Bed, Breakfast, and Murder

by Scott Sowers

Everyone is a suspect in this cozy-style mystery. This book is a sequel to “Life and Death at the Dog Park” that follows the adventures of Vivien Szabo, a retired Secret Service officer in Washington, D.C. and her black Labrador Retriever, Mooky. In this story, Vivien, Mooky and close friend Lenny travel to the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia for a weekend getaway. Upon arrival they are confronted by a controversial TV show host who proceeds to insult everyone at the inn. The next morning, Mooky and Vivien discover his dead body in the barn as heavy rains isolate the guests and prevent escape. The trio work to solve the mystery and identify the murderer.

178 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 16, 2019

About the author

Hello GoodReads friends. I grew up in northeastern Ohio and began pitching stories to magazines while I was still in high school because writing seemed like an easy way to make some extra money. I still believe that because after trying and failing at a number of regular jobs, I’ve figured out how to make a living doing what I love – which is working with words.

I moved from Ohio to Virginia Beach and got my first taste of publishing success by writing for trade publications, city magazines and the alternative press. I fell into a television job writing and producing thinly disguised informercials for the travel industry. When that assignment ended, I moved to Washington, D.C.

I wrote and produced shows for HGTV which eventually turned into freelancing for the Home section of The Washington Post. I had my first article framed because I assumed it was a one-time occurrence. The Home section downsized and I switched to writing for the Real Estate section.

Along the way there were more trade pubs and city magazines. I was published in The Atlantic and scored a piece in the New York Times writing about my old home town. I worked for Uncle Sam for four years, writing and producing videos about city planning. I’m now writing about the financial industry for another trade magazine.

The first thing I wrote was fiction and that is mostly what I read for pleasure. Writing has always felt like solving a puzzle for me and the novel is the biggest puzzle in the world. I’ve written several novels, self-published a few, and had many more rejected. Some have never been seen by anybody except the members of my critique group. I enjoy the process and intend to continue as long as I am able, because for me – it still doesn’t feel like working.

If you read something I’ve read and you liked it, let me know. If you didn’t enjoy it, please keep it to yourself – just kidding, but not really. In the meantime, keep on keeping on and I shall do the same.

Reviews

[Razvan Banciu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vivien Szabo, a retired Secret Service officer in Washington, D.C. and her black Labrador Retriever, Mooky, find themselves in an awkward situation, as a dead body is found in a remote place in Blue Ridge Mountains.
With the help of Lenny, a friend of them, the mystery is solved, and a relief for all of us.
Good story, some humor too, so four stars are almost deserved...

[Scott Sowers · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the sequel to my first novel, "Life and Death at the Dog Park." Here's the back cover synopsis. Mooky the Black Lab and her owner Vivien are back for another adventure. A getaway weekend to the Blue Ridge Mountains is interrupted by murder as they become trapped in a B&B with no escape.
Everyone is a suspect in this cozy-style mystery. The murder victim is a right-wing, firebrand, media personality who made enemies everywhere he went. Can Mooky help solve another mystery?