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The Bookstore at Holiday Bay #6
Once Upon a Snowy Night
When Lou Prescott bought the bookstore at Holiday Bay, she wanted it to be so much more than a quaint seaside business. She wanted it to be home to the cozy gathering of friends, she knew in her heart, would come together to share their lives, their hardships, and their victories.
In book 6 in the series, Lou is invited by good friend Abby Sullivan to co-host a writer's retreat in an isolated hunting and fishing lodge off the beaten path. Lou and Abby, along with helpers Georgia and Velma, think they've done everything they needed to do to host the twelve writers for a week of creativity and workshops, but what they couldn't have prepared for was the death of one of the writers during what turned out to be the biggest blizzard in decades.
In book 6 in the series, Lou is invited by good friend Abby Sullivan to co-host a writer's retreat in an isolated hunting and fishing lodge off the beaten path. Lou and Abby, along with helpers Georgia and Velma, think they've done everything they needed to do to host the twelve writers for a week of creativity and workshops, but what they couldn't have prepared for was the death of one of the writers during what turned out to be the biggest blizzard in decades.
152 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 30, 2024
191 people are currently reading
58 people want to read
About the author
Kathi Daley
357 books1,789 followersKathi lives with her husband, kids, grandkids, and dogs in beautiful Lake Tahoe. When she isn't writing, Kathi likes to read (preferably at the beach or by the fire), cook (preferably something with chocolate or cheese,) and garden (planting and planning not weeding). She also enjoys spending time on the water when she's not hiking, biking, or snowshoeing, the miles of desolate trails surrounding her home.
Kathi uses the mountain setting in which she lives, along with the animals (wild and domestic) that share her home, as inspiration for her cozy mysteries.
Join me on Facebook at Kathi Daley Books (www.facebook.com/kathidaleybooks) for updates on my books, photos of life in Lake Tahoe, recipes, contests, and giveaways. For weekly updates and contests sign up for The Daley Weekly Newsletter (http://eepurl.com/NRPDf).
Kathi uses the mountain setting in which she lives, along with the animals (wild and domestic) that share her home, as inspiration for her cozy mysteries.
Join me on Facebook at Kathi Daley Books (www.facebook.com/kathidaleybooks) for updates on my books, photos of life in Lake Tahoe, recipes, contests, and giveaways. For weekly updates and contests sign up for The Daley Weekly Newsletter (http://eepurl.com/NRPDf).
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
February 6, 2025
Another Good One
I highly recommend this author. I enjoy how the different locations of the mystery pull all the players in. They are also a quick read.
I highly recommend this author. I enjoy how the different locations of the mystery pull all the players in. They are also a quick read.
January 12, 2025
Ho hum
A multitude of characters, a character list upfront that isn't specific to this book, plus a crime that might not be a crime, or make that several crimes?
If you're a fan of the author and just want to revisit some of the characters you will love this.
If you're looking for a mystery, skip it.
They're are some possible insights into the authors who publish, but given this is fiction and murder mystery, someone had to die, of course, and complicated relationships had to be involved. Whether or not real- life authors behave this way, only those in that world may really know. But perhaps... intriguing to think about.
Sorry there wasn't more to the book than this.
A multitude of characters, a character list upfront that isn't specific to this book, plus a crime that might not be a crime, or make that several crimes?
If you're a fan of the author and just want to revisit some of the characters you will love this.
If you're looking for a mystery, skip it.
They're are some possible insights into the authors who publish, but given this is fiction and murder mystery, someone had to die, of course, and complicated relationships had to be involved. Whether or not real- life authors behave this way, only those in that world may really know. But perhaps... intriguing to think about.
Sorry there wasn't more to the book than this.
January 7, 2025
Once Upon a Stormy Night is the sixth book in Kathi Daley’s The Bookstore at Holiday Bay series. There are quite a few familiar characters, along with new ones, since this series is a spin-off from Ms. Daley’s Inn at Holiday Bay series and Bistro at Holiday Bay series. The well-plotted storyline flows smoothly, the setting is charming, and the well-developed characters are three-dimensional, compassionate, and caring. The mystery in this installment is intriguing and complex, with no shortage of twists, turns, or red herrings. I highly recommend this series to readers who enjoy well-crafted, cozy mysteries.
Vanessa Blackstone’s aunt, Lou Prescott, recently lost her husband, so when Vanessa mentioned that she planned to sell her bookstore, Lou realized that a significant change was just what she needed. After moving to Holiday Bay, Lou partnered with Velma Crawford, who recently lost her business, Velma’s Diner, due to a fire, and has added a coffee and pastry bar, a cozy reading lounge, and an indoor cat lounge to Firehouse Books. Hazel Hawthorn, often affectionately referred to as Holiday Bay’s “cat woman,” provides rescue cats for the cat lounge and handles the adoption process. To accommodate its part-time members, the Tuesday night book club and gossip group is now the Thursday evening book club. Joel Stafford has created a group, Murder on Tuesdays, dedicated to solving cold cases to fill the Tuesday time slot. Lou, Velma, craft shop owner Ethel Covington, and Joel Stanford’s friend, Savannah Garrison, have formed the Wednesday night Senior Women’s Group, which they were stringently keeping at five members.
In this installment, Abby Sullivan asked Lou to be her co-host for a writers’ retreat for twelve authors in an isolated mountain lodge. The lodge provides the perfect atmosphere to allow the writers’ creative juices to flow while they enjoy delicious meals prepared by Georgia Carter-Peyton and Velma Crawford. Unfortunately, one of the largest blizzards in decades blows through the area with a vengeance, knocking out the internet and cell service and causing a slide that closes the only road to and from the lodge. When one of the writers, Victoria Vandenberg, who has made many enemies among her peers over the years, fails to join the group for meals or the workshops on the first day of the retreat, her body is found in her locked room. Unable to contact the authorities and not knowing what happened or how Victoria died, Abby and Lou, along with Georgia and Velma, decide to investigate the death on their own.
Vanessa Blackstone’s aunt, Lou Prescott, recently lost her husband, so when Vanessa mentioned that she planned to sell her bookstore, Lou realized that a significant change was just what she needed. After moving to Holiday Bay, Lou partnered with Velma Crawford, who recently lost her business, Velma’s Diner, due to a fire, and has added a coffee and pastry bar, a cozy reading lounge, and an indoor cat lounge to Firehouse Books. Hazel Hawthorn, often affectionately referred to as Holiday Bay’s “cat woman,” provides rescue cats for the cat lounge and handles the adoption process. To accommodate its part-time members, the Tuesday night book club and gossip group is now the Thursday evening book club. Joel Stafford has created a group, Murder on Tuesdays, dedicated to solving cold cases to fill the Tuesday time slot. Lou, Velma, craft shop owner Ethel Covington, and Joel Stanford’s friend, Savannah Garrison, have formed the Wednesday night Senior Women’s Group, which they were stringently keeping at five members.
In this installment, Abby Sullivan asked Lou to be her co-host for a writers’ retreat for twelve authors in an isolated mountain lodge. The lodge provides the perfect atmosphere to allow the writers’ creative juices to flow while they enjoy delicious meals prepared by Georgia Carter-Peyton and Velma Crawford. Unfortunately, one of the largest blizzards in decades blows through the area with a vengeance, knocking out the internet and cell service and causing a slide that closes the only road to and from the lodge. When one of the writers, Victoria Vandenberg, who has made many enemies among her peers over the years, fails to join the group for meals or the workshops on the first day of the retreat, her body is found in her locked room. Unable to contact the authorities and not knowing what happened or how Victoria died, Abby and Lou, along with Georgia and Velma, decide to investigate the death on their own.
February 5, 2025
Lou Prescott moved to Holiday Bay after buying the bookshop which she turned into a gathering place. In this book, Lou is helping Abby Sullivan a writer's retreat at an isolated lodge that's usually closed during the winter months. Lou and Abby are co-hosts and they're accompanied by Georgia and Velma. The event will last a week and is being attended by twelve writers, ranging from newbies to published authors. But what no one expects is the death of one of the writers with a possible killer in their midst. And all this occurs when they're snowed in and stranded by a severe storm.
This is one of Kathi's newer series and it's a spinoff of the Inn at the Holiday Bay series. I've really enjoyed this series and this book's no exception. This book was a quick, fun read that drew me in and kept me hooked. It was well-written with well-rounded characters and a fast-paced plot. The intriguing mystery had multiple twists and turns and red herrings. I loved this book and am looking forward to the next one. I highly recommend both book and series.
This is one of Kathi's newer series and it's a spinoff of the Inn at the Holiday Bay series. I've really enjoyed this series and this book's no exception. This book was a quick, fun read that drew me in and kept me hooked. It was well-written with well-rounded characters and a fast-paced plot. The intriguing mystery had multiple twists and turns and red herrings. I loved this book and am looking forward to the next one. I highly recommend both book and series.
February 14, 2025
This was a fun read for a cold day in winter and it’s actually fave type winter book with its theme of a lodge full of people, a dead body and a snowstorm going crazy outside. The good part was not losing power due to whoever owning this place being smart and having a gas-powered generator, but it wasn’t too great when cell and internet service left for a day or so. I enjoyed seeing Lou and Velma get to sleuth with Abby and her friend Georgia from the Inn at Holiday Bay series. Lou and Abby hit me as the same type of level-headed amateur sleuth who’s not gonna do something crazy like confront a possible killer alone. At least not in this book.
Once the mystery was figured out, the roads were cleared and everyone was able to leave. But was there a killer among them who’d end up arrested? Or was there just a weird accident? I did like the side mystery that Lou kept up with talking to Beck when they had cell service. It involved some Good Samaritan type cases back home that could be viewed as a little creepy, but that was solved as well.
Once the mystery was figured out, the roads were cleared and everyone was able to leave. But was there a killer among them who’d end up arrested? Or was there just a weird accident? I did like the side mystery that Lou kept up with talking to Beck when they had cell service. It involved some Good Samaritan type cases back home that could be viewed as a little creepy, but that was solved as well.
January 10, 2025
This series is a spin-off from The Inn at Holiday Bay, and I really like the fact that characters from that series are heavily involved in this book.
A cosy mystery set at a writers retreat during a snow storm. One candidate is dead. Did one of the other delegates kill her?
Written by Kathi Daley, a prolific cosy mystery author with many series to her name, once I'd read 1 book in the series, I had to read the others. They're so addictive!
Whilst each book is a standalone story, they books are best read in order of publication to preserve continuity of the characters and wider storyline.
Each book is easily read in a few hours, too, and there are no cliff hangers.
If you liked this book, then please read other series by this author, they're all equally as good. A few I can recommend are Cottage on Gooseberry Bay; Zoe Donovan series; Tess and Tilly, and Rescue Alaska. However, there are many more series by this author I could recommend.
A cosy mystery set at a writers retreat during a snow storm. One candidate is dead. Did one of the other delegates kill her?
Written by Kathi Daley, a prolific cosy mystery author with many series to her name, once I'd read 1 book in the series, I had to read the others. They're so addictive!
Whilst each book is a standalone story, they books are best read in order of publication to preserve continuity of the characters and wider storyline.
Each book is easily read in a few hours, too, and there are no cliff hangers.
If you liked this book, then please read other series by this author, they're all equally as good. A few I can recommend are Cottage on Gooseberry Bay; Zoe Donovan series; Tess and Tilly, and Rescue Alaska. However, there are many more series by this author I could recommend.
January 9, 2025
It was an interesting mystery.
Amazon synopsis:
When Lou Prescott bought the bookstore at Holiday Bay, she wanted it to be so much more than a quaint seaside business. She wanted it to be home to the cozy gathering of friends, she knew in her heart, would come together to share their lives, their hardships, and their victories.
In book 6 in the series, Lou is invited by good friend Abby Sullivan to co-host a writer's retreat in an isolated hunting and fishing lodge off the beaten path. Lou and Abby, along with helpers Georgia and Velma, think they've done everything they needed to do to host the twelve writers for a week of creativity and workshops, but what they couldn't have prepared for was the death of one of the writers during what turned out to be the biggest blizzard in decades.
Amazon synopsis:
When Lou Prescott bought the bookstore at Holiday Bay, she wanted it to be so much more than a quaint seaside business. She wanted it to be home to the cozy gathering of friends, she knew in her heart, would come together to share their lives, their hardships, and their victories.
In book 6 in the series, Lou is invited by good friend Abby Sullivan to co-host a writer's retreat in an isolated hunting and fishing lodge off the beaten path. Lou and Abby, along with helpers Georgia and Velma, think they've done everything they needed to do to host the twelve writers for a week of creativity and workshops, but what they couldn't have prepared for was the death of one of the writers during what turned out to be the biggest blizzard in decades.
March 7, 2025
Loved this cozy mystery. Abby is having a writers retreat in an Inn in Maine that is normally closed for the winter. Her editor Kate wants this to happen.Around 12 writers are gathered together for this retreat. Georgia , who helps manage the Holiday Bay Inn and Velma and Lou ,who own the bookstore there are helping her. Of course, one of the author, Victoria is found dead. The 4 of them get into trying to figure out if it was a murder or not and to top it all off, they are snowed in., so they take the body to the barn . On the last day of the retreat, someone is able to get the body via helicopter. A VERY GOOD COZY mystery.
February 1, 2025
Heavy snow and a death
With the writer's retreat that Abby and Lou were hosting just starting a huge snow storm comes in to strand them at the lodge. Kathi does a great job with character background for each person and finding ways to bring them together. The death of one of the authors turns into an investigation for Abby and the ladies because of the snow storm and the fact that the road was closed and a tree fell taking out the cell service. The ladies investigate and find a series of unfortunate events lead to the death.
With the writer's retreat that Abby and Lou were hosting just starting a huge snow storm comes in to strand them at the lodge. Kathi does a great job with character background for each person and finding ways to bring them together. The death of one of the authors turns into an investigation for Abby and the ladies because of the snow storm and the fact that the road was closed and a tree fell taking out the cell service. The ladies investigate and find a series of unfortunate events lead to the death.
January 9, 2025
Good read
While not technically a locked door mystery this is a remote inn during a blizzard with no way to get in or out. During a writer's retreat Lou and Abby discover one of the writers dead in her bed. There were many people at this retreat who had reason to want her dead. Was it an accidental overdose with alcohol involved, a murder or what? This is what this book is about.
While not technically a locked door mystery this is a remote inn during a blizzard with no way to get in or out. During a writer's retreat Lou and Abby discover one of the writers dead in her bed. There were many people at this retreat who had reason to want her dead. Was it an accidental overdose with alcohol involved, a murder or what? This is what this book is about.
January 17, 2025
What happened to Victoria?
Abby was running a writers event at a very remote resort. She asked Georgia, Velma and Lou to help out. The writers, especially the newbies, appeared to have benefited from the event. Victoria was found deceased and because the group was snowed in Abby and Lou did some investigating andvwerevall gladbto be heading back to Holiday Bay. Nicely written and enjoyable book.
Abby was running a writers event at a very remote resort. She asked Georgia, Velma and Lou to help out. The writers, especially the newbies, appeared to have benefited from the event. Victoria was found deceased and because the group was snowed in Abby and Lou did some investigating andvwerevall gladbto be heading back to Holiday Bay. Nicely written and enjoyable book.
January 17, 2025
A writer's retreat sounds like fun until one of the author's dies and they are snowed in and unable to call for help. Lots going on in this retreat and most of the author's attending had an issue with the author who died, the question is did she die from natural causes or was she murdered and by who. Abby and Georgia work on finding out the answers. Great read.
January 30, 2025
Death at a writer's retreat
Victoria had lots of enemies because she used other authors. She is found dead after the first night. Due to a snowstorm, the police cannot get through right away. Lou, Velma, Abby and Georgia do a little investigating to try to determine if it was foul play or just an accidental overdose of prescription meds and alcohol.
Victoria had lots of enemies because she used other authors. She is found dead after the first night. Due to a snowstorm, the police cannot get through right away. Lou, Velma, Abby and Georgia do a little investigating to try to determine if it was foul play or just an accidental overdose of prescription meds and alcohol.
February 2, 2025
Trapped at the resort
Abby plans a writers retreat and Velma, Lou and Georgia are all along to help. No one expected the death of one of the attendees to happen at the beginning of the retreat but it did and the gang of friends spend all their free time trying to determine if the death was accidental or murder.
Abby plans a writers retreat and Velma, Lou and Georgia are all along to help. No one expected the death of one of the attendees to happen at the beginning of the retreat but it did and the gang of friends spend all their free time trying to determine if the death was accidental or murder.
January 10, 2025
Great read
I really enjoyed this one. The four ladies together trying to solve a mystery with no outside help. I can’t imagine what Beck looks like? All the series of Holliday Bay are amongst my favourite. Lovely books.
I really enjoyed this one. The four ladies together trying to solve a mystery with no outside help. I can’t imagine what Beck looks like? All the series of Holliday Bay are amongst my favourite. Lovely books.
January 11, 2025
The Booker's at Holiday Bay: Once Upon a Snowy Night
Have loved this series. This one is a little different, I it is a retreat of authors in a lodge not usually open in winter. There are new and experienced authors and some with " baggage"; which equals a great cozy myst.
Have loved this series. This one is a little different, I it is a retreat of authors in a lodge not usually open in winter. There are new and experienced authors and some with " baggage"; which equals a great cozy myst.
January 13, 2025
My review for Once Upon a Snowy Night
I absolutely loved it! Another excellent Holiday Bay story. I love all the characters! This is a must read series! I can’t wait for the next book!
I absolutely loved it! Another excellent Holiday Bay story. I love all the characters! This is a must read series! I can’t wait for the next book!
January 17, 2025
unusual
This is first time I’m writing a semi bad review. I felt the story was repetitive and took too long to get to the finish. I found myself skipping through paragraphs just to get on with it. Sorry Ms. Daley but I think the bookstore series has become dull.
This is first time I’m writing a semi bad review. I felt the story was repetitive and took too long to get to the finish. I found myself skipping through paragraphs just to get on with it. Sorry Ms. Daley but I think the bookstore series has become dull.
February 9, 2025
Writer's retreat turns deadly
Abby, Georgia, Lou, and Velma are helping with the writer's retreat. Twelve different authors, with various lives, are intertwined. Many suspects add to the dramatic mystery.
Abby, Georgia, Lou, and Velma are helping with the writer's retreat. Twelve different authors, with various lives, are intertwined. Many suspects add to the dramatic mystery.
January 11, 2025
No resolution. Started as a good mystery that just fizzled out.
January 24, 2025
It wasn’t for me
There were too many characters and every chapter was just a recap of the same info. It just wasn’t for me.
There were too many characters and every chapter was just a recap of the same info. It just wasn’t for me.
January 26, 2025
Totally enjoyed it! This is a well written and has well developed characters. The story is catching and with the strong characters makes for a very enjoyable read. Great Reading Everyone!
March 11, 2025
I wanted to like it, but the mystery was unsatisfying to me
March 18, 2025
Once upon A Snowy Night
Weird story. Blood she wasn’t murdered. Not sure I understand what this story was supposed to be about. Not good.
Weird story. Blood she wasn’t murdered. Not sure I understand what this story was supposed to be about. Not good.
Read
May 1, 2025I couldn’t see the point to this story.
January 17, 2025
So was it murder or not? Good read!
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews