Murder In The Guesthouse

Ivy Sinclair #1

by Erin Macy

A displaced columnist. A storm-battered guesthouse. A locked-room murder—and a clever beagle named Watson determined to sniff out the truth.

Ivy Sinclair wanted a fresh start far from Chicago. But a fierce nor’easter leaves her stranded at the remote Cliff Top Guesthouse.

Friendly chatter stops when infamous blogger Raymond Fowler’s found dead. His unfinished crossword, tea spilled, and Ivy's Watson’s muddy pawprints are nearby.

Sergeant Ed Ramsey narrows his gaze, pinning Ivy as Suspect Number One.

But every guest has reason to wish Raymond gone.

Helen Driscoll’s writing derailed by his vicious review. Kara Lin’s tech launch crumbled when Raymond exposed its fatal flaw.

With every secret Ivy uncovers, the danger closes in—and someone will do anything to keep the past hidden.

The real killer hides in plain sight. Ivy must crack the case before the locked-room secret seals her fate for good.

45 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 29, 2025

Reviews

[J.E. Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

The cozy mystery has an interesting plot. The character of Ivy Sinclair, vice-president of the Chicago Herald, is let go and takes a job as a columnist in Maplewood. Due to a storm, she stays at the Cliff Top Guesthouse. That's when things take a different direction, and her skills lead her to try to solve a murder.

The cozy was shorter than I had expected, but wrapped everything up nicely.

I received a complimentary copy from the author; a positive review is not required. All opinions are my own.

[Cornel Diaconu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ivy's "adventures" in Maplewood looks that will have pretty good pace and traction. Judging from what this pretty short story presented here ... what Ivy had to face on her way to Maplewood, after being fired from her job in Chicago.
It turned that, while being stranded in a guesthouse on her route to the destination in Maplewood, due to a heavy storm, she was neighbor (as in her room being exactly below his) with exactly the guy who provoked her fire from her job. And it turned out that this person drops dead during the evening.
So ... who killed him, since other guests also had strong motives of their own to do this.
Well ... the way the killer admitted in the end what she had done, it was a bit rushed, and naive.
But at least Watson, Ivy's dog (by the way, I can't say what bread of dogs is Watson; seems to be a beagle, from the cover of the book; but I just can't confirm from what I read :-) ) made his large contribution to finding various clues related to the "investigation" Ivy was doing in order to find the killer, especially since herself was pointed out as a prime suspect, given that close to the victim were some paw prints that matched with Watson.

[Marietta · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was interesting novelette, but I should have read it first as it explains a bit more about Ivy move to Maplewood to take on the job as a reporter at the Maplewood Bulletin after she leaves her job in Chicago. While on her way to Maplewood there is a storm, that make her stop until the storm lets up at Inn to get out of the storm and find more people there that have been hurt by the same blogger that she was as well as the blogger himself. But when he turns up dead the next morning and she looks to be the prime suspect in his murder Ivy feels she must solve the crime herself to clear her name. There are at least four other people who could been responsible for his death and Ivy just must figure out as someone is trying to make it look like she was responsible for the blogger’s death. There are lots of twists and turns before Ivy finally figures it out. I would recommend this author for anyone who enjoys good clean mysteries

[Linda Whitenight · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ivy and Watson end up stopping at the Cliff Top Guesthouse due to a nor'easter. While staying there overnight, Raymond Fowler is found dead. Sergeant Ramsey knows that Fowler was the blogger that wrecked Ivy's career and reputation thus giving her a motive to kill, he tells her to stay away from investigating. Ivy and Watson investigate on the down low. Can they figure out what happened? Will it be in time? Another fun mystery by Erin Macy, that kept me page turning through to the ending.

[alice Tileston · Rating 4 out of 5]

free for review:
good story. would like dog to participate a little more.feels a little rough when reading but not sure what would help...

[Liza · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ivy is at the guesthouse due to the weather but it's too coincidental that all the other characters are there as well. Needs more plot.

[LINDA BASS · Rating 5 out of 5]

I admit that I was STUMPED AND I LOVED IT.