MURDER ON DEVIL’S POND is the debut novel in Ayla Rose’s new Hummingbird Hollow B&B series, set in picturesque Vermont. Hannah Solace has returned home after fifteen years to renovate and run a bed and breakfast with her older sister. Hannah’s hometown is still charming, but she’s starting to realize that secrets run deep and lies last a lifetime.
At thirty-three, Hannah is readjusting to life after a bad relationship. Reopening the B&B with her sister was the perfect opportunity to return to Vermont. Hannah’s days are now spent interacting with guests, tending to the gardens, dealing with contractors, spending time with her niece, and checking on her eighty-year-old neighbor, Ezra Grayson. Ezra has not been himself lately and seems concerned with his relatives and local business owners trying to force him from his home and property. Ezra’s home is dilapidated, but the property is prime real estate, and the vultures are out. When Ezra asks Hannah to meet him one night to discuss his concerns, Hannah starts to worry when he doesn’t show up. Hannah decides to head to the pond for a quick boat ride when she stumbles across Ezra’s dog, Moose, and Ezra’s lifeless body. It looks like a murder, and Hannah is determined to get justice for Ezra. During her investigation, Hannah will have to deal with Ezra’s money-hungry nieces and nephews, a will with an unexpected heir, a failed foundation, a decades-old crime, a car chase, and a second murder. Can she gather the clues before the guilty party tries to shut Hannah up for good?
MURDER ON DEVIL’S POND is a smartly plotted, multi-layered mystery involving several solid suspects. The motive is intriguing, and the victim’s family dynamics involve greed, entitlement, and plain bad behavior. Hannah is an intriguing amateur sleuth with a complicated past. Her last romantic relationship was toxic, and her relationship with her father is strained. She has two love interests introduced in this story, and it will be interesting to see how these relationships develop in the future. The victim, Ezra, is a character himself until his demise. He is an enigma that Hannah begins to understand more as the mystery deepens. The Vermont B&B provides an idyllic setting, and the town’s characters are unique and interesting. The pacing is perfect, the sleuthing is practical, and the ensuing action keeps the pages flowing. MURDER ON DEVIL’S POND is a winning debut that promises to have more murderous guests checking in at the Hummingbird Hollow B&B in the future.
A quaint Vermont inn offers idyllic peace–until a body is found on the property–in this charming series debut, perfect for fans of Ellen Byron and Ellery Adams.
When thirty-three-year-old Hannah Solace returns to her hometown to renovate and reopen the inn she co-owns with her sister Reggie, her mission is to give the old Victorian hotel an entirely new life. She’s even planting pollinator gardens around the inn–native flowers and fruit trees to lure honeybees and houseguests alike.
Hannah’s fresh start is stymied by Reggie’s continual interference, unreliable contractors, a check-the-couch-for-coins budget, and townspeople Hannah left behind fifteen years ago. Her main source of camaraderie is Ezra Grayson, an eighty-year-old recluse who lives nearby. After an unsettling conversation with a disgruntled Ezra, Hannah is horrified to discover him dead on her property later that day.
Ezra had always had plenty of people to complain about, especially locals trying to force him out of his property for its prime real estate. As buzz around town grows after his death, Hannah finds herself on the short list of suspects. Hannah starts digging and quickly discovers that secrets lurk beneath the charming surface of the town she once again calls home.
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