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Bellingwood #1
All Roads Lead Home
Polly Giller returned to Iowa from Boston to start a new life, not that her old one was all that bad. With her inheritance, she purchased an old school building in Bellingwood and is in the middle of renovating it when the bones of two bodies are pulled out of a ceiling.
The whole town knows who those bones belong to, but when she also finds crates and crates of items from the sixties through the early nineties in the old root cellar, they wonder if the two things are connected.
A welcoming committee shows up at Polly's front door and these women soon become her fast friends. Fortunately, the leader of the group is married to the Sheriff and he is there to make sure mysteries are solved and everyone stays safe, but when Polly's old boyfriend from Boston shows up, that becomes a little more difficult.
The women might be a little older than Polly, but she finds out they might be even more wild than the friends she had when living back east. Lydia Merritt, the Sheriff's wife, is a woman filled with love and passion. Beryl Watson is an artist and more than a little flamboyant. Andy Saner wants to organize and label the world, but loves with a great big heart and Sylvie Donovan, with her two young sons is trying to make it as a single mother.
The men in Polly's world are just as interesting. Henry Sturtz is the carpenter and contractor in charge of construction and might have a little crush on his boss, while Doug Randall and Billy Endicott are her Jedi Knights in Shining Armor.
Polly's immediate family might be gone, but her new family offers a great deal of love, fun and entertainment.
Read along as the extraordinary, yet quite ordinary, people in Bellingwood tell their stories.
The whole town knows who those bones belong to, but when she also finds crates and crates of items from the sixties through the early nineties in the old root cellar, they wonder if the two things are connected.
A welcoming committee shows up at Polly's front door and these women soon become her fast friends. Fortunately, the leader of the group is married to the Sheriff and he is there to make sure mysteries are solved and everyone stays safe, but when Polly's old boyfriend from Boston shows up, that becomes a little more difficult.
The women might be a little older than Polly, but she finds out they might be even more wild than the friends she had when living back east. Lydia Merritt, the Sheriff's wife, is a woman filled with love and passion. Beryl Watson is an artist and more than a little flamboyant. Andy Saner wants to organize and label the world, but loves with a great big heart and Sylvie Donovan, with her two young sons is trying to make it as a single mother.
The men in Polly's world are just as interesting. Henry Sturtz is the carpenter and contractor in charge of construction and might have a little crush on his boss, while Doug Randall and Billy Endicott are her Jedi Knights in Shining Armor.
Polly's immediate family might be gone, but her new family offers a great deal of love, fun and entertainment.
Read along as the extraordinary, yet quite ordinary, people in Bellingwood tell their stories.
426 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 17, 2013
694 people are currently reading
2319 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 185 reviews
August 4, 2013
I can tell the characters in this book & the books to come are going to feel like old friends. The author captures the small town Iowa feeling with "salt of the earth" characters, good food, quirky personalities, and a cozy Welcome Home feeling. An intriguing mystery thrown in rounds out the picture. A fun read!
August 25, 2013
I enjoyed the book. I read some of the other reviews about it being "too cozy" but can it ever really be too cozy, not to me at least. It a quick summer read and I just bought the second in the series and plan on getting cozy with it soon.
November 25, 2013
Boring, boring, boring. Way too much detail on what they ate and how much coffee they drank. The story was lame, too. Should have been a short story.
December 7, 2014
Okay. At 20% I was beginning to wonder what was really going to happen in this book? Was the 'Welcoming Committee' going to turn out to be some secret group of 'Stepford Wives' or perhaps the people tasked with fattening Polly up ready for the village feast at which she was going to be the main course?
I have never met a creepier, and more suffocating, group of women in my life. Some of the incidents were, frankly, the sort of things you read in a horror story.
If I had been Polly, I would have run. Fast. Changed my name, left everything behind me. Because these are the sort of women who will follow you....... everywhere.
You can run, but you can never escape the women of Bellingwood.
I have never met a creepier, and more suffocating, group of women in my life. Some of the incidents were, frankly, the sort of things you read in a horror story.
If I had been Polly, I would have run. Fast. Changed my name, left everything behind me. Because these are the sort of women who will follow you....... everywhere.
You can run, but you can never escape the women of Bellingwood.
August 19, 2014
Eh. I got it (free kindle download) and read it because it was about the adaptive-use rehab of a historic building *and* a murder mystery. Two strong areas of interest to me. But...it was just too nicey-nice, fairy-tale for my taste.
May 28, 2014
Too many characters.
Too much verbiage.
Unnecessary descriptions
The premise itself was rather unbelievable. I grew up in a small town. Newcomers are not welcomed at this level. Days of meals and sleep-overs????
Too much verbiage.
Unnecessary descriptions
The premise itself was rather unbelievable. I grew up in a small town. Newcomers are not welcomed at this level. Days of meals and sleep-overs????
November 2, 2013
loved this.book and the story. could hardly put it down a lovely novel with love and friendship a real feel food read
February 22, 2014
this isn't great literature, but it is one of those books that you just enjoy. it makes you feel good and you want to live in this small town with good friends.
January 28, 2015
I have to admit that if I moved to a community and the people were as pushy and "in your face" as these women were, I would seriously consider moving. My only other complaint is the fact that the author goes into great detail about the food and coffee, and even the description of the outside but I like to be able to picture myself in a book, and she has given little description of the school itself. I am understanding that it is a 2 story building, but have a hard time picturing the rooms, cafeteria, auditorium, offices etc. Also, no description of the characters, except some of the men. I don't even know what color hair Polly has. I know this is kind of picky, but I miss being able to picture it better.
December 8, 2013
Boo
Trivial crud. I do not recommend this book if you are a man. Full of wasted words. I really struggled to finish it.
Trivial crud. I do not recommend this book if you are a man. Full of wasted words. I really struggled to finish it.
April 14, 2024
For me the characters were so odd, behaving in ways normal people wouldn't. Aside from that the book isn't sure what it wanted to be. The plot included storylines of changing your life by going-home, building new friendships, renovating an old school building into a residence/business, dealing with a stalker ex-boyfriend, a cold-case crime; unfortunately these were so varied and together didn't make a cohesive whole. I won't be continuing the series.
Not recommended. 1 star
Not recommended. 1 star
October 5, 2018
Enjoyable and clean plot and characters. A “gotcha interested” lead in to others in series. Recommended.
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October 26, 2014A young woman goes home to the Midwest and renovates an old school building. The almost irresistible premise of this book led me to enter the Goodreads giveaway. And, while I have grown weary of series- no one seems to write stand-alone novels anymore- this one sounded promising. I enjoyed the first few chapters. Reading about normal folks was refreshing... for a while.
But the narrative soon grew stale. The characters never develop very much as the story unfolds. The writing seems almost too deliberate, full of details the reader doesn't need to be told. As a result, the novel lacks tension. Even the stalker ex-boyfriend hardly seems like a real threat, despite his tendency to beat up people who get in his way. You just know everything will be OK in the end.
I grew up reading the Cape Cod novels of Joseph C. Lincoln. Nothing really tragic takes place and you can expect everything to turn out well in the end. But the characters are colorful and the stories well enough told that you're not quite sure HOW their dilemmas will be resolved. They are fun to read.
For me, at least, All Roads Lead Home doesn't accomplish that. It's a shame, because the world could use more positivity than most current fiction provides.
But the main problem with this story is the that the characters are completely unbelievable. I know some very good people. None of them is THAT good. No one is so one-sided. No one can drop everything on short notice to come help with a project or a crisis, even in small-town Iowa, not even if they ARE that generous.
Thank you for the free book, Goodreads. I wish I could have liked this novel more, and I hope Diane Muir's writing matures so more readers will enjoy her vision of a happier America.
But the narrative soon grew stale. The characters never develop very much as the story unfolds. The writing seems almost too deliberate, full of details the reader doesn't need to be told. As a result, the novel lacks tension. Even the stalker ex-boyfriend hardly seems like a real threat, despite his tendency to beat up people who get in his way. You just know everything will be OK in the end.
I grew up reading the Cape Cod novels of Joseph C. Lincoln. Nothing really tragic takes place and you can expect everything to turn out well in the end. But the characters are colorful and the stories well enough told that you're not quite sure HOW their dilemmas will be resolved. They are fun to read.
For me, at least, All Roads Lead Home doesn't accomplish that. It's a shame, because the world could use more positivity than most current fiction provides.
But the main problem with this story is the that the characters are completely unbelievable. I know some very good people. None of them is THAT good. No one is so one-sided. No one can drop everything on short notice to come help with a project or a crisis, even in small-town Iowa, not even if they ARE that generous.
Thank you for the free book, Goodreads. I wish I could have liked this novel more, and I hope Diane Muir's writing matures so more readers will enjoy her vision of a happier America.
July 19, 2013
Entertaining cozy mystery but a bit too "cozy" for me personally. I liked the plot with an old school being renovated and bones from a murder 40 years previously being discovered. The secondary plotline with the main character being stalked by a former boyfriend didn't seem to work as well for me.
Interesting characters that were quite well developed but I did have trouble with the group of local female friends that immediately attached themselves to the main character on her arrival in the small town. I had the uncomfortable feeling I was reading about a bunch of high school girls and their 'clique' rather than a group of adult women in their 30s and 40s.
I think, for me, the best part of the entire book was the running joke with the main character becoming almost instantly notable with the whole small town gossip mill for her purple panties with pink bows and the embarrassment of the young carpenter who accidentally displayed them from the laundry basket.
Interesting characters that were quite well developed but I did have trouble with the group of local female friends that immediately attached themselves to the main character on her arrival in the small town. I had the uncomfortable feeling I was reading about a bunch of high school girls and their 'clique' rather than a group of adult women in their 30s and 40s.
I think, for me, the best part of the entire book was the running joke with the main character becoming almost instantly notable with the whole small town gossip mill for her purple panties with pink bows and the embarrassment of the young carpenter who accidentally displayed them from the laundry basket.
January 7, 2015
I couldn't wait till the next reading time I had as I was getting through the book. It takes me 10 sittings to get through a book usually. I grab an hour here and there.
Polly sure does have a supportive group to be a part of. The lovey dovey talk of Lydia and her Sheriff was kind of monotonous, so I skipped over some pages, but I would recommend this book if you like small towns, mystery...
Something funny: One night she has a pork sandwich out for dinner. Next morning Polly's at the diner having a traditional 'diner" breakfast. That evening she has grilled steaks at Lydia's. OK, there was asparagus or something too. It struck me funny at her heavy eating for a 24 hr period.
First time I read anything from this author. Another free book on Book Bub.
Polly sure does have a supportive group to be a part of. The lovey dovey talk of Lydia and her Sheriff was kind of monotonous, so I skipped over some pages, but I would recommend this book if you like small towns, mystery...
Something funny: One night she has a pork sandwich out for dinner. Next morning Polly's at the diner having a traditional 'diner" breakfast. That evening she has grilled steaks at Lydia's. OK, there was asparagus or something too. It struck me funny at her heavy eating for a 24 hr period.
First time I read anything from this author. Another free book on Book Bub.
November 20, 2019
Pros: Very easy read, perfect for when you feel your brain might be taxed by the average issue of Glamour magazine. Or for when you are dreaming of a kinder place than where you currently live.
Cons: Almost the entire book is conversation. If it were a screenplay, that might be okay as the action and acting would give you more information about the characters and events. But there is very little point of view from characters, so you have little idea what they are thinking. There is very little description of characters, so you have no idea how old they are, what their purpose is related to the protagonist, and how they differ from one another. There is apparently a massive remodeling job going on, but little description of the actual activities involved beyond everyone drinking a ton of coffee.
There is a little mystery in this story, which is greatly overshadowed by the cast of characters eating and driving places. There is a stalker boyfriend, who is completely over the top--there are many terrible people in the world that treat their partners in crazy harmful ways, but I'd be very surprised if many of them speak in the stilted, adolescent prose used here.
We could all use more time spent in a place like Bellingwood, where no one is mean or dirty or evil, and everyone instantly becomes friends the moment they meet. Sadly, but not surprisingly, this story feels unrealistic.
Cons: Almost the entire book is conversation. If it were a screenplay, that might be okay as the action and acting would give you more information about the characters and events. But there is very little point of view from characters, so you have little idea what they are thinking. There is very little description of characters, so you have no idea how old they are, what their purpose is related to the protagonist, and how they differ from one another. There is apparently a massive remodeling job going on, but little description of the actual activities involved beyond everyone drinking a ton of coffee.
There is a little mystery in this story, which is greatly overshadowed by the cast of characters eating and driving places. There is a stalker boyfriend, who is completely over the top--there are many terrible people in the world that treat their partners in crazy harmful ways, but I'd be very surprised if many of them speak in the stilted, adolescent prose used here.
We could all use more time spent in a place like Bellingwood, where no one is mean or dirty or evil, and everyone instantly becomes friends the moment they meet. Sadly, but not surprisingly, this story feels unrealistic.
February 19, 2025
This was the first book by this author that I have read. I normally love cozy mysteries but this one dragged. Everything seemed odd. The main character, Polly, moved from Boston where she worked at a library to a small town in Iowa. She purchased a large old school in disrepair to be her home. She had a large crew of guys remodeling it. It seemed like a weird setup. She made friends with a group of women who were old enough to be her mother and maybe older. She didn’t seek out anyone in her age group. They were all strange. Only one of the women worked and she was the youngest of the group. Polly had bursts of anger where she ranted at people. The murder had been committed years before and the investigation hardly played a part in the story. She did also have a stalker which provided some excitement. She also didn’t seem like she planned to work and she was only 32. I am passing on the rest of the series. I give it 2.5 stars.
June 7, 2017
Iowa book series. Polly Giller grew up in Iowa but left to go to college in Boston. She loves her job in the library, but a break up with a crazy boyfriend and the death of her father lead her back to Iowa. With her inheritance, she buys an old school in the small town of Bellingwood (near Boone) and begins remodeling it. But two sets of bones found in the ceiling, a secret root cellar filled with crates of students' belongings, and her stalker former boyfriend could spell the end to Polly's plans. Polly was welcomed to Bellingwood by four ladies who become hard and fast friends. Polly's new friends and others in Bellingwood show her love and support when she needs it most.
August 30, 2017
I enjoyed this book, though I wouldn't call it grand literature. Simply written, it tells the story of a young woman who returns to her home state of Iowa to escape a bad relationship in Boston and to begin a new life by buying a deserted old school and renovating it to fulfill her dreams of a retreat for artists and writers, or just anyone who wants to get away from it all. Soon it builds to include the companionship of new friends, workmen who are like family, a home for animals, a possibility of new adventures. It's a comfortable, homey book that carries you away with Polly's everyday happenings with small town friendships filled with a kindness that's almost impossible to believe.
July 14, 2023
This is my second time reading All Roads. I’ve read all forty two of her books, and I’m circling back to the beginning. I can’t begin to tell you what this series means to me. It reminds readers of the goodness in the world. There’s a bit of mystery, a lot of friendship, and some excitement to round it out. I wait impatiently for the quarterly addition of a new book.
There’s a crazy FB site for Bellingwood readers. Diane has a cult following! She’s the mother or friend you wish you had. This little town is where you’d love to raise your kids. The series builds on itself, so you definitely want to start with book one.
There’s a crazy FB site for Bellingwood readers. Diane has a cult following! She’s the mother or friend you wish you had. This little town is where you’d love to raise your kids. The series builds on itself, so you definitely want to start with book one.
June 12, 2018
Very interesting read. I was expecting the cookie cutter murder novels that seem to have flooded the market. But I was pleasantly surprised. Yes there is a murder. But most of the story is about the friends and relationships Polly makes after moving into the small Iowa town. No superheroes, just normal people. I really enjoyed the different way of telling this story. Probably leans more towards my feminine side I guess. Still glad I picked it up. Maybe when I get some of the others off my list I'll read the next one in the series.
May 30, 2017
This really didn't feel like a mystery to me. Also, it seemed like there were way too many little details added, some way too crazy scenes, some inconsistencies in character development, and a bit of bad dialogue and/or interactions. But regardless of how negative I sound, for some reason I found myself really liking the idea of the story, drawn into the locale and supporting characters. I would be interested to find out what happens in the next installment of Bellingwood.
September 22, 2017
Easy to read with enough action to keep it moving and interesting. Polly, the main character, moves back to Iowa, buys a closed and boarded up school and renovates it. There is mystery, new friends and adventure along the way. The first book was followed by a short story "Christmas Story: Polly's First Christmas at Sycamore House". The book flowed easily into the short story which seemed to tie up some loose ends.
November 21, 2020
Great books,
I have read some of the reviews for several in this series. Most were favorable. My sister is the one that told me about them. In today's times its nice to have something to read that is not to heavy. Having said that I am on book 7 and I find them refreshing and well written. The characters are very well developed, the stories have real life, romance, a little mystery and are entertaining. I'm going to keep reading till I get to the end of the series.
I have read some of the reviews for several in this series. Most were favorable. My sister is the one that told me about them. In today's times its nice to have something to read that is not to heavy. Having said that I am on book 7 and I find them refreshing and well written. The characters are very well developed, the stories have real life, romance, a little mystery and are entertaining. I'm going to keep reading till I get to the end of the series.
May 6, 2023
Great book
I love a book with a happy ending. I love romance with a little mystery. I got both in this book. I don't rehash the story, I just write how the book makes me feel. I just wanted to keep reading more. So glad to see this is book one. I want many more books in this series. With what Polly is planning for her schoolhouse I think we are good for at least a ten book series!
I love a book with a happy ending. I love romance with a little mystery. I got both in this book. I don't rehash the story, I just write how the book makes me feel. I just wanted to keep reading more. So glad to see this is book one. I want many more books in this series. With what Polly is planning for her schoolhouse I think we are good for at least a ten book series!
December 25, 2024
Polly decides to leave behind her life in Boston and move to Iowa near where she grew up. Buying an abandoned high school building and renovating it keeps her busy as does making new friends in the small town. When her stalker-ish possessive deranged ex-boyfriend tracks her down, her life takes a definite spiral downward. As well as human remains being found sealed it up in the ceiling of her building!!!
September 24, 2017
Not the sort of book I'd normally read, and I'm fairly sure I'm not the target audience. The story was good, and the storytelling was strong, but the writing felt like it was aimed at readers with a limited vocabulary. It's not a young adult book in tone or theme, but there's nothing in it a 10 year old would struggle with. It's not poorly written - it's just simplistic.
April 8, 2019
Addicted to Bellingham
What an adventure. Could not put this book down. This read keeps you engaged to say the least. Loved the movement of the book, never a dull moment, but some beautiful quiet moments gives you a little relaxing moment. Ready to dive into book number 2. So glad I stumbled across this series.
What an adventure. Could not put this book down. This read keeps you engaged to say the least. Loved the movement of the book, never a dull moment, but some beautiful quiet moments gives you a little relaxing moment. Ready to dive into book number 2. So glad I stumbled across this series.
June 5, 2020
From City to Small Town
I have enjoyed reading this novel. The characters and the story are extremely interesting and I'm not sure which I like best. The story is so interesting that I had to keep reading so that I knew what Polly was going to do next. I felt as if all of the characters have also become my friends. Wonderful novel.
I have enjoyed reading this novel. The characters and the story are extremely interesting and I'm not sure which I like best. The story is so interesting that I had to keep reading so that I knew what Polly was going to do next. I felt as if all of the characters have also become my friends. Wonderful novel.
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