Book Review: Getaway With Murder

I was given a free e-copy of this novel by NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Diane Kelly begins a new cozy mystery series titled Mountain Lodge Mystery. In the first novel Getaway With Murder, Misty Murphy, alone with cat Yeti, are celebrating her fiftieth birthday with a mutual divorce, as well as purchasing an older mountain lodge on the Blue Ridge Mountains. She might have bitten off more than she can chew, however, when she sees that the old lodge appears to be falling off a bluff. Enter Rocky Crowder, handsome handyman, and his trusty sidekick dog Molasses. With Rocky around for maintenance, Misty can focus on acquiring guests, and she is off to a fantastic start when she becomes fully booked her opening night with a yoga group needing a place for their retreat. Feeling the zen-like atmosphere, Misty and group are caught completely off guard when the yoga instructor is found murdered. Now Misty must scramble to protect not only her guests, but also the reputation of her lodge or else she might lose everything including her life.

My first and overall favorite thing about Diane Kelly’s stories is the inclusion of the animals. I have read her Paw Enforcement series (AND LOVE IT), and I genuinely like how she gives the pet a voice. In this case, Misty’s cat Yeti was not as prominent in the story as I would have associated with a Diane Kelly novel. In this case, Yeti seemed almost more of a filler than a necessity. I have two cats of my own and completely agree with the thoughts coming from Yeti, but again couldn’t quite place why they were included in the story. I hope that the second novel in this series has more of the feisty feline’s voice as well as her potential to assist with the mystery. I also can’t wait to see what Yeti’s interaction with Molasses will be like.

My next favorite thing is the main character’s involvement with the people around them. Diane Kelly has a way of making the reader be the main character. In this case is Misty, a level-headed, divorcee who makes the idea of starting over seem easy. She is genuinely upset about the murder victim but also for each of the different suspects. She seems to understand who she is as a person, and what she wants from her life. I also enjoyed how open-minded she was, having hired a woman who practices Wicca and doesn’t make assumptions about the guests. She judged everyone based on how they acted or interacted with her and each other.

Finally, the mystery was good. The murder doesn’t occur until halfway through the book, but that was fine by me because I feel that the first in a series has to establish the characters and the setting. The victim is also a bit of mystery. As far as the reader knows, the victim is ruse and shallow, but there isn’t any background until very late in the novel. Which makes it a bit difficult for the reader to make a guess to the killer. However, being rude can still get a person murdered so there is no way to strike anyone from the list of suspects. When Misty had to communicate with the police, I was very happy to read that Deputy Yona Highcloud was competent as well as intelligent and respectful. She listened to Misty, and was open about her own thoughts. It was refreshing to read the deputy being thorough instead of accepting one possible solution.

Overall I rate this novel 5 out of 5 stars