Review of:  Doom With A View (A Merry Ghost Inn Mystery)

Kate Kingsbury

A satisfying, heart-warming cozy!!

Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2017

There are so many things right about this series!! The coastal, small-town setting, the relationship between Lisa & Melanie, an old B&B haunted by a charming ghost who laughs! Add in recipes, a dog, a missing mother, and some fantastic "side" characters, and the Merry Ghost Inn Mysteries are definitely winners in my book - a series with tons of promise that I will definitely follow. This being said, I thought the first book was better written than this one. While I still enjoyed Doom With a View and will keep reading future installments, the characters seemed to lose some depth in this one. In one of the first scenes, people step over a dead body to put the quiche in on time and then close their eyes in bliss when eating it, all while a dead body is lying in the rain in their driveway. Liza was much more of a caricature, the stereotypical match-making, kooky, older female relative. I would love to see more of her and her relationship with Melanie. One of my favorite things is her blossoming relationship with the hardware store/ pub owner, Doug - a fabulously drawn character!! Their dialogue is spot-on. I'd also like to see Melanie make some friends in town. The mystery in this book was well plotted with many red herrings, which came together very nicely in a satisfying ending. Overall, this is one of the best new series I've picked up in a while and I highly recommend it for a wonderful cozy read.