Judith Flynn is feeling a bit of strain after Wee Willie Weevil, stuntman and guest at her B&B throws himself from the roof, missing the Lily of the Valley bush and landing in the Pyracantha, breaking his leg. Even though his less- than-polite girlfriend threatens to sue, it's a relief when Willie is taken away in an ambulance. When Judith's cousin Renie, who can't stand to fly, invites Judith to make the cross-country train trip to Boston with her, it sounds like a welcome break from the day-to-day running of Hillside Manor.

Unfortunately, Wee Willie and his entourage are passengers on the Empire Builder with Judith and Renie, and being confined to a wheelchair does little to tone down his personality. Discovering Willie is traveling on the same train is only the beginning of the cousins' troubles. They find themselves stranded in the middle of nowhere (Montana) after the train collides with a load of sugar beets and to add insult to injury, their train attendant is suddenly missing. Attention focuses on Judith when Willie turns up dead and she becomes a suspect. The cousins must work together to prove Judith's innocence and discover the identity of the real killer before he, or she, strikes again.

Mary Daheim's LOCO MOTIVE is the 25th book in the Bed and Breakfast Mystery series. It starts off at top speed and doesn't slow down until the last page. This is the first I've read by this author, and I must admit at times I felt as though I'd fallen down the rabbit hole. Ms. Daheim's quirky sense of humor is obvious throughout, as is her gift for tying seemingly unrelated events together in a cleverly crafted whodunit. Judith and her cousin Renie play off one another beautifully, though at times I felt Judith was a bit snarky with Renie. LOCO MOTIVE stands independently as a well-written mystery, just be prepared for a few moments of confusion as you figure out personalities and relationships if it is your first Bed and Breakfast mystery.