Death at Breakfast

A Novel

By: Beth Gutcheon

Narrated by: Cynthia Darlow

Length: 8 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

From the acclaimed New York Times best-selling author of Still Missing, More than You Know, and Gossip comes the first entry in a stylish and witty mystery series featuring a pair of unlikely investigators - a shrewd novel of manners with a dark heart of murder at its center, set in small-town New England.

Indulging their pleasure in travel and new experiences, recently retired private school head Maggie Detweiler and her old friend, socialite Hope Babbin, are heading to Maine. The trip - to attend a weeklong master cooking class at the picturesque Victorian-era Oquossoc Mountain Inn - is an experiment to test their compatibility for future expeditions.

Hope and Maggie have barely finished their first aperitifs when the inn's tranquility is shattered by the arrival of Alexander and Lisa Antippas and Lisa's actress sister, Glory. Imperious and rude, these Hollywood 1 percenters quickly turn the inn upside down with their demanding behavior, igniting a flurry of speculation and gossip among staff and guests alike.

But the disruption soon turns deadly. After a suspicious late-night fire is brought under control, Alex's charred body is found in the ashes. Enter the town's deputy sheriff, Buster Babbin, Hope's long-estranged son and Maggie's former student. A man who's finally found his footing in life, Buster needs a win. But he's quickly pushed aside by the "big boys" - senior law enforcement and high-powered state's attorneys who swoop in to make a quick arrest.

Maggie knows that Buster has his deficits and his strengths. She also knows that justice does not always prevail - and that the difference between conviction and exoneration too often depends on lazy police work and the ambitions of prosecutors. She knows, too, after a lifetime of observing human nature, that you have a great advantage in doing the right thing if you don't care who gets the credit or whom you annoy.

Feeling that justice could use a helping hand - as could the deputy sheriff - Maggie and Hope decide that two women of experience equipped with healthy curiosity, plenty of common sense, and a cheerfully cynical sense of humor have a useful role to play in uncovering the truth.

©2016 Beth Gutcheon (P)2016 HarperCollins Publishers

three and a half stars

This is the first book I have listened to written by Beth Gutcheon. I'm really not sure what to say about this book. The mystery was well developed and thought out but I never felt connected with the characters. Offensive language was used by some of the characters, but, it was appropriate and not over done. I would give this book a solid four but I felt like the chapters with the victims family were distracting and unnecessary. I also thought it was a bit odd that the the two lead characters a were not the only ones investigating the mystery. Many people seem to be investigating then they seem to disappear after they contribute to the story. For the most part I liked the story and would probably read the next in the series if there is one.

Disclaimer: I received a free Audible download of this book from the narrator in exchange for an honest review.

4

What fun. I was listening intently
when the author had me laughing
outloud. What I thought was a
vapid little old l day mystery grew into a book filled with interesting people, bright, busy, quick dialog.
I am immediately buying the,sequel.

main characters were best

I liked the main characters best. the story was interesting and made me want to finish.

Too Complicated

For an audiobook. There were too may characters and locations to keep track of. An omniscient point of view but few location change references got confusing. The premise of two older women friends who snoop their way into solving mysteries was good, though. The F bombs may have fit the character who fired them off, but with a decent thesaurus the author could have avoided them. I believe this is the first of a series. I won’t be listening to more.

Oh Dear God No

How did this book get on my radar? I will never know. I don't like Cozy mysteries, I don't even like uncomfortable mysteries. But, I really don't like any book with such a dumb story and ridiculous characters ... (One of the nosy body old women-cum-detective said that somebody wasn't who she said she was because that woman wasn't acting like an Aquarius....Because, you know, astrology is an exact science)

It's an insult to characters everywhere to call these people characters. They were caricatures - and just so you know, this book takes place at an Inn and there's no internet. Cell phones don't work, and there's no DSL. And in case you forgot ... the book will remind you 1500 or 1600 hundred times.

Annoying and terrible.