A heartwarming cozy mystery series about losing everything, taking a chance, and starting again. After suffering a personal tragedy Abby Sullivan buys a huge old seaside mansion she has never even seen, packs up her life in San Francisco, and moves to Holiday Bay Maine, where she is adopted, quite against her will, by a huge Maine Coon Cat named Rufus, a drifter with her own tragic past named … past named Georgia, and a giant dog with an inferiority complex named Ramos. What Abby thought she needed was alone time to heal. What she ended up with was, an inn she never knew she wanted, a cat she couldn’t seem to convince to leave, and a new family she’d never be able to live without.
In book 4 in the series, the remodel is almost complete and Abby and Georgia are planning a huge grand opening. The only thing left for Abby to do before Lonnie can wrap things up is to go through the items left in the attic by prior residents. Abby is just about to get started when a woman named Trinity Roswell shows up claiming to be the great, great, great, niece of Abagail Chesterton, the wife of the man who built the house, Chamberlain Westminster. Trinity, a woman in her thirties, is doing a family history and has questions about Abagail. Abby only knows what she has been told by others but invites the woman to help her dig through the contents in the attic. They figure that if Abagail did leave anything behind then the attic is where it would be stored.
While Abby and Trinity seek out the last of the secrets the house once held, Colt is busy remodeling his own new home, Tanner has a new litter of puppies, Nikki is dating a man Georgia doesn’t like and doesn’t trust, and Annie notifies Abby about a death in the family.
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This has become one of my favorite series by Kathi Daley as well as a favorite as far as cozy mysteries go. I have enjoyed watching the Inn come back to life and getting to know the members of this community. This selection takes place over a matter of weeks as the final preparations are being made for the inn’s Grand Opening.
Of course, no matter how well anyone plans, life adds complications as we make our way through each day. This wonderful addition to the series adds not only one or two but several mysteries to solve, as well as touching on a continuing theme that has been woven into all the books.
Although we are told that Abby’s deceased husband has been cleared of all suspicion of wrong doing on his job as a cop, I still feel it could come back to play a roll somewhere down the line. I was happy that her sister, Annie, is also not totally out of Abby’s life.
The book has everything we love about a Kathi Daley series – community events and adorable animals and food! Oh so much delicious food. Even without recipes given, my mouth was watering and I wanted to call friends over for a cook-out.
It also has a cold case mystery that the local law enforcement is puzzling out, some ancestry research that is popular today, including the mystery of a grave with only a single name. I thought I knew the answer to that one early on, but it kept my interest until proven. And of course all those secrets and treasures stored in the attic that had me anxiously awaiting this book.
Roll it all together and I had to read this book in one sitting!
So find yourself a comfortable spot and grab a cold drink. Turn off your phone ringer and enjoy!
Heartwarming Cozy Mystery Series
Answers in the Attic is the fourth book in Kathi Daley’s The Inn at Holiday Bay series. The setting is charming, and the well-developed characters are affable and caring. The writing style flows smoothly, and the book is a clean and easy read. The well-plotted storyline and interesting mysteries keep the reader engaged in this steadily paced book.
Abby Sullivan’s life changed dramatically when she lost her husband and their infant son in a tragic accident, but she’s adjusting well to her new life in Holiday Bay, Maine. Georgia Carter is a talented cook and baker, who’s also recovering from traumatic events in her life. Georgia and her dog, Ramos, are living with Abby and Rufus, the Maine Coon cat who adopted her, in a cottage located on the property. Abby plans to open an inn and the mansion she purchased is in the final stage of renovation. Abby and Georgia will soon be welcoming guests, but before that can happen, they need to go through an attic full of furniture, boxes, and miscellaneous items so Lonnie Parker, her contractor, and his crew can turn the attic into a sixth guest suite. Abby is determined to stop procrastinating and tackle the attic but is sidetracked when Trish Roswell shows up at her door looking for information about Abagail Chesterton, the wife of Chamberlain Westminster, the man who built the mansion in 1895. While looking into her ancestry for a family memoir she plans on writing, Trish discovered that Abagail was her great-great-great-aunt. Abby agrees to look for anything pertaining to Abagail as she goes through the attic. Lonnie knew where Abagail was buried, and after accompanying Trish to the old Chesterton family cemetery, Georgia and Abby find themselves caught up in Trish’s search for information about her ancestors. Abby and Georgia are thrilled when they find dozens of Chamberlain Westminster’s sketches in one of the trunks in the attic. Meanwhile, Abby helps her friend, Police Chief Colt Wilder, look into a murder case he recently reopened. Abby’s still trying to reconnect and mend fences with her sister, Annie.
This is the 4th book in the Inn at Holiday Bay series – it can definitely be read as a stand alone but is so much more interesting if you read the whole series as you will totally come to love the characters and want to follow along with their life stories. As all the books in this series, you will find several mysteries to solve – all of them intriguing as the author leads you through the story dropping clues and hints along the way while also giving you a glimpse of the characters and their own stories – ones that I have come to love becoming totally immersed in and love finding more about how their lives are evolving. All in all an awesome story that I highly recommend to anyone who loves mysteries, small towns, and romance.
Answers in The Attic : The End At The Holiday Bay- Book #4 )
By: Kathi Daley
Answers in The Attic in book four in ,The End At The Holiday Bay series. This series has become one of my favorite. Watching Abby pull out of her loss and start over with An Inn At Holiday Bay. Georgia is helping Abby with the renovation The Inn. As always the author draws me in at the start and I am hooked. I did not want to put it down. The story flows smoothly and is a good clean cozy mystery. This is a fast read with mysteries to be solved. Can they get them solved? The attic is ready to be cleaned out. Do they find anything worth keeping or knowing about? There are a few mysteries to be solved in this story. I kept turning the pages to see what was going to happen next. The author will keep you guessing till the end.
This series is full of life and friendship. Take one tragic and lonely woman mix in a lot of new friends, a new town, and a dream of owning an Inn and you have a terrific story that will keep you entranced. This particular story, Answers in the Attic, centers around treasures of the past stored in the attic of the Inn. Genealogy is currently being pursued by many to find out about their past relatives. Finding out about past generations is a hunt for clues and Kathi Daley weaves her magic throughout the story to answer many questions. Take a chance and try this series, it is delightful and you will fall in love with the characters and the town of Holiday Bay.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, as I do the whole series.
The remodel on the mansion is complete, Abby and Georgia are preparing for the grand opening. They meet a woman who gives them a little more information on the family who built the house and in doing so they uncover some answers in the attic for her. Add the mystery of a woman who was seen being murdered but was she? This book keeps a nice pace going with all that is going on.
I will continue on with this series, I love these characters.
I loved it! Another awesome book! This is a must read series! I can’t wait for the next book!
“Answers in the Attic” earns 5/5 Family Trees…Engaging and Entertaining!
Abby and Georgia are delightful distracted from their plan to tackle cleaning out the attic by Trish Roswell who is extremely keen on researching her family’s ancestry. Her great- great- grandmother was sister to Abagail Westminster, the woman for whom Abby’s house was built. Finding Abagail’s family home and their family cemetery provides a few mysteries and whets everyone’s appetite to discover “answers.” However, it’s “answers” to the identity of the remains found in a shallow grave that is the most compelling. The victim’s wounds are similar to an incident from three years back; a neighbor had at the time reported having seen a murder, a husband killing his wife, but no evidence, no body, seemingly solid alibis, and the victim just video-chatted with the investigating officer. So, who is this?
Sounds like an Alfred Hitchcock film! Love it! This fourth book focuses on the theme of “family” from ancestral revelations to contemporary disfunction, from new Maine family/friends to a reunion with blood relations. Kathi Daley uses a first-person narrative from Abby’s perspective entwining much of the everyday life in Holiday Bay with endearing friendships, budding and rekindled romances, holiday festivities, and the grand opening plans, but it’s the investigations, mysteries, and a cold case that fascinated me the most. However, the ancestral research and the cold case mystery seem to take place more off the page and revealed only through informal and formal conversations rather than Abby’s direct efforts. The final reveal did “answer” the main mysteries with clever details and issuing some justice. The writing is well-paced with vivid description and entertaining dialogue, and as is Kathi’s style…lots of “fur” friends. Well worth reading, but newbies should consider starting from the beginning to enjoy the whole journey.
I enjoyed the book and looking forward to the book .
Answers in the Attic is book four in The Inn at Holiday Bay series. As always, the story hooks me, and I can’t put the book down. This book was really good, and I definitely recommend it.
Kathi Daley has many series in her stash of writing but this draws me to it more with each new book written. Each book in the series focuses on the refurnishing of an old mansion and the original owner. As items are found during the procedure it provides an additional link into the completion of the mansion into a bed and breakfast. In this book we are taken to the attic to sort through the mementos left up there. A developing ancestral tree by a distant relative of Abagail Chesterton, the wife of Chamberlain Westerminister, the person who built the mansion is included in this book. The continued yearning of Trish to get her sister to reconnect their relationship plays into the final opening of the Inn at Holiday Bay Bed and Breakfast. The characters are likable and you might find yourself drawn to wanting to be a friend. Since the Inn has been completed I am anticipating what direction will Kathi Daley take us in the next book..
Abby is looking forward to getting her Inn finished, she has to clean out the attic so her contractor can finish up the rooms there. The grand opening is soon approaching and she couldn’t be happier. One morning there is a knock at her door, she finds a woman there who says her name is Trinity and she is looking into her family background. She is related to the wife of the man who built Abby’s Inn. Abby is happy to help Trinity in anyway that she can. She hopes that while cleaning out the attic they will find some treasures that will be useful to Trinity in her quest for knowledge of her family. Meanwhile Colt is working on a case of his own. It was a cold case, a woman saw her neighbor get killed but when the police arrived at the home no one was there. They contacted the husband who was out of town and he had no clue to what they were talking bout and gave them the phone number for his wife. When she was contacted they face timed and she was very much alive. Several years having passed a body has been found and it is the woman that the neighbor saw get murdered. With everything that is going on with the remodel, the upcoming grand opening, and her new friend Trinity will Abby have time to help Colt with his new case? Follow along as she does her best to juggle all that is going on and turns to her friends for help. This was a great read with an interesting murder mystery that had me wondering what really happened.
Answers in the Attic is the fourth book in the exciting The Inn at Holiday Bay cozy mystery series. This book is filled with elements of a cozy mystery including suspense, romance, humor, love, friends and family, and a sense of community. The story takes place in the charming tourist town of Holiday Bay, Maine.
The main character is Abby Sullivan, a writer from San Francisco who, after suffering a devastating personal tragedy, sold her condo, packed up all her belongings, bought a huge old house she had never seen in a town she had never been to, and moved to Holiday Bay. Spring has sprung, renovations in the old mansion are progressing, and plans are being made for the grand opening of the inn. As Abby cleans out the attic and works with her new friends, including the local police chief, Colt Wilder, she hopes to find answers to the many questions they encounter in three or four different mysterious circumstances.
I love that this community comes together to celebrate holidays – Easter and the 4th of July in this book. I love the way Ms. Daley writes in a continuing saga fashion with hints and clues to stories in the future (and red herrings). I love that not all questions are resolved in each book. I enjoy the character development and the introduction of new characters. Along with the suspense, there were moments that made me laugh, and moments that made me teary-eyed. As always, this author’s writing flows smoothly, and her setting and relatable characters make for an extremely enjoyable and quick read. I really look forward to reading the next book in this series.