Amanda Graham inherited a rundown bed and breakfast, a starving cat, and some dead guy who’s buried in her garden! What should’ve been a simple remodeling project and a new business in a small Oregon beach town winds up with her uncle named as the number one murder suspect, a slew of odd neighbors and problematic townspeople, and Amanda wanting to just sit down and eat her weight in chocolate … her weight in chocolate pie.
Sure, she could pack her bags and travel back to LA…or should she dig in, heal from her failed romance, and find a whole new set of friends and adventures in Ravenwood Cove?
And how could a quiet little coastal village have so many secrets?
Includes the free recipe for Amanda’s (and the author’s) favorite cinnamon rolls. First novel in the Ravenwood Cove ebook series. Paperback and audiobook (with Whispersync) versions coming soon. Mild PG rating (because hey, there’s a dead guy in it).more
Doesn’t get much “cozier” than this! Great mystery plot with really fun characters. If this town were a real place, I’d be packing up to move there in a heartbeat! Writer does a great job building characters that are both likeable, and interesting – with this being first in a series, I look forward to meeting them again and seeing what directions they take in other volumes. Realistic plot with a nice balance of fun and danger. Cute series! Added bonus is the cinnamon roll recipe at the end – sounds delicious and I can’t wait to try my hand at making some!
This was a very fun read. The setting of the story is wonderfully described and the characters have a realistic charm. I look forward to reading more books by this author.
I really liked the characters. Every one of them was fleshed out and seemed to just jump out of the pages of this book. These were people I could very easily imagine in any small town setting. The mystery wasn’t so very hard to figure out, but it was logical, no gigantic leaps of intuition with this one.
This is a great book. Easy to read and fun! Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Very enjoyable! I really liked how Amanda packed up everything and started over in Ravenwood Cove. She showed a lot of determination to continue her plans to re-open the inn left to her by her uncle and not let the mayor get in the way. I liked how she tried to bring tourism to the town and revitalize the shops. The storyline was interesting as well as the characters. I look forward to reading more of this series and seeing what’s next for Amanda and the town of Ravenwood Cove!
When Amanda inherits the abandoned Ravenwood Inn from her uncle, her plans to restore and reopen it are immediately squashed by the mayor and city council in the small Oregon beach community. First the property is rezoned for private use only, then a skeleton is discovered in the garden. If Amanda’s uncle killed the victim, the victim’s family could sue her for everything she owns—and everything she owns is the neglected, historical inn that she planned to reopen.
A rude rooter positions himself under Amanda’s window and interrupts her sleep, a stray orange cat delights in stealing her lunch, and the human occupants of Ravenwood Cove are an eclectic bunch of eccentric folks—weird, Amanda thinks, although one sheriff’s department detective is too attractive for comfort. Nevertheless, Amanda comes up with a plan to help them save their economically challenged town. Now, if she can just save the inn…
fun
Quick moving and very enjoyable
Some books hook you from the first paragraph and this was one of them for me. The characters are well developed and the story line moves along nicely. I enjoyed the book very much and have already read the next two in the series.
Fun to read
4 stars to Carolyn L. Dean’s BED, BREAKFAST, and BONES: A Ravenwood Cove Cozy Mystery, the first in this series about Amanda Graham’s adventures in opening up a bed and breakfast on the coastal shores of Oregon.
Story
When Amanda Graham inherits an old bed and breakfast from her uncle who recently passed away, and she ends a relationship with a cheating boyfriend, a move from LA to a small sleepy town sounds exactly like what she needs. After arriving, she quickly learns it’s anything but sleepy. The new mayor has it out for her, the town won’t let her re-open the inn and a dead body turns up in her garden. After getting to know the various villagers, Amanda falls in love with Ravenwood Cove but she can’t afford to stay unless she can open the inn for business. She quickly finds her allies, determines who may be out to stop her and solves the mystery of who put the dead body in her garden. Along the way, she learns her uncle was not a well-liked man, and she has a mysterious neighbor who has something to hide…
Strengths
For a debut cozy, this story sets up a wonderful little town full of good characters and lots of potential for drama, conflict and depth. The various shop owners’ plights make you root for them to survive in a town where tourism is non-existent, but they have a hope for it to change. The history and relationships of all the villagers are intricate and appear to have some traction for future stories. Amanda’s immediate ties to the town are strong and give you a good sense of why she wants to make this new life work.
Often in cozies, the protagonist talks a lot about how (s)he has no experience in searching for the killer — almost to the point of it being too direct; however, in this series, even though it’s obvious she’s not trained in detective work, Amanda’s instinctual skills and talents kick in very naturally. I never questioned why she was searching for the killer because it just happened along the way in a very realistic manner. I liked this change in a cozy.
The introduction of her potential suitors went well — and I’m actually rooting for two men she has interacted with thus far – James and his brother Derek. It was only a small introduction, but fighting over 2 brothers would definitely be a good setup of trouble for the future.
Suggestions
I’d like to know more about her uncle and what happened to push him out of the town 8 years ago. I’m not sure if this was deliberately left open in book 1 to have a story to reveal in a future book or if this was just not anything of importance, but I found myself wanting a stronger and more immediate conclusion to this part.
Final Thoughts
This is the first book I’ve read by this author, and I definitely enjoyed it and will read another one soon. It has a lot of potential as a debut novel in this series, especially with likable characters, a strong background and setting to tell a story and a direct plot with some hidden clues and some guess-work. You can read it in a few hours one afternoon and walk away with a smile and a wish to visit your own sleepy little town. (But don’t go finding your own dead body!)
Fun read. Light characters funny
Ravenwood Cove books are great.
This read was difficult to catch my attention.
I liked it I enjoyed reading and wanted to know who was responsible for the murder and would like to read the next In series
This story revolved around solving the mystery of who killed the man buried in the garden of the inn the main character inherited. It started out rather slowly, but about midway through the book it got more interesting with some twists and turns. There is the beginning of what looked like would be a relationship, but it didn’t progress much. It was a good book all in all. The surprise comes at the end!
Characters were likable. Premise was fairly believable.
Cute story
I didn’t figure this one out. I might not have been trying that hard.
Super read and I enoyed it!