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The Inconvenient Corpse
A naked corpse in her bed is only the first surprise for our heroine in Jackie King’s charming bed-and-breakfast mystery. Cozy readers will be happy guests among these lively characters.
—Marcia Preston, winner of the 2004 Mary Higgins Clark Award
If you like bed and breakfast settings, friendly cats, delightful, quirky characters and a little tea thrown in with your murder, you’ll love The Inconvenient Corpse.
—Bob Avey, author of Beneath a Buried House and Twisted Perception
—Marcia Preston, winner of the 2004 Mary Higgins Clark Award
If you like bed and breakfast settings, friendly cats, delightful, quirky characters and a little tea thrown in with your murder, you’ll love The Inconvenient Corpse.
—Bob Avey, author of Beneath a Buried House and Twisted Perception
204 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 18, 2009
About the author
Jackie King
22 books15 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 102 reviews
July 25, 2014
I like mysteries, but not cozy mysteries. This turned out to be a cozy mystery, but I didn’t know that until I was halfway through, and had come here to figure out what was up with the book. It involves a woman, Grace, who ends up at a bed and breakfast, where there’s a corpse in her bed.
Then her husband runs off with his mistress, and takes all the money from the bank account and closes her credit cards. So Grace is stuck without money or a place to stay, so she takes a job as an innkeeper at the bed and breakfast she’s staying at. There, she tries to solve the mystery of the body in her room.
Like I said, I’m not a cozy mystery person. The police guy assigned to investigate thinks Grace is super hot right off the bat, and the two batty old ladies who stay at the b&b all the time are almost instantly her bffs. At some point I think she even calls them her best friends. She’s known them a week. It’s just a little too much to accept. And, when you couple it with everyone looking guilty, it’s just too much for me.
Then her husband runs off with his mistress, and takes all the money from the bank account and closes her credit cards. So Grace is stuck without money or a place to stay, so she takes a job as an innkeeper at the bed and breakfast she’s staying at. There, she tries to solve the mystery of the body in her room.
Like I said, I’m not a cozy mystery person. The police guy assigned to investigate thinks Grace is super hot right off the bat, and the two batty old ladies who stay at the b&b all the time are almost instantly her bffs. At some point I think she even calls them her best friends. She’s known them a week. It’s just a little too much to accept. And, when you couple it with everyone looking guilty, it’s just too much for me.
September 9, 2014
Cute little mystery that I didn't solve til the very end (Yay! LOVE that!) with colorful characters. A couple of glaring editing errors - like the word "exhort" instead of "extort". Only gave three stars because I had to endure the language of the teenage son when he entered the story until Mom put a cap on it, which came quick thankfully. Overall, a fast little whodunit that served as a "palate cleanser" in-between my really good stuff!
August 11, 2014
This was going ok,I couldn't complain for a freebie on the kindle, some slightly stereotypical characters, but nothing too annoying...and then came the weakest reveal of the murderer I might ever have read...not good.
May 5, 2016
Quite enjoyed this one. It kept me guessing, and I liked the humor throughout. It's fairly light hearted in style and the characters were amusing. The whole thing made me want to have a weekend at a bed & breakfast, and experience some of Grace's cooking... LOL
February 9, 2011
“Grace Cassidy stared at the stranger's body. He was about sixty, pot-bellied, naked, and very dead. She knew he was dead because his skin was the color of concrete. Worst of all, he was lying smack dab in the middle of her bed.”
Opening paragraph of The Inconvenient Corpse $2.99 on Amazon Kindle
Opening paragraph of The Inconvenient Corpse $2.99 on Amazon Kindle
June 9, 2012
A fine book of good humor, good spirit, and an intriguing whodunit. Grace Cassidy is deserted, broke, and a long way from home. She maintains, grows and succeeds in learning who killed the naked man in her bed and why.
A nice, nice job by Jackie King.
A nice, nice job by Jackie King.
March 26, 2024
Entertaining cozy mystery
The usual setting of a wife being dumped by a no good husband and swindled out of her money. She runs away to a bed and breakfast in different state to figure out what to do. Unfortunately, she discovers a naked, dead man in her room, making her the prime suspect. She must figure out who the real murderer is to clear her name.
Story is a little predictable but I found it entertaining and finished it quickly. 3 stars as I found several misspelled words and errors. I feel it wasn’t edited very well.
The usual setting of a wife being dumped by a no good husband and swindled out of her money. She runs away to a bed and breakfast in different state to figure out what to do. Unfortunately, she discovers a naked, dead man in her room, making her the prime suspect. She must figure out who the real murderer is to clear her name.
Story is a little predictable but I found it entertaining and finished it quickly. 3 stars as I found several misspelled words and errors. I feel it wasn’t edited very well.
June 9, 2024
good quick read
This is a quick read. About a woman who runs a bed and breakfast and how right from the start things don’t go as planned. Was a fast entertaining read kept me interest from page one till the end.
This is a quick read. About a woman who runs a bed and breakfast and how right from the start things don’t go as planned. Was a fast entertaining read kept me interest from page one till the end.
June 20, 2017
Pretty good. Solid 3*. Would read more.
July 18, 2017
Great read
I really enjoyed this book. It is a great read, lots of twists and turns. Looking forward to reading the next one.
I really enjoyed this book. It is a great read, lots of twists and turns. Looking forward to reading the next one.
August 9, 2017
Great read
I rate this book a five a page turner I quite enjoyed this book. I will tell my family and friends to read this book.
I rate this book a five a page turner I quite enjoyed this book. I will tell my family and friends to read this book.
August 13, 2018
The inconvenient corpse
Free ebook for honest review. Good example of how everyone has secrets and how they affect our actions and interactions. Interesting read, try it.
Free ebook for honest review. Good example of how everyone has secrets and how they affect our actions and interactions. Interesting read, try it.
January 20, 2019
Good book
You people should just read this book yourselves and write your own review on this novel yourself and I really enjoyed reading this book very much so. Shelley MA
You people should just read this book yourselves and write your own review on this novel yourself and I really enjoyed reading this book very much so. Shelley MA
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April 18, 2020Did not like ending. Still wondering why the first corpse was naked!
January 23, 2023
Easy read, sets up for the series, but I'm not going to continue with the series
May 25, 2023
A very interesting read! I liked the story and I think you will too.
October 5, 2018
now i am hooked. This was such a great, easy and creative book. i was hooked after the first page.
The characters were easy to fall in love with and follow, along with the story. the author made the mental visions so easy and vivid of the surroundings and the characters actions felt so real.
i would highly recommend this author and this book.
The characters were easy to fall in love with and follow, along with the story. the author made the mental visions so easy and vivid of the surroundings and the characters actions felt so real.
i would highly recommend this author and this book.
May 5, 2012
Reading fiction require a certain "suspension of disbelief", and maybe I have an excess of skepticism and am too demanding, but I have enjoyed too much fiction for me not to feel that there are a lot of writers who can move me to an accepting state of disbelief better than this book has done. I THINK this may have been a first novel, in which case I blame the writer a bit but the editor more.
I did not last long. The opening page was great---victim appears in the first sentence. It went downhill from there. The murder occurs in a B&B, and the guests are gathered together by the police for questioning. The officer asks them if anyone knew the victim. A big deal is made over the identity of the victim, not unreasonably. A fair amount of time is taken to question the guests, and then we are told the police are saving the B&B owners for last. Excuse me, but wouldn't the police question the OWNERS first, since as both the owners and as local inhabitants they are the most likely to know the victim? OK, I'll give the author one pass. I pursued things a bit further, but when I was told that the name of one of the suites was the John Stuart Mills room (It's MILL,dummy!Google it, if your education was that deficient.), the owner of the B&B was drawn as clunkily obnoxious, and the soon-to-be-ex-husband is nasty past the point of credibility, I decided to move on to something else. Julia Spencer-Fleming beckons....
I did not last long. The opening page was great---victim appears in the first sentence. It went downhill from there. The murder occurs in a B&B, and the guests are gathered together by the police for questioning. The officer asks them if anyone knew the victim. A big deal is made over the identity of the victim, not unreasonably. A fair amount of time is taken to question the guests, and then we are told the police are saving the B&B owners for last. Excuse me, but wouldn't the police question the OWNERS first, since as both the owners and as local inhabitants they are the most likely to know the victim? OK, I'll give the author one pass. I pursued things a bit further, but when I was told that the name of one of the suites was the John Stuart Mills room (It's MILL,dummy!Google it, if your education was that deficient.), the owner of the B&B was drawn as clunkily obnoxious, and the soon-to-be-ex-husband is nasty past the point of credibility, I decided to move on to something else. Julia Spencer-Fleming beckons....
February 7, 2011
This book is a delight. The dialogue is slick and fast flowing. I felt so at home with the believable quirky, colourful characters that they almost felt like friends by the time I had finished the book. The B&B setting was intriguing. Grace handled her dimise admirably and like most women got on with what life had thrown at her with humour. I liked watching her grow as she also discovers an inner strength. Although I'm a crime writer myself and Jackie King told all, I truly didn't guess who the killer was in advance. Can't wait for the next one! Excellent!
August 20, 2014
A very cute mystery. I guess this is what they call the "cozy" niche? Love how Grace takes the lemons handed to her and makes the best of her situation, carving out a new niche for herself and even solving a murder.
Things I didn't like.
People's names kept changing.. sometimes within the same sentence. Gustav would be spelled Gustov on the very next line and vice versa. Blenkensop v. Blankensop for another and one time Grace actually morphed into "Gage".
Theodora and Pansy make the book! Those two are hilarious IMO.
A quick, even funny read.
Things I didn't like.
People's names kept changing.. sometimes within the same sentence. Gustav would be spelled Gustov on the very next line and vice versa. Blenkensop v. Blankensop for another and one time Grace actually morphed into "Gage".
Theodora and Pansy make the book! Those two are hilarious IMO.
A quick, even funny read.
July 26, 2014
Delightful murder mystery
Delightful murder mystery
take a moment to enjoy this fun tale of sleuthing when a woman done wrong stumbles into a murder she must dig her way out of.surprises wait at every turn as she attempts to straighten out her life and solve the mystery so she can clear herself and her new found friends and avoid becoming a victim herself.quick read.
Delightful murder mystery
take a moment to enjoy this fun tale of sleuthing when a woman done wrong stumbles into a murder she must dig her way out of.surprises wait at every turn as she attempts to straighten out her life and solve the mystery so she can clear herself and her new found friends and avoid becoming a victim herself.quick read.
September 1, 2014
Contains some spoilers: I wanted to like this book, but I had a hard time with characters like Theodora (the enterprise she was funding) and Sandy (her lack of work ethic and lack of caring). The characters were also far too forgiving at the end when the murderer was revealed. Poor Maxie. Plus, despite the fact that the first guy was blackmailing everyone, no one had any remorse that a human being died.
January 3, 2015
I can only give a 3 star rating, but I AM recommending this book. I wasn't sure about this book, initially; I had a hard time getting into it. But before I knew it the story had captured me and I was glad I stuck with it to the end. There are a LOT of grammar problems and what I assume are typos in the eBook that I read; it could REALLY have benefited from additional proofreading and editing. But that said, I would actually recommend this book as a (very) light read.
January 10, 2015
Gets pretty good!
Overall I enjoyed this book quite a bit. I found the beginning frustrating for some reason, possibly because I was just getting to know the characters.
And these characters are characters! An interesting bunch of people to be sure.
The plot is woven together fairly well and the killer wasn't immediately obvious to me, which always makes me happy.
Absolutely a fun read.
Overall I enjoyed this book quite a bit. I found the beginning frustrating for some reason, possibly because I was just getting to know the characters.
And these characters are characters! An interesting bunch of people to be sure.
The plot is woven together fairly well and the killer wasn't immediately obvious to me, which always makes me happy.
Absolutely a fun read.
April 6, 2015
Grace Cassidy stared at the stranger's body.
Grace is staying in the Wimberly Place bed and breakfast after discovering her husband's affair. After a walk on the beach, she returns to her room to find a naked dead man in her bed.
I really wanted to like this book. The premise was good but the quirky characters came off a just plain odd. The story drug quite a bit and the connections between characters seemed forced. I only finished it to complete this shelf for Bingo. Blah!
Grace is staying in the Wimberly Place bed and breakfast after discovering her husband's affair. After a walk on the beach, she returns to her room to find a naked dead man in her bed.
I really wanted to like this book. The premise was good but the quirky characters came off a just plain odd. The story drug quite a bit and the connections between characters seemed forced. I only finished it to complete this shelf for Bingo. Blah!
November 21, 2015
Quirky characters add interest
After the first few pages, I quit reading and figured it was just another "poor me" main character. Lucky for me, I needed something to read when I went for an oil change. The characters grew on me and I didn't figure out who did it until about two pages before the culprit was revealed. I came to really like Grace and look forward to another adventure.
After the first few pages, I quit reading and figured it was just another "poor me" main character. Lucky for me, I needed something to read when I went for an oil change. The characters grew on me and I didn't figure out who did it until about two pages before the culprit was revealed. I came to really like Grace and look forward to another adventure.
April 7, 2016
Too Many Bodies
Grace had e everything going wrong at once. Divorce, two murders, way too many suspects, a pain in the Butt police detective and an absent son. And no matter which room she was assigned in the B & B that is where the murder happened. The guests were weird and she couldn't pay her bill so if she hadn't been a suspect she would have had to leave. How do you get this all solved?
Grace had e everything going wrong at once. Divorce, two murders, way too many suspects, a pain in the Butt police detective and an absent son. And no matter which room she was assigned in the B & B that is where the murder happened. The guests were weird and she couldn't pay her bill so if she hadn't been a suspect she would have had to leave. How do you get this all solved?
May 8, 2011
Cozy mysteries can be dull. King's is charming. I had not been able to read a whole book on my Kindle. Old dogs and new tricks. This book coaxed me––held my hand and my attention––all the way through. It's one of those books I wasn't ready to finish. The characters have hung around in my mind. I look forward to a sequel.
September 21, 2011
I LOVED this book and can't wait for the sequel as I kept thinking about the characters for days after finishing. This is a fun read that kept me guessing and wanting more. Grace found herself in an ungraceful predicament but finishes true to her name with inner strength making us women proud. Definitely a great cozy!
July 24, 2014
Modern murder
Modern murder
Great story with twists of the modern woman and daily channeles of life...horrible husband, absent son, broke and murder. Really good writing, fantastic characters (love them), wonderful setting and a tab of romance. Looking forward to next book in series.
Modern murder
Great story with twists of the modern woman and daily channeles of life...horrible husband, absent son, broke and murder. Really good writing, fantastic characters (love them), wonderful setting and a tab of romance. Looking forward to next book in series.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 102 reviews