Major Vices

This 7th book in the series is a good murder mystery. The only thing that gets tiresome is the rather overdone wicked shirtail relative bickering. This is the only reason I gave it 4 stars. Sometimes it was too much and I found myself skimming paragraphs and at times having to go back because I missed something important. Still I found it an easy read and a delightful mystery

Judith McMonigle Flynn and her cousin Renie have reluctantly agreed to cater their Uncle Boo's 75th. birthday party. They show up and are treated like servants instead of the relatives that they are. When the birthday celebration is over, the guest of honor disappears into his study and is later found shot to death. Judith's colorful relatives offer no end of possibilities as far as suspects go, and she, as usual, decides to do her own investigating. Her policeman husband Joe's chief rival is assigned to the case, which makes Judith even more determined to find out who the killer is. This is one of the best-written of the Bed-and-Breakfast Mystery series and is a very enjoyable read.

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.