Pippa Winterbourne runs Moorehaven, the Oregon Coast’s quirkiest bed-and-breakfast and former home of world-famous mystery writer A. Raymond Moore. Guests come there to write their own crime novels. When a real-life murder takes a local’s life and washes a handsome boat pilot into her arms, Pippa is yanked into a deadly plot of her own. A tangle of secrets crashes past into present, and Pippa … must uncover clues dating back to Seacrest’s Prohibition days, including a secret Moore himself hid from the world.
Juggling her book-writing guests, small-town intrigues, secret club agendas, and a possibly fatal attraction, Pippa must sort fact from fiction to know who to trust before a desperate killer claims a final revenge nearly a century in the making.
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SMUGGLERS & SCONES (Moorehaven Mysteries, #1) by Morgan C. Talbot is a wonderful new cozy mystery that introduces us to a special B&B in Seacrest on the Oregon coast and a cast of intelligent and quirky characters.
World famous mystery writer, A. Raymond Moore left his huge home, Moorehaven, on the Oregon coast in trust to his friend Hilt, the town’s former chief of police with the stipulation that it become a B&B for mystery writers only. Now that Hilt is older, he has hired his niece, Pippa Winterbourne to run the B&B.
When a small tourist fishing boat crashes in the middle of the night, Pippa rushes to help and saves the handsome Lakyn “Lake” Ivens. They both find out the next day that there was also a dead man on the boat. Lake has no memories of the accident or what happened to the dead owner of the boat. Pippa, with the help of Lake, the visiting authors and a cast of fun characters from Seacrest become tangled in a deadly plot that incorporates the town’s Prohibition history with the present.
Characters make a cozy for me and this book is full of many that I can’t wait to revisit. Pippa is a great choice as a lead. The “Glaze and Gossip” group she is invited to join had me laughing out loud. Tyleen with her binoculars and Wallis the gloomy florist all added to town’s cast of unique characters. This is a wonderful story and I love that there will always be mystery writers and their books involved in each book.
I am anxiously waiting for the next book in this series!
I read book 1, Smugglers and Scones, and Burglars and Blintzes one right after the other. I think when a reader does that they might have a more positive experience since elements are reinforced. (May explain why romance trilogy are sometimes released in a three month time span instead of 1 a year.) I liked both books. While a B&B setting isn’t new for a cozy series, the situation here with the B&B being funded by a trust and solely for mystery authors is. (I would have liked that set up to have been spelled out a little better though.)
The plot lines in both books were really different as well. I also liked the mix of characters, both permanent and visiting. Perhaps the visitors could have gotten even more involved. Oh, the joy of being a mystery writer and having a real mystery fall into your lap!! There was some feeling of that, but I felt it could have been enhanced.
Still, I liked both and am looking forward to a third.
I received copies of both books from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.
I am a fan of cozy mysteries and when the opportunity to read this book fell into my lap I, of course, jumped at the chance.
The main character is Pippa and she runs Moorehaven, which is a quirky bed-and-breakfast that had been the home of a world-famous mystery writer. The B&B attracts writers who want to find their own fame of writing crime novels.
The book was filled with some mystery, a little suspense, a possibility of a love connection, funny situations, and of course a murder to solve. This was a fun new mystery and I feel other readers like myself will be jumping at the chance to read more in the series.
I volunteered to review an ARC of this book.
The Moorehaven is a very special place. Only mystery writers can stay at the Bed and Breakfast, and enjoy the scenic town on the Oregon Coast. What a crazy lot the current mystery writers are; they have too much fun trying out their plot ideas on the townspeople. Sometimes with devastating results. The hilarious situations the staff and writers find themselves in were truly entertaining. I hope to read more of this series and continue on the journey with the characters. What could be more fun than murder, smugglers, treasure and secrets long buried. Highly recommend this book to all mystery lovers.
I am always excited to start a new cozy series. I enjoy getting to know the setting and the characters and learning about the relationships and how they interact with each other.
The Moorehaven Mysteries shows great promise.
The excitement starts early on, with a boom!
Even during the darkest moments, there is some humor to be found.
The writing is crisp and endearing. The characters colorful and captivating.
A hotel where the only allowed guests are writers? Wow- someone is setting themself up for quirky and weird. Especially when those writers want to actually test out their ideas and storylines.
It is a good thing to have strong ties to local law enforcement, past and present.
It is not only the writers who are keeping secrets.
I had fun reading this book and look forward to watching it develop.
A nice read for when you just want to relax with a story.
good read and plot
Enjoyed.
Enjoyed this book very much. One of the better cozy mysteries.
enjoyed this new story and author! story line completely different from any “cozy” story I’ve read before. would be interested in reading more Ms. Talbot’s stories!
It is a nice easy read, nice to be able to forget about life and just enjoy reading.