the West Palm Beach FL area since 2006. She shares her “almost in the Everglades” home with her husband, dogs, cats, and a few beehives.

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