• Dead and Breakfast

  • A Merry Ghost Inn Mystery
  • By: Kate Kingsbury
  • Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert
  • Length: 7 hrs and 29 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (3,757 ratings)

Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Audible Plus auto-renews for $7.95/mo after 30 days. Upgrade or cancel anytime.
Dead and Breakfast  By  cover art

Dead and Breakfast

By: Kate Kingsbury
Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $15.56

Buy for $15.56

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Melanie West is getting her life back on track after a messy divorce when her grandmother, Liza Harris, asks her to join her in opening a bed-and-breakfast inn. Together, Liza and Melanie purchase a purportedly haunted mansion on the Oregon coast and jump right into clearing out the cobwebs. But while attempting to remove wallpaper in an upstairs bedroom, the new B&B owners stumble upon a very real skeleton in their closet. The police suspect the skeleton is that of the wife of the previous owner of the B&B, but no one in town seems to want to say much about her.

As the inn owners try to juggle renovations with their own amateur investigations, their grand opening looms closer and closer - and a friendly ghost in their walls starts playing tricks. But it all comes crashing to a halt when a new body is found stabbed to death on the beach below the inn - the victim chillingly close in resemblance to Melanie herself. It seems someone doesn't appreciate newcomers prying into the small town's past, and now it's up to Melanie and Liza to get to the bottom of these murders to save their business - and their lives.

©2017 Kate Kingsbury (P)2017 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

What listeners say about Dead and Breakfast

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2,125
  • 4 Stars
    958
  • 3 Stars
    496
  • 2 Stars
    122
  • 1 Stars
    56
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2,208
  • 4 Stars
    724
  • 3 Stars
    303
  • 2 Stars
    83
  • 1 Stars
    60
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,876
  • 4 Stars
    843
  • 3 Stars
    453
  • 2 Stars
    123
  • 1 Stars
    58

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Enjoyable small town cozy mystery

Melanie West and her grandmother, Liza Harris, are renovating a big, old home in Sully's Landing, Oregon, to open a bed & breakfast inn, when they find a skeleton in a hidden room. It's quickly identified as Angela Morelli, wife of Vincent Morelli, the last couple to live there. Angela had vanished, believed to have deserted wheelchair-bound Vincent, and Vincent had gone to live with his son, Tony. Now that Vincent is dead, Tony had finally sold the empty house...

Melanie and Liza's renovation plans, and therefore their opening plans, are now on hold until the police release the second floor as no longer a crime scene. This wouldn't be a huge problem if this cold case didn't quickly get shoved to the side by more active cases. With potential financial ruin staring them in the face, it's no wonder Melanie and Liza decide to investigate on their own.

This is a fun, interesting book, if a little silly in places. I have some difficulty believing the police would be so indifferent to clearing and releasing a crime scene inside what his both someone's home and their business. At the same time, Melanie and Liza are logical and methodical in how they go about it, and don't actively do things straight out of the "How to Get Yourself Killed by the Killer" manual. There's also the small matter of the dog that Melanie decides to adopt. I can't say much about why she decides to adopt the dog, because spoilers, but she seems amazed by the paperwork and procedures involved--which are really startlingly minimal. It's a surprise to her when the shelter wants to see if the dog likes her, for instance, not just whether she likes the dog. Yet while shelters are more, um, relaxed, often, in their adoption procedures than rescue groups are, what surprises me is how quick and easy it was, and if there was an adoption fee involved, I missed the mention of it.

But, yes, that's the reaction of someone involved in dog rescue. Inside baseball, anyone?

They're new to the town, and they meet some interesting people along the way, who are clearly going to be regulars going forward. People like them because they are, in fact, likable, intelligent, considerate people. They try to do the right thing.

It's an enjoyable story, and I look forward to more.

I bought this audiobook.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

31 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

One of the best I have evet heard!!! I loved it!!

it had Romance mystery suspense! it was very exciting !! it had everything a book should have, It kept me at the edge of my seat , but at the same time it was so sweet. I also love that it included a dog and a very handsome man to fall for !! I would definitely buy from this writer again

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

22 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Weak story and narration

My first impression of the narrator was that she sounded like she was telling a fairy tale to children, overdoing it.

The story limped along. The main character came across as deathly afraid of her ex, but you didn’t find out the reason (unreasonable, IMO) until far into the story. She also seemed to over react in many situations. Her grandmother, sometimes erroneously called her mother, was a more believable character.

They were both supposed to be so worried that they wouldn’t get the B&B renovated before they ran out of money, but freely spent time running around talking to people, shopping, going out to lunch and getting facials. Meanwhile they only just got brochures and had no web site - how did they think prospective guests would even know about them?

While this book wasn’t horrible, I wouldn’t buy another in the series or recommend it to anyone. Not even sure I’d try another of the author’s series.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

20 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Typical Cozy Mystery

This is a rather formulaic and typical cozy mystery. I thought Melanie was a bit over the top with her suspicions. I might give the next book a chance but I'm not sure.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Slightly disappointing

Some of the voices portrayed by the narrator were exasperating. It was times a bit over-theatrical. It wasn't the worst narration I've ever heard but it was definitely in the bottom half. If i had only read the book Im fairly certain that I would have thoroughly enjoyed the elderly and spry Liza. I didn't like the inflection the narrator used with the character.

When the reason for Melanie's resentment towards her ex-husband were revealed, it made me immediately dislike her. I don't like characters who hold grudges (for years!) and lack any personal growth.

The story itself was average. I won't be rushing to buy another book by this author but it did meet the standard formula for a cozy mystery. I would recommend this book if offered for free on Kindle, skip the audible version.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

BnB Menu item

Cut out ex-husband's heart and eat it in front of him. A very filling meal for any vindictive woman who feels hatred towards all males. price? the time to sit through this book as a total waste of time.
Next, prepare a side dish of racism sprinkled with judgmental misogynistic comments and an added dash of Grandmother's snobby British accent.
Once finished with your BnB breakfast head to your Audible library and remove this book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Inane

and the grandmother whines all the time. I don't know how this happens -- I listen to the audio sample and it sounds playful and cozy-interesting -- get the audiobook from the beginning and it's terrible!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

a refreshing mystery

the narrator is wonderful, I loved the story she made the people so real I am giving up direct tv, this. cozy story was perfect, I look forward to the next one

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

wonderful book!

I loved this story. great for passing the time at work at the bnb !

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Lame Impossible plot

Modern police departments will not insist on making business impossible for a case 50 years old. Even when the house is released, the police insisted on leaving a room closed. A skeleton was found and the cold case was over 40 years old. Seriously what sort of evidence were they preserving? A fresh scene would have been processed in 56 hours tops. That is the underpinning of the plot and it's not credible.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful