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The luxurious Chadwick Inn is hosting a special weekend for guests, in which actors play out a historical murder-mystery for them to solve. Mary figures it's a perfect opportunity to sell some books to mystery fans and sets up a table in the lobby. However, when a blizzard blows in and dumps snow and ice over Ivy Bay - and knocks out the power - Mary finds herself trapped at the inn with everyone else. Then one of the guests goes missing!

As the fictional mystery becomes real and more strange occurrences happen, Mary has to navigate the tangled relationships of the guests and actors to solve a seemingly impossible mystery. Where could the missing woman have gone? And which of these snowbound suspects is behind her disappearance?

Hardcover

First published January 1, 2014

1 person is currently reading
108 people want to read

About the author

Elizabeth Adams

8 books13 followers
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Elizabeth Adams lives in New York City with her husband. When she’s not writing, she spends her time playing with their rambunctious daughter, cleaning up after two devious cats, and trying to find time to read mysteries.

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5 stars
17 (28%)
4 stars
28 (46%)
3 stars
15 (25%)
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
Profile Image for Lindsey (Books for Christian Girls).
2,188 reviews5,161 followers
December 17, 2022
About this book:

“The luxurious Chadwick Inn is hosting a special weekend for guests, in which actors play out a historical murder-mystery for them to solve. Mary figures it's a perfect opportunity to sell some books to mystery fans and sets up a table in the lobby. However, when a blizzard blows in and dumps snow and ice over Ivy Bay - and knocks out the power - Mary finds herself trapped at the inn with everyone else. Then one of the guests goes missing!
As the fictional mystery becomes real and more strange occurrences happen, Mary has to navigate the tangled relationships of the guests and actors to solve a seemingly impossible mystery. Where could the missing woman have gone? And which of these snowbound suspects is behind her disappearance?”



Series: Book #20 in the “Secrets of Mary’s Bookshop” series. Please click on the number to be taken to that review: Book #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12, #13,#14, #15, #16, #17, and #18. (#19 will be reviewed in the spring.)


Spiritual Content- Genesis 1:27 at the end in bonus content; A Scripture is remembered; Prayers; 'H's are capital when referring to God; Mentions of prayers, praying, & thanking God; A couple mentions of a church & church going; A mention of God’s Word; A mention of musicals at a church that brought people “closer to God” A mention of a miracle;
*Note: A mention of Mother Nature.


Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘dumb’ and two ‘stupid’s; A mention of a curse (said, not written); A bit of eye rolling & sarcasm; Eavesdropping; Set during (and therefore all about) a murder mystery game at the hotel, many mentions of the “deaths”, how they happened, and the “bodies” (barely-above-not-detailed); All about many mentions of a woman disappearing, her missing, & possible foul play; Many mentions of a fight, screams, injuries, blood/bleeding, & possible domestic violence (*Spoiler* , barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of wars; Mentions of poison & being poisoned; Mentions of car accidents (because of bad weather, barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of someone being attacked, it possibly happening again, pain, & injuries; Mentions of crimes, criminals, crime scenes, a break-in, stealing, stolen items, & thieves; Mentions of drinking, a cocktail hour at an event, & an old tavern; Mentions of smoking & a cigarette; Mentions of lies, lying, & liars; A couple mentions of gossip & rumors; A mention of the possibility of it being a while before a body is found (due to the weather); A mention of a fire; A mention of tobacco; A mention of a lottery; A mention of jealousy;
*Note: A comment from Mary about girls her granddaughter’s age probably having no idea about the fact that she can be anything thanks to other women who paved the way; Mentions of books (Harlan Coben, Agatha Christie, Nancy Drew, & “The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne); A couple mentions of car brands; A mention of Norman Rockwell; A mention of Google; A mention of a painting at the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland; A mention of the Academy Awards.


Sexual Content- Mentions of dates, asking someone out, & girlfriends/boyfriends; A few mentions of couples kissing; A mention of jealousy.

-Mary Fisher, age 62 (?)
P.O.V. of Mary
270 pages

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Pre Teens- One Star
New Teens- Two Stars
Early High School Teens- Three Stars
Older High School Teens- Four Stars
My personal Rating- Four Stars

This was a really fun plot! An acting troop sets up a historical murder mystery for their guests at a hotel and then a woman actually goes missing. I was thoroughly involved in this story and trying to figure things out myself. There were some parts where the reader is left out from what Mary is seeing, though, which did annoy me at times because I wanted to know what was happening as well. Mary felt a little off, if you will, in this book (not completely her normal personality) compared to the prior books in the series, but that can happen when there’s multiple authors writing the same character. Overall, it was a dramatic plot, but fun nonetheless.


Link to review:
https://booksforchristiangirls.blogsp...



*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.
Profile Image for Loraine.
3,467 reviews
July 30, 2020
This was one of the more entertaining of the Secrets of Mary's Bookshop mysteries by Guidepost. The Chadwick Inn is holding a murder mystery weekend in order to attract customers who will take part in solving the historical murder that happened in the 1700's at the Inn. Mary is there to sell books from her mystery bookshop. But when a powerful storm hit, roads were closed, power went out, and one of the guests disappears, the guests and staff find themselves with more mystery than they can handle. This one ends with a huge surprise that made this book very entertaining!
2,939 reviews38 followers
July 18, 2018
A hotel is having a mystery weekend and Mary decides to sell some of her mystery books at the event. A bad snowstorm hits and she and the others are all stuck at the hotel. The mystery game continues even after one of the guests disappears for real. Mary has to do a lot of searching to find the truth of what is going on.
Profile Image for Leah.
1,979 reviews
June 14, 2021
This takes place in January. The story involves a snow storm, a blackout, a missing person, and an old inn. The mystery was interesting. I liked the inn, but I wanted more history and exploration of the inn in the story. I still didn't like Henry in this book.
Profile Image for Val.
1,385 reviews7 followers
January 30, 2019
What started out as a murder mystery weekend for Betty, Eleanor and Rebecca turns into a real life snowed in missing persons weekend for Mary. When one of the guests at the murder mystery weekend goes missing Mary does what she does best, she investigates. While being distracted by phone calls from a caring Henry, Mary finds herself with more perplexing questions than answers and more suspects than she knows what to do with. Will Mary solve the mystery or is there more going on here than meets the eye?
705 reviews9 followers
March 26, 2024
Mary goes to Chadwick Inn to sell books while a historical murder mystery is being put on during the weekend. She gets stuck at the inn and has to stay there because of a blizzard. Later spending the night sharing a room with her sister Betty, she hears screams and shouting at 3:00 in the morning. Later that morning she finds Rebecca's cousin, Margie has gone missing. Will Mary be able to find Margie and who ever hit Rebecca on the head? Also, Sarah becomes a suspect. This book has a lot of twists and curves. Why is Henry staying at Mary's house, read the book to find out.
Profile Image for Ashley.
463 reviews6 followers
September 21, 2017
Best one so far with exception to the first one I read. This was a real mystery I felt.
16 reviews
April 10, 2019
Finished the book during a SD blizzard.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Kathie.
722 reviews
August 7, 2019
Very enjoyable. The mysteries seem to keep on coming. You figure one out and another one pops up.
937 reviews13 followers
December 21, 2020
An interesting mystery that had me thinking. Love the ending.
905 reviews8 followers
July 10, 2021
This story takes place at a nearby Inn; with a different setting and circumstances this mystery was....."mysterious"
753 reviews5 followers
January 23, 2016
Very quick read, I read the first 120 pages while waiting in the dentist waiting room. Story moved quickly and made sure to have time when I got home to finish it up.
I had been interested in attending a murder mystery type of event but after reading this not so sure it will be a good idea.
Profile Image for Elaine.
689 reviews7 followers
April 1, 2017
A very intriguing story in Mary's Mystery Bookshop series. A historical inn. A Mystery Weekend. An unexpected snowstorm. Perfect recipe for a great story.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews

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