Hocus Croakus: A Bed-and-Breakfast Mystery (Bed-and-Breakfast Mysteries)

Judith McMonigle Flynn, owner of Hillside Manor B & B needs some place to stay while her business is being renovated after a fire. Luckily her cousin Renie comes to the rescue, she has to attend a convention at the Native American Stillasnowamish Casino and invites Judith to come along. Judith, her husband, retired homicide detective and now Private investigator, Joe Flynn, Cousin Renie and her husband Bill, and a nightmare for any vacation, their mothers. Gertrude who now lives in a converted toolshed at the B & B because she refuses to live in the same house with Judith & "LunkHead" and Renie's mom, Aunt Deb, who still considers her daughter to be about twelve and in need of constant reminders about wearing sweaters and not talking to strangers. What starts out as a semi-peaceful vacation changes quickly when after sitting through the magic show of The Great Mandolini, his beautiful assistant is found dead. The tribal detective Jack Jackrabbit asks for Joe's assitance in solving this case, but not being asked to help doesn't stop Judith from trying to solve the mystery.I don't want to tell much more about the plot, but this latest book has a lot of great twists and turns before it is resolved and I never saw any of it coming. It is a very funny book. Cousin Renie seems to know everything about gambling and her descriptions of some of the weird slot games she's playing are hilarious. Her husband Bill seems to spend most of his time observing the games for days before he plays. He's got a system. Aunt Deb is a big hit at the convention after she takes her daughters place because Renie can't pull herself away from the casino. And Gertrude discovers Keno on the TV in her room. I read a lot of these series mysteries and I think this one is the best. If you're a brand new reader, I would suggest you try to read the books in order. Each book does stand alone as a great mystery, but the relationships of the people evolve over each book, for instance, in the first book, "Just Desserts" Joe & Judith meet up again after 20 years when he comes to investigate a murder at her B & B, how they get back together and why they broke up in the first place and what happened over the intervening 20 years is explained over several books. There are usually references to previous crimes and characters, such as the idiot sheriff from the book "A Fit Of Tempera", Sheriff Abbott N. Costello who makes a return visit in this book. The author does give you enough information that you know who or what they are without having to have read the previous book.

I don't usually rate a book 5 stars, just because I enjoyed a book. No, this one got 5 stars because it was more than good. It was tricky and funny and really moved. Since I know all the main characters from prior books, I was surprised at the surprise ending. And all the supporting characters were like-like & real. I felt I've met some of them before. I like when an author who has regular characters can have them evolve. I dont write about the story or plot, and hate reviewers who give away critical information. Just realize that this is one of the best stories Mary Daheim has written.

Judith McMonigle Flynn and her beloved spouse Joe temporarily move out of their Hillside Manor bed and breakfast while the inn is renovated due to fire damage. Taking their feuding moms with them, the couple joins Judith's cousin and amateur sleuth partner Renie and her husband at the Stillasnowamish Resort Casino where Renie attends a conference.However where Judith goes homicide seems to also accompany her. This time she discovers the multiple stabbed corpse of magician assistant Salome. Casino manager Pancho Green asks his friend former cop Joe to investigate the homicide, but as usual Judith sticks her nose into the case. Meanwhile Renie desperately tries to stay out of it this time, but Judith knows whom to turn to when she needs help in uncovering the identity of a murderer.The latest Judith tale is a strong amateur sleuth novel that has a shocker (for this series at least) ending. The story line is often amusing as the support cast from the recurring characters as well as the contractors working the B & B and a second inn exasperate the heroine. The who-done-it is cleverly designed so that readers along with Joe and Judith struggle to uncover the identity of the killer. HOCUS CROAKUS is an entertaining fun bed and breakfast mystery that will please most of Mary Daheim's fans and bring new readers to stay at the Hillside Manor.Harriet Klausner

Judith McMonigle Flynn and her cousin Renie have solved lots of crimes in the past. In this book Judith and her husband Joe have to move out of Hillside Manor, Judith's Seattle B & B, due to post-fire renovations. They join Renie and her husband Bill and head for the Stillasnowamish Resort Casino. Renie has a conference to attend there. Both Renie and Judith had to bring their mothers along. These two women constantly fight but end up sharing a room. Judith discovers Salome, the resort magician's beautiful assistant, stabbed multiple times after the show. Pancho Green, the casino manager, recruits Joe, an ex-cop, to help investigate. Judith can't help but snoop. Joe allows Judith to question people regarding the murder, but he doesn't make it easy for her. Still, she finds a way to interrogate just about everyone. Renie tries to ignore all of it and gamble. That's tough to do with a cousin like Judith. Add to this the fact that Judith's contractor for the renovations at the B & B is constantly calling with problems, and Judith ends up driving back into town trying to resolve those problems. Also, Judith is having a B & B built on nearby family land. There appear to be problems with the site and she has to try to resolve them too. Once again Judith is on the trail of a killer. Renie is assisting, but only when Judith insists. These two are great together. They are very well constructed characters, and I enjoy reading about their many escapades. I liked the setting of this resort casino. Daheim describes the area so well, I felt as though I'd been there. The plot in this book is terrific. I wasn't able to figure it out ahead -- a real plus. I never feel Judith is overlooking clues -- I hate books where I am yelling at the protagonist to pay attention. Don't have to do that in this series. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book, and that you read the whole series. I know there are books I've missed and I plan to go back and read them. Mary Daheim, and her Bed and Breakfast series, is terrific!