Fall into Death

Booked for Travel Mystery #3

by Emily Toll

While helping her mother transform a dilapidated old house into a bed-and-breakfast, travel agency owner Lynne Montgomery unearths two skeletons in the basement--a discovery that forces Lynne to dig for clues in a town where some secrets are better left buried. Original.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery

304 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published May 4, 2004

About the author

A pseudonym used by Taffy Cannon.

Reviews

[Trish · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've liked the previous two in this series, but this one isn't really much more than a travelogue of New England in leaf season. The "mystery" element is virtually irrelevant. However, it's saved from 1* by the fact that it does introduce us to the main character's family, who are reasonably written.

[Linda Burson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started this book almost two weeks ago. Usually, when I get into a story, I complete it right away. This one, I didn’t get into it enough to finish immediately. It took me days to pick it up again.

It’s not a bad book. It’s just that I found myself skipping over parts of it and I don’t like doing that. It is quite descriptive but after a while, I just want to get to the plot and dive into a meaty story. I didn’t feel that with Fall Into Death. In my opinion, it was a travel book about New England. Beautiful as it is in NE especially in the autumn where and when the story takes place, it’s not why I chose the book. I wanted a murder mystery and that part to me felt secondary.

I’d almost recommend this book to strangers visiting NE as a guide book that’s how much it felt like one. By the time the killer was revealed, I felt like it wasn’t a big deal and I really didn’t care. Also, since we never met the killer, it almost seemed pointless.

Anyway, the premise was a bit hard to believe, though as we know, anything in this world is possible...but an 82 year old woman who lives alone starting a B&B from scratch is ridiculous.

[Tomi · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice read, but a rather anti-climatic ending. There were really no clues to the killer that could be picked up on and the ending was really blah.

[Barbara Blindauer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m giving this a 3.5. It is the third in the series and probably best in the series. Travel agent Lynne Montgomery and her daughter, Jenna, travel to New Hampshire where, Priscilla, Lynne’s mother, plans to open a BnB. The plan is that Lynne and Jenna will check out sites in New England so that Lynne can plan and offer trips toNew England and utilize her mother’s BnB. Things don’t go as planned when bones of two missing individuals are found in the basement of the BnB. Nice descriptions of places in New England and no unanswered questions in this book as there were in the other three.

[StillReadingBooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting. There is a lot of information here. Either the author is a trivia expert or she did a done of research. Books, movies, pop culture, history are all referenced in this book. I found it ... interesting. The cozy mystery of okay. Story developed slowly then bam ending which was kind of sudden but I was ready for it to be over by then so I was okay with it.

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fall refers to the season not a physical event.
I was totally clueless as to the identity of the bad guy.
Story took me back to my college years and the protests against the Vietnam war. An emotional time.

[Verity W · Rating 2 out of 5]

My first in this series and I picked it up for the 50 states challenge. It’s a bit dated now (I mean it’s 15 years old) and I didn’t love the writing style. I also thought the resolution to the mystery was a bit of a cheat and not entirely in the spirit of the genre. Never mind.

[Jill Harman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the first books in this series but this one was hard to get into the murder was secondary to a New England leaf viewing itinerary. I found myself skipping pages that talked about the travel adventure . The ending felt thrown together just to wrap things up.

[Avid Series Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fall into Death by Emily Toll is book 4 of the Booked for Travel contemporary mystery series. After middle-aged Lynne Montgomery was widowed, she purchased a travel agency in her home town, Floritas California (a fictitious small town in San Diego County). The first two books of the series, Murder Will Travel and Murder Pans Out, are set on travel tours Lynne leads in California. In Fall into Death, Lynne and her adult daughter Jenna travel to New England to visit Lynne’s mother and aunt.

Lynne’s mother Priscilla has just purchased a B&B in New Hampshire. Lynne’s aunt Abigail (Priscilla’s sister) asked Lynne to check into the finances, as she suspects Priscilla is a victim of shady dealing. Lynne and Jenna plan a week-long trip in October, at the fall foliage peak. Besides a 3-generation family gathering, they will also tour New England previewing historic spots as candidate stops on future travel tours. Priscilla naturally expects that her travel agent daughter will bring plenty of business to the Maple Leaf Inn.

On their first day at the B&B Lynne discovers human remains in the basement. The police start an investigation of the crime scene. Lynne, Priscilla and Jenna get out of town for a while, partly to escape the press and also for Lynne to check out potential stops for her travel tours. Lynne adds stops for sleuthing, including trying to track down the elusive man who financed the inn.

There are three major storylines: 1) the mystery, as clues are revealed and additional killings occur; 2) the family bonding and reminiscing about loved ones in earlier times; 3) the beauty of fall foliage and the huge variety of historic sites to see in New England. Point of view changes between Lynne, Jenna, Priscilla, and to build suspense, the killer.

The places they visit, and the beautiful scenery described, are bound to make you want to plan your own fall foliage tour in New England! Orchard House (Louisa May Alcott’s home) in Concord, Mark Twain’s place in Hartford, Strawberry Banke (restored historic town), Lowell National Historical Park including Boott Cotton Mills, New England Quilt Museum, American Historical Textile Museum, Shelburne Museum, the White Mountains, Norman Rockwell Museum, New England Maple Museum, Vermont Marble Museum, Portland Head Light on Cape Elizabeth in Maine, the ~60-mile Mohawk Trail, Salem, Walden Pond, The Old Manse, Johnny Cake Hill, New Bedford Whaling Museum (including a detailed description of whaling), cranberry bogs, Emily Dickinson’s home, Robert Frost’s gravesite, Equinox in Manchester Vermont, Ben & Jerry’s tour, Cold Hollow Cider Mill, Rock of Ages granite quarry, Cabot Creamery, The Flume Walk, and Kancamagus Highway (where they are unknowingly pursued by the killer).

Next and final book of the Booked for Travel mystery series is Keys to Death.

[JoAn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It was a good cozy mystery that did leave me guessing until the end as to who the murderer was until the very end.

[Rhonda Lee Wunder · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked this book more for the beautiful autumn activities in this part of the country. The mystery plot was intriguing enough to keep me interested

[Eunira · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the new writers for me this year.

[Ruth Kevghas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it and the dialogue was funny

[Ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm trying to catch up on my TBR pile and chose to read this older mystery. It was pretty good, with a lovely setting traveling all around New England looking at attractions and leaves. I did not guess the murderer, even though several chapters had their POV. Lynne and Jenna were good travel buddies (mother & daughter). I had read the other 2 books in the series, but years ago and did not recall too much about the characters. I'll have to check if this series continues, as I would like to read more.