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Death and Breakfast: A Small Town Bed and Breakfast Cozy Mystery with Cat
A Deadly Breakfast. A Charming Inn. A Cat Who Knows Too Much.
When Rosie Pemberton inherits her aunt's Victorian bed and breakfast in picturesque Willowbrook Falls, Vermont, she's looking forward to a quieter life after twenty years in Boston's corporate world. But her grand opening weekend at the Buttercup Inn turns deadly when notorious food critic Victor Ashford takes one bite of her famous blueberry scones and drops dead at the breakfast table. With her business on the line and a dining room full of suspects, Rosie must figure out who wanted Victor dead—and the list is longer than her aunt's secret scone recipe.
Armed with her event planner's eye for detail, backed by her best friend Betty's gossip network, and aided by Chester—a marmalade cat with an uncanny ability to appear at crucial moments—Rosie discovers that everyone had a motive. From Victor's long-suffering assistant to a mysterious wealthy widow, from a bird-watching professor who isn't what he seems to the victim's own brother, secrets simmer beneath Willowbrook Falls' postcard-perfect surface. There's even talk of stolen paintings, blackmail schemes, and financial fraud that could destroy the town's most prominent citizens.
As Sheriff Whitfield dismisses her as a meddling amateur and more secrets emerge with each cup of coffee served, Rosie realizes that in a town where the pipes sing opera and people steal lawn gnomes for ransom, murder might not be the strangest thing to happen at her inn. But if she doesn't identify the killer soon, her dream of running a peaceful Vermont B&B will be as dead as her first guest. Good thing she has Chester on the case—though even he seems more interested in the bacon than the investigation.
When Rosie Pemberton inherits her aunt's Victorian bed and breakfast in picturesque Willowbrook Falls, Vermont, she's looking forward to a quieter life after twenty years in Boston's corporate world. But her grand opening weekend at the Buttercup Inn turns deadly when notorious food critic Victor Ashford takes one bite of her famous blueberry scones and drops dead at the breakfast table. With her business on the line and a dining room full of suspects, Rosie must figure out who wanted Victor dead—and the list is longer than her aunt's secret scone recipe.
Armed with her event planner's eye for detail, backed by her best friend Betty's gossip network, and aided by Chester—a marmalade cat with an uncanny ability to appear at crucial moments—Rosie discovers that everyone had a motive. From Victor's long-suffering assistant to a mysterious wealthy widow, from a bird-watching professor who isn't what he seems to the victim's own brother, secrets simmer beneath Willowbrook Falls' postcard-perfect surface. There's even talk of stolen paintings, blackmail schemes, and financial fraud that could destroy the town's most prominent citizens.
As Sheriff Whitfield dismisses her as a meddling amateur and more secrets emerge with each cup of coffee served, Rosie realizes that in a town where the pipes sing opera and people steal lawn gnomes for ransom, murder might not be the strangest thing to happen at her inn. But if she doesn't identify the killer soon, her dream of running a peaceful Vermont B&B will be as dead as her first guest. Good thing she has Chester on the case—though even he seems more interested in the bacon than the investigation.
104 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 22, 2025
89 people are currently reading
73 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 20, 2025
This is the first in the series. The main character is Rosie. Rosie inherits a B& B from her aunt and gets it ready for a grand opening. The very first morning at breakfast, a food critic dies. Seems he was murdered. Not a good start. Now it seems no one staying there is who they seem to be. Can she figure out who is to blame and is there more then one reason everything is going wrong ?
January 9, 2026
Rosie's grand opening of her small town bed and breakfast is ruined when a notorious food critic dies after taking one bite of her blueberry scones. With her business on the line and many suspects to choose from, Rosie feels she must solve the case for the good of her business. She is helped by her marmalade cat Chester who has an uncanny ability to appear at crucial moments. Everyone seems to have a motive including a bird-watching professor who isn't what he appears to be, Victor's long suffering assistant Janine and his own brother. Many twists and turns along the way to finding a killer. I received a copy of the book and this is my honest review.
January 19, 2026
Cute story and a quick read
The biggest selling point of the book is the humor and dry analyses of most situations, whether it be murder, town gossip, unique characters or business.
There were moments I felt like I was in a skit with Carol Burnett, Tim Harvey, Barney Fife and Sheriff Andy Griffith. (Sorry to those who don’t understand that historical references.) The combination of the town, the inn, the murder and the characters did not lend themselves to a serious criminal investigation, particularly since the man who died was universally disliked.
I enjoyed the book overall. I’m not one to criticize weak plots or zany ideas as long as I get a chuckle along the way.
The biggest selling point of the book is the humor and dry analyses of most situations, whether it be murder, town gossip, unique characters or business.
There were moments I felt like I was in a skit with Carol Burnett, Tim Harvey, Barney Fife and Sheriff Andy Griffith. (Sorry to those who don’t understand that historical references.) The combination of the town, the inn, the murder and the characters did not lend themselves to a serious criminal investigation, particularly since the man who died was universally disliked.
I enjoyed the book overall. I’m not one to criticize weak plots or zany ideas as long as I get a chuckle along the way.
September 25, 2025
A fun small town cozy murder mystery
Rosie inherited a small bed and breakfast in Vermont from her aunt. She decides to give up her event planning job in the city and move to Vermont to run the inn. After a lot of work she is ready for her grand opening weekend. The next morning all the guests come down to breakfast including the food critic. From there the mystery begins as the food critic bites into one of the scones and dies. A fun read.
Rosie inherited a small bed and breakfast in Vermont from her aunt. She decides to give up her event planning job in the city and move to Vermont to run the inn. After a lot of work she is ready for her grand opening weekend. The next morning all the guests come down to breakfast including the food critic. From there the mystery begins as the food critic bites into one of the scones and dies. A fun read.
October 9, 2025
The best short story book
This is a great short, cozy mystery with a hint of 'Murder, She Wrote,' set in a small town full of art forgery. An FBI undercover agent and a food critic are involved in the story where someone is killed.
This is a great short, cozy mystery with a hint of 'Murder, She Wrote,' set in a small town full of art forgery. An FBI undercover agent and a food critic are involved in the story where someone is killed.
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July 31, 2025Fun cozy at the B&B
Trying to get her new B&B up and one of the first guests is a critic who ends up dead. Not a good look. Written with humor and intrigue, it's a fun read
Trying to get her new B&B up and one of the first guests is a critic who ends up dead. Not a good look. Written with humor and intrigue, it's a fun read
August 24, 2025
loved the book the inn sounds lovely and the cat is a star. love the main characters accept for the guy wo got murdered .lol he deserved it. a real nice read.
September 15, 2025
A pallet cleanser. I was a little underwhelmed by The who done it, but all in all it was good for a quick short story to break up the monotony of heavier topics.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews