Ellery Adams – Murder at the Mystery Suite

The first book in the Book Retreat Mystery series, published August 5, 2014.
Genre: cozy mystery
Cover: lovely



WHO WOULD RESORT TO MURDER?
Tucked away in the rolling hills of rural western Virginia is the storybook resort of Storyton Hall, catering to book lovers who want to get away from it all. To increase her number of bookings, resort manager Jane Steward has decided to host a Murder and Mayhem week so that fans of the mystery genre can gather together for some role-playing and fantasy crime solving.
But when the winner of the scavenger hunt, Felix Hampden, is found dead in the Mystery Suite, and the valuable book he won as his prize is missing, Jane realizes one of her guests is an actual murderer. Amid a resort full of fake detectives, Jane is bound and determined to find a real-life killer. There's no room for error as Jane tries to unlock this mystery before another vacancy opens up…


Ellery Adams has written another winner. This book managed to break through my hay day addiction, and I finished it in one day. Ellery has such a vivid writing style, I got sucked in this story from the beginning, and I really want to go on vacation to Storyton Hall now.

Jane Steward was recently widowed and pregnant with twins, when she accepted her great-aunt and –uncle’s offer to become the new manager of Storyton Hall. Storyton Hall is an old English estate that has been moved stone to stone to Virginia, America, and rebuild there. It has several extensive libraries and lots of quiet reading spaces. Perfect for readers to relax with a good book, in a beautiful environment. There is excellent food in different locations, as well as room service. There are all kinds of activities to sign up for, and guests can use the Hall’s car service to visit the village of Storyton, with its bookstore and lots of nice shops. The bookstore is run by Jane’s best friend. They are truly pampered during their stay.

There is a lot of staff necessary to maintain the house and grounds, and care for all the guests. It is becoming difficult to pay for the necessary repair costs, so Jane has come up with the idea of a Murder and Mystery week. There will be all kinds of activities, based on the most famous detectives ever written. With a costumed ball, a scavenger hunt and pickleball contest.

But when her aunt has a heart attack, and Jane is told the heavily guarded secret of Storyton Hall, and that she will now be its Guardian, she not only has to retrieve a valuable book from her aunt’s personal collection, she has to find a killer ....
With the help of her prized staff, who have also been hiding their true jobs from her, Jane has to run the Hall and find a killer before the Hall’s secrets are brought into the open.


I loved this book, and everything about it. Jane and her family, her book club friends, the setting of this book, the small village and its shops. Nothing is cardboard; everything is well worked out and original. The secret of Storyton Hall is surprising and good, and the murder mystery is engaging and the weapon of choice pure evil.

What more can I tell you, so far I love everything that Ellery Adams has written, all her series are different, with different characters and storylines, and I do recommend them all. If you want to try a cozy mystery for the first time, pick one of hers and you won’t be disappointed. I can’t wait for the next one!

10 stars.

© 2014 Reviews by Aurian