Hanging with Hugo

Crime with the Classics #6

by Katherine Bolger Hyde

Writer’s retreat Windy Corner becomes a sanctuary of a different kind when a man and his foster daughter are harassed by a social worker, with tragic consequences.Emily and Luke have returned from their honeymoon and are caught in a whirlwind of activity. Emily’s half-brother, Oscar, and his fiancée want to be married at St Bede’s Church in Stony Beach with a reception at Windy Corner. But they’re not the only guests arriving at Emily’s writers’ retreat. Emily finds herself unexpectedly playing host to the family of the artist repairing the church’s stained-glass window as well as Moses Valory and his foster daughter, Charlotte, who are seeking sanctuary after being harassed by social worker Janine Vertue.When Janine appears and is then discovered hanged in her hotel room, Emily uncovers shocking links between Janine, the rest of her guests at Windy Corner. Which one of them despised Janine enough to kill her?

Genres: Mystery

224 pages, Hardcover

Published March 5, 2024

About the author

Katherine Bolger Hyde is the author of the Crime with the Classics series as well as several books for children. A lifelong lover of literature (and alliteration), Katherine has a degree in Russian literature and works as editorial director for Ancient Faith Publishing. She lives in the redwoods of Santa Cruz County, California, with her husband and the youngest of her four children. Katherine loves to sing and knit, and she dreams of one day designing and building her own storybook cottage in the woods.

Reviews

[Blaine DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book 6 of the "Crime with the Classics" series was my first introduction to the works of Katherine Bolger Hyde, and I was pleased with the book. Not a huge fan of Cozy Mysteries, but this book in my opinion is a perfect beach read or for a rainy weekend escape. Despite being book 6 of the series it is pretty easy to pick up the characters and the plot is interesting. As with the other books in this series, the setting is the small town of Stony Beach, Oregon, and specifically the Victorian estate of Windy Corner and which is owned by the narrator Emily Cavanaugh. Emily and her husband Luke have just returned from their honeymoon in England when her half brother Oscar asked if she can host his wedding. This certainly seems to set Emily into a tither, but she is willing to do anything for Oscar, even if this entails having a house full of guests and booking a local church as well as paying for some of the repairs that need to be done on the church due to a recent storm.. Add to that crew, the artisan who is repairing the stained glass window at the church, along with his wife and son, who have no place to stay other than with Emily. And then we have moses, Valerie and his foster daughter Charlotte who are on the run from a out of control social worker named Janine Vertue. Yes, it is a crazy household combo made all of the crazier by the fact that Oscar and his fiancé show up and just a few days later the fiancé's parents arrive to stay with them. It is a full house and eventually there is a murder as social worker Janine Vertue is found dead in her hotel room. Shockingly, many of the individuals who are staying with Emily have a to Janine, and nobody has anything but bad thoughts about her. In addition two sinister characters come in from Portland, and try to take Charlotte from Emily's house. All of this just gives us a host of possible murderers to choose from. Emily's husband, Luke, is a member of the police force, but even he can't crack the case without some help from Emily herself. Yes, it is a cozy mystery that will keep you guessing. As for the title, Janine is found hanging in her hotel bathroom, and one of Emily's friends is reading a book by Victor Hugo. Yes, the classics are part of this, and each one of the authors books, which I find refreshing and different from most other cozy mysteries.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was good ! Not great , this is the first in the series I have read. I would try another one. It seemed very old-fashioned…

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This charming series set on the Oregon coast features B & B owner Emily, a former professor, and her sheriff husband Luke. In this outing they’ve just returned from their honeymoon and are getting set to host the wedding of Emily’s half brother Oscar. Emily and Luke are ready for the infusion of family and chaos brought by a wedding, but when they return home they find the church where the wedding is to take place has been hit by a storm, with massive roof damage as well as to the beautiful rose window in the nave. The squishy floor and holes in the roof don’t feel very wedding-y and Emily, an heiress, finds some dollars of her own and arranges some financing through the town to get the church repairs under way.

Their first guests are the stained-glass guy and his family – baby Raphael scorns clothes and pees just about everywhere and the whole household is holding their breath until one of the guest cottages opens up so the family can be on their own (and away from everyone else). The next guests – or refugees – are more heartbreaking. Emily’s priest asks her to take in Moses and his soon to be adopted daughter, Charlotte. They’ve fled the shelter Moses runs in Portland as a social worker seems to have it in for them, holding up the adoption in favor of the stepfather who beat Charlotte’s mother and abused Charlotte. Charlotte is so traumatized she doesn’t speak.

Emily and Luke are reserving judgement about the pair, but when they meet gentle Moses, a massive black man, and sweet Charlotte, who is a budding artist, their doubts disappear. When it turns out that baby Raphael’s family had a bad encounter with the same social worker, as did the parents of Lauren, Emily’s soon to be sister-in-law, there is - by all the laws of the mystery novel - a target on the woman’s back. In classic Murder, She Wrote fashion the woman is indeed killed, and the suspect pool all seem to be residing in the sheriff’s home.

As Luke sets out to prove the alibis of all concerned, it becomes clear that the errant stepfather has turned up in town, adding to the suspense. This is a nicely told tale with some great details like cats named Kitty and Levin. The “Hugo” of the title is Victor Hugo, an author Emily’s friend Marguerite is reading throughout her stay at the B & B as she waits for the wedding. One of the nicer bits of the book is Emily’s bonding with Charlotte throughout the story – they are truly drawn together when Emily teaches the girl to knit. She takes to it like she was born to do it.

The wedding details are also fun – Lauren’s family is Chinese and so there’s a church wedding followed by a Chinese banquet at the house, which of course is the finale. The wrap of the story is suspenseful, but gently so, and does involve some solid detective work on the part of Luke and his small team. I really liked the characters and setting, and this did bring a tear to my eye as Moses and Charlotte’s situation is eventually resolved. If the story was slight, the characters felt real to me and I was glad to have met them.

[Shaina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Katherine Bolger Hyde for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for Hanging with Hugo coming out March 5, 2024. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Emily and Luke have returned from their honeymoon and are caught in a whirlwind of activity. Emily's half-brother, Oscar, and his fiancé want to be married at St Bede's Church in Stony Beach with a reception at Windy Corner. But they're not the only guests arriving at Emily's writers' retreat. Emily finds herself unexpectedly playing host to the family of the artist repairing the church's stained-glass window as well as Moses Valory and his foster daughter, Charlotte, who are seeking sanctuary after being harassed by social worker Janine Vertue.

When Janine appears and is then discovered hanged in her hotel room, Emily uncovers shocking links between Janine, the rest of her guests at Windy Corner. Which one of them despised Janine enough to kill her?

I really enjoy books by this author. This is a really fun literary series. I love the books in the series are centered around different famous classic authors. I feel like this book could’ve incorporated Hugo a little more. The title felt a little too literal, but I would’ve liked to see more fun facts about Victor Hugo. I thought the mystery was done well. There were a few little plot points I wasn’t as into. Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I love the wedding plot. I thought the characters were interesting and there were some different cultures portrayed. I definitely loved that.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys cozy book-themed mysteries!

[Jane Irish Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emily and Luke return from their honeymoon only weeks before the wedding of her half-brother Oscar and his fiancee, Lauren. But complications arise. First the local church where the ceremony will be performed needs repairs, and the stained glass artist, his wife, and young son need a place to stay. Reluctantly, Emily offers them a room at Windy Corners until a rental cottage becomes available. Then her Portland priest asks her to provide sanctuary for Moses and Charlotte, the mute orphan he hopes to adopt. Again, she agrees. Surprisingly, all these guest, including Lauren's parents, have a common enemy—social worker Janine Vertue. When she is murdered, Luke has his work cut out to find the culprit before the wedding.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the premise of this book- it felt very reminiscent of a good Agatha Christie novel. The product itself was just ok for me. I found several of the main characters to be surprisingly unlikeable (Emily, Lauren, Marguerite) and although the book is short, it still dragged a bit. I haven’t read any others in this series, which may have impacted my experience.

[Linda Smatzny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy to read mystery set around a wedding in a small town.

[Eileen McCauley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cozy mystery with characters I enjoy. A fun read.

[boogleloo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Literary Cozy Mystery that finds an Oregon retired English professor who now owns and runs a writers' retreat as she investigates who among her guests killed a social worker.

5/5 stars: This is the sixth entry in Bolger Hyde's Crime with the Classics series, which is a Literary Cozy Mystery that takes place in Oregon and features a for Shakespeare scholar and college English professor who owns and operates a literary themed writers' retreat. With plenty of twists and turns, Bolger Hyde has crafted a mystery that deftly balances the suspects, clues and red herrings and will leave you pondering the whodunit until the final reveal. Bolger Hyde's writing and character work are top-notch with plenty of humor and wit and incredibly likable characters. As always, I love catching up with Emily, and Windy Corner's housekeeper, Katie and her adorable baby, Lizzie, and the other folks that make up her family and the quirky townsfolk of Stony Beach. Additionally, it's nice to see Emily's marriage with her Lieutenant Sheriff husband, Luke, progressing so lovingly. And I can't forget to mention Windy Corner's resident cats, Bustopher Jones, Kitty and Levin. A Literary Cozy just isn't the same without cats. Bolger Hyde touches on some sensitive topics, so take care and check the CWs. While you could read this as a stand-alone, you'll gain so much more by reading this series from the beginning; so be sure to pick up book one, Arsenic with Austen.

I received this eARC thanks to NetGalley and Severn House in exchange for an honest review. Publishing dates are subject to change.