Bantam of the Opera

Judith McMonigle Flynn runs a bed-and-breakfast in the Seattle area. Her latest guests are the egotistical opera star, Mario Pacetti, and his entourage. Judith is led a merry chase while she keeps up with the various demands of this group. She and her cousin Renie decide to go to Pacetti's performance, but during the first show he dies! Since Judith's policeman husband is away at a convention, what's a girl to do but to solve the mystery without him. The plot and its solution are somewhat convoluted but, all in all, this is a satisfying mystery with amusing characters.

This is one book in a series of bed-and-breakfast mysteries set in Seattle, Washington. Anyone familiar with the city can tell that the author, Mary Daheim, has changed the place names, but retained the feel of the city in accurate descriptions. Heraldsgate Hill is really Queen Anne Hill. Norway General Hospital is really Swedish Hospital. Papaya Pete's restaurant is really Trader Vics. Donner and Blitzen department store is really the now defunct Frederick and Nelsons. Nordquist is Nordstroms. The Belle Epoch is The Bon Marche, now known just as The Bon. Moonbeams coffee house is really Starbucks, and so on. The descriptions are so accurately and fondly drawn that the reader experiences a warm sense of being there, especially if one has actually lived in Seattle at one time. The relationships of the characters are sometimes feisty but honest and often very funny. I recommend this whole series.