The Mountain View Murder (A Wintergreen Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Publisher: Chaparral Press LLC
Paperback: 270 pages

Synopsis

Guess who cried at Lou Thorpe’s funeral?

 

No one. His wife, grown children, and best friends all attended the service, but no one shed a single tear. Poor Lou. He was out for his morning walk when a crazed driver knocked him out of life. Crazed? With no car, no driver, and no witnesses, it’s difficult to say. Was it an accident or intentional?

Until that morning, Bill O’Shea was living the dream. After a career of fighting crime in the big city, Bill bought a condo in the beautiful mountain resort community of Wintergreen, Virginia. When he met his attractive new neighbor, Bill knew his retirement was off to a great start. But then the short-staffed police department asked Bill to help them investigate Thorpe’s death.

Soon, Bill fell into an old routine. Interviewing suspects. Checking alibis. Everyone had a secret to hide, but Bill lacked evidence to tie any of the suspects to the crime. He was missing something–like he had an itch he couldn’t reach to scratch.

Will Bill and his new friends solve the case, or will the murder of Lou Thorpe remain a mystery forever?

If you love beautiful mountain settings, a charming cast, and intriguing plot twists, you’re going to love this new series!

Clean read: no graphic violence, sex, or strong language.

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Review

This was a fun new series that has an endearing protagonist, beautiful scenery, and murder.

I loved all of the descriptions of the town and mountains and especially the trail that one might traverse as a rite of passage or to say that they hiked the whole Appalachian Trail.

Bill O’Shea may be a retired detective but he hasn’t given up on life or his quest to uncover a killer, even as a volunteer to the police department. Bill brings together a cast of characters in solving the crime of who killed Lou Thorpe. There are many suspects but only one murderer that is hiding in plain sight. I have to admit I never suspected this character and there are not many clues that will give away the mystery. I will say that Lou is not a nice guy so it maybe isn’t really a loss for the town that he is now gone.  There was quite a bit of backstory to uncover and Bill is able to piece together the clues and uncover the murderer. The confrontation with the murderer was rather odd and I’m not quite sure why it happened the way that it did other than that since Bill is not officially on the police force he didn’t have the authority to arrest this person? But Mitch was there and ready to take this character down. It was a rather odd ending but it worked.

There is a bit of romance for Bill with a woman that lives in his condo complex, Cindy. I have mixed feelings about this character. She seems good for Bill, but at the same time, she pulls a “scorned woman” act that makes no sense. This is where I wanted to reach into the book and throttle her for not addressing her feelings with Bill. They aren’t young and you would think that they wouldn’t have time for this sort of behavior. I know Bill has no clue what is going on because she won’t speak to him. It is rather childish.

I did like all of the characters and how nothing was ever 100% truthful or accurate. It was the omission of details that kept the police and Bill guessing.

Overall we give this book 4 paws up.

About the Author

Pat Kelly was raised in the idyllic suburb of Yorktown, Virginia, where children ran barefoot through the grass and fished in the York River. After graduating from UVA, he left the state to pursue a career in finance. He settled in Texas, married a wonderful woman (Susie), and together they raised two daughters in Austin.

With the girls now grown and gone, Pat has pursued a lifelong love of writing stories. Countless hours at the keyboard have produced the Joe Robbins Thriller Series, two book awards, and four standalone novels.

A few years ago, Pat and Susie bought a summer home in the bucolic mountaintop resort of Wintergreen, Virginia. The beautiful vistas there inspired Pat to write a cozy mystery series featuring the reluctant detective Bill O’Shea. Join Pat’s newsletter to follow Bill’s adventures as he dodges irrepressible bears, pursues romance, and solves mysteries.

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