Legs Benedict:: A Bed-And-Breakfast Mystery

Judith Flynn, proprietor of Hillside Manor Bed and Breakfast thinks that it's business as usual as her guests arrive for the weekend. It seems like a typical group with a single man, a newly-married couple, a mother and son, a pair of nursery school teachers, and a surly couple from Chicago. However, there is soon a dead body at the B & B and it becomes apparent that no one is who he says he is. As usual Judith claims to have instinctive powers of observation and deduction, but this case has even Judith stumped. A complicated web of interrelationships is eventually revealed, but this just makes it more difficult to solve the crime. Another feature of this addition to the series is the appearance of Judith's first grandson, Mike and Kristen's baby. Even this event is not an undiluted joy when Judith finds out the baby's name. If you're a "cozy" fan, you'll probably enjoy this one.

Does it matter who dun what to whom? A good cozy is a social comedy, where the plot devices move us into an engaging world. Judith Grover McMonigle Flynn's world encompasses a loving but often bemused husband, her reliable sidekick Cousin Renie, an assortment of weird and irascible relatives, and one of the meanest fluffballs to grace the name cat. Legs Benedict brings in a new assortment of odd personalities; bed and breakfast guests fun to watch as they ignore the mints and go for the blood and guts. Still, the bottom line is a tribute to families and friends--which sounds sentimental, though Daheim is rarely that. She is funny.

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.

This series is great. Cousin Renie, Mother Judith, Husband Joe - Judith has a soap opera life with the people in her immediate life let alone her bed & breakfast. I enjoy these books and also the Alpine Series, with Emma Lord. Mary Daheim makes me want to relocate to Washington State!

Judith Flynn runs Hillside Manor, a bed and breakfast place located in the Pacific Northwest. She realizes that, with one exception, her guests all telephonically booked a room for two nights within a few hours of one other. After two abrupt cancelations, her guests begin to arrive. Minerva Schwartz accompanied by her adult son Barney come first. Two preschool teachers, Sandy Williams and Pam Perl, follow. Third to arrive is newlyweds Pete and Marie Santori. Roland du Turque arrives next. Finally, Mr. and Mrs. John Smith reach the bed and breakfast. Not long after that, Mal and Bea Malone asks where they can find a room. Judith rents them a vacancy. However, things turn ugly and weird when John is found murdered. The deceased turns out to actually be Legs Benedict, a mob hitman. His so-called wife has disappeared. Though the other guests have reasons to kill Legs, the police arrest Barney Schwartz, another person with mob ties. However, Judith wonders if he really is the killer. Even the Mafia involvement cannot stop Judith from sleuthing. LEGS BENEDICT is the sixth novel in this highly regarded cozy that constantly attains top-ten status on several bestseller lists such as the Mystery Scene and the Armchair Detective. The current novel retains the amusing interplay between Judith, her spouse Joe, her cousin Renie, and even Renie's never appearing husband. The motives of the support cast and their own interrelationships enhance an entertaining who-done-it. Mary Daheim should return to the bestseller list with a novel that will have readers seeking the previous five Bed and Breakfast books.Harriet Klausner