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 11 in the series, Abby is asked to volunteer for one of the Halloween Festival kick off events; a wine and art competition at a gallery on a back street just outside of the main commercial area of town. What Abby doesn’t know when she agrees is that there have been strange goings on at the gallery which many have attributed to the shenanigans of a resident ghost.
Meanwhile the inn welcomes a whole new group of guests, including one special guest that has recently embarked on a journey of her own.
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We return to Holiday Bay, Maine in time for the Halloween festivities.
The inn Abby Sullivan and her best friend, Georgia, run is a favorite destination for theme weekend visitors. Both the town and the inn have a multitude of activities to choose from.
Although it has only been two years, both Abby and Georgia seem to have made wonderful new friends and have found attractive men they can imagine a future with.
Romantic relationships play an important role in this novel.
Of course there are also mysteries, both past and present day.
One of the mysteries sets the scene for a future novel, Cottage on Gooseberry Bay, which we hope to have available to us this holiday season. I am looking forward to reading it!
Another mystery digs deep into Holiday Bay’s history.
Normally with a Kathi Daley book we “Come for the Murder, Stay for the Romance.”
This time, we get a lot of romance, although not without bumps in the road, and have a murder (or two?) to figure out as well.
This is the eleventh book in The Inn at Holiday Bay series and it doesn’t disappoint.
Abby, Georgia and friends find themselves embroiled in another mystery, this time involving an art gallery, where it appears that a ghost is playing tricks with the paintings. It all seems rather innocuous until someone ends up dead.
Abby is wrestling with her feelings about something Colt told her which, is causing a very possible romance to be put on hold, and a new guest has a mystery of her own.
There is a lot going on in this latest installment, and if you love Kathi Daley’s books nearly as much as I do, you won’t want to miss this one. If you haven’t read her books yet, prepare to become addicted.
Ghost in the Gallery is the eleventh book in Kathi Daley’s heartwarming The Inn at Holiday Bay series. The setting is charming, and the well-developed characters are three-dimensional, compassionate, and caring. The storyline is well-plotted, and there are lots of twists and red herrings in the complex mysteries contained within this book. The writing style flows smoothly, and the book is a clean read. There’s a perfect blend of mystery, heartache, joy, caring, with a touch of romance. Every time I pick up one of Ms. Daley’s books, I know I’m in for a treat, and I’ve never been disappointed. I highly recommend this series to readers who enjoy well-crafted cozy mysteries.
After Abby Sullivan’s lost her husband and their infant son in a tragic accident, she moved to Holiday Bay, Maine, opened the Inn at Holiday Bay, and has made a new life for herself and found a home and a family. Georgia Carter, who has also overcome obstacles in her life, is the inn’s talented cook/baker and manager, and she and her Newfoundland dog, Ramos, live with Abby, Rufus, a Maine Coon, and Molly, a terrier mix, in a cottage located on the property. Georgia has a’s cable cooking show, Cooking with Georgia, which is doing quite well. Jeremy Slater lives in the inn’s basement apartment with his young niece, Annabelle, and has proven time and time again that he is a valuable asset as he helps Georgia with the day-to-day operations of the inn.
Halloween is just around the corner, and there are lots of events and activities taking place at the inn, which are keeping Abby, Georgia, and Jeremy on their toes. The Inn at Holiday Bay seems to attract interesting guests, who often have mysteries they are trying to solve. As Abby’s friend, Police Chief Colt Wilder, tries to solve a murder that occurred in the new art gallery, not only does she help him with his investigation, but she also gets involved in the mysteries two of the inn’s guests are trying to solve. Colt’s investigation involves the murder of Damian Davenport, an artist, who recently arrived in town and caught the eye of Nikki Peyton, Abby’s friend and part-time employee. One of the inn’s guests, Ainsley Holloway, is in town searching for a house she believes may be tied to her childhood and find answers about the people standing in front of the house in a photograph she found in her deceased father’s diary. Another guest, Alaric Banning, scheduled his trip to Holiday Bay to coincide with the one-hundredth anniversary of the death of his great-grandfather, and try to determine how he died. Abby and Georgia are both intrigued by Ainsley and Alaric’s stories, and try to help them find resolutions to their mysteries.
It hardly seems as if it has been two years since Abby moved to Holiday Bay, Maine! In that time she had an older Victorian home remodeled into an Inn by the ocean, met a wonderful group of new friends, and made a new life for herself. This is my favorite Kathi Daley series so far due to a combination of things, including characters, pets, the Inn, and the mysteries themselves.
Abby and her best friend and business partner Georgia, who manages the Inn and is the excellent chef, are business partners and share the cottage on the property. This friendly community embraced Abby and Georgia and their pets. It is now October, and they are planning Halloween and other events. Two of their guests are there to do research on their families, one of whom you will get to know better when reading the new Gooseberry Bay series!
Nikki, their friend, neighbor, and part-time housekeeper, has spent a lot of time at the local art gallery since an artist named Damian has been in town showing his work. She has a major crush on him so volunteers a lot there. Mysterious things have been going on there, including artwork being moved around after hours. Two pieces of art belonging to a popular artist came up missing one night. The gallery owner liked to tell people it was a ghost doing the pranks as she couldn’t see anyone on the security cameras or that the alarm was deactivated and reactivated during the night. Then came the night that Damian was found murdered in the gallery, and it wasn’t by a ghost.
Abby’s guy friend is Colt, the police chief. They have often talked through cases he has, as she is a good sounding board and has great insight when considering all the pieces of a crime. While her plate is full with the upcoming Halloween celebration, with Nikki’s grief, she does want to help. In the meantime, Abby is considering questions Colt asked her a few months earlier, questions for which the answers would determine if they remain friends only or more than friends.
Abby and Georgia have gone through crises in their lives, giving them a depth and maturity, and compassion garnered only through suffering. While preparing for a holiday she loves, she tries to help put together the pieces of the murder to find whodunit. Plot twists keep changing who it could be, and I admit that I was somewhat surprised! This cozy mystery can be enjoyed any time of year, especially before and after Halloween – the author’s love of Halloween helps bring out the fun side of the event, and the mystery is excellent. I highly recommend this to fans of the series and author, to those who enjoyed Halloween-themed cozies, romance, and history of both families and the area.
From a thankful heart: I received a complimentary copy of this novel; a review was not required.
It’s Halloween and the town is having an art gallery opening with Nikki as one of the volunteers. She is excited for Abby and Georgia to come and meet one of the artists and see his work. Sadly after the big opening a body is found in one of the back rooms and Cole is investigating (and missing some of the fun at the Inn).
There are the visitors to the Inn who are searching for long lost family members and of course Abby and Georgia do their best to help them out.
All of the regulars are cementing relationships or at least discussing where they are going, even Jeremy gets a girlfriend.
I enjoy reading about the growth of the characters and these characters just get more likeable with each book. They are the kind of folks you’d like next door. There are several mysteries to go along with the murder which really add to the story.
Good book for a Sunday afternoon.
This book continues “The Inn at Holiday Bay” series. Likable characters, good story line. This book can stand alone, but I recommend the series.
Ghost in the Gallery earns 5/5 Ghosts, Figuratively…Engaging Mystery!
Kathi Daley has penned an intriguing eleventh book with ghosts galore: perceived, imagined, and annoyingly suspicious. From a century-old puzzle to pumpkin pranks, from art thefts to murder, all with delightful details, surprising closure, and all in time for Halloween. New guest Alaric Banning has a “ghost” of a memory of his great-grandfather Cedric Banning, and with the one-hundredth anniversary of his tragic death, he’s interested in finding more details. Abby gets a niggling feeling about the man’s inquiry discovering the man had been found at the bottom of the cliffs just beyond the Inn, and questions whether the shadowy figure that has plagued her day and night dreams is really an illusion created by the lighthouse beacon. The new gallery in town has its own ghost story to tell, too with artwork moved and some pieces missing, but security cameras show nothing. Add these to tales of the “Gemini Ghost,” a guest with haunting memories, a full moon set for October 31, and a dead body, you’ll have a perfect Halloween!
Woven through the various mysteries, readers are engaged in the lives of Abby and her close friends. Abby’s continued recovery of her personal tragedy, ins and outs of running the Inn, and following the trials, tribulations, and triumphs of the personal relationships. It’s not easy for Abby and Georgia who both have tragedies in their past making them reticent to commit without fear, but their significant others, Colt and Peyton, respectively, understand and apply no pressure for commitments. Friendships continue. This book is an easy read; I was totally engaged with the well-plotted drama, realistic characters, and a couple of surprise conclusions. Kathi Daley uses a first-person narrative from Abby’s perspective sharing her descriptions, inner thoughts, and insights into the various mysteries. The dialogue does well to set tone, illustrate personalities, and although some of the investigation and informal questioning occurs off the page, it is later shared among the interested friends. All is fun!
The Inn at Holiday Bay series is wonderful. I have read every one I could get me hands on and each one was better than the last. The growth of the characters is well done and they feel like family and friends. The world building makes you feel like you are visiting the Bay. Holiday Bay is a charming town with a small town feel. This story revolves around a new art gallery in town. The twists and turns in the mystery keep you turning the pages. Love that there are several back stories that will come to fruition in later books. Highly recommend to all mystery lovers, Kathi Daley is an author well worth your time to read and follow.
I have read all the books in the Inn at Holiday Bay series and I encourage you to start at the beginning. The characters evolve as well as their relationships with each other. I like how Abby doesn’t try to solve a murder on her own but if she has an idea, she will take it directly to Colt, the Police Chief, instead of putting herself or her friends in danger. There are also other mysteries in the books that have nothing to do with murder but are interesting. I won’t repeat the synopsis here as you can read it yourself. If you are looking for an excellent series, try this one!
Ghost in the Gallery is book eleven in The Inn at Holiday Bay series. This was another great story, and this author never fails to hook me from the start. I highly recommend it.
In this next book of the series Abbys friend Nikki has been helping out at the new local art gallery. Nikki’s friend Damian is one of the artist with his work at the gallery and he is helping the gallery get ready for a show that will feature a famous artists work. There have been some weird things happening though, paintings going missing and showing up later or being found in other spots. When Damian ends up dead the night of the last show there are a few people who come under suspicion. Abby soon learns that not only did Damian have many secrets but also several other people from the gallery as well. Colt must figure out what is fact and what is fiction so he can nab the real killer. Meanwhile Abby has several things going on at the Inn one of those being a guest looking to find out who murdered one of his family members a century ago. Follow along as Abby helps Colt in everyway way she can, will her help lead to the killer?
Ghost in the Gallery is the eleventh book in the fabulous The Inn at Holiday Bay cozy mystery series by Kathi Daley. The elements of a cozy mystery are present including suspense, danger, romance, humor, love, friends and family, and a sense of community. This book is filled with the sights of Halloween. Orange and white lights, jack -o’- lanterns, scarecrows, and other fabulous Halloween decorations and Halloween festivities make for a festive and spooky atmosphere. Abby and friends work to find answers to old mysteries and new mysteries. As always, Ms. Daley’s writing flows smoothly, and her setting and relatable characters make for an extremely enjoyable read. I really look forward to reading the next book in this series.
It was great to visit my friends in Holiday Bay and catch up on their lives and adventures. This series has some awesome characters – both 2 and 4 legged in which I have become totally connected to. Add the intrigue, mystery, and murder that happens in their communtity and their personal interaction to all of it, I found myself totally immersed in the story. Lots of twists and turns and red herrings kept me on my toes as I tried to solve the mystery and murder. Loved the introduction of Ainsley and her story. Also Alaric and his research, guesses, and conclusions into his great grandfather’s death was very interesting.
Ghost is the Gallery ( The Inn at Holiday Bay #11 )
By: Kathi Daley
Ghost in the Gallery is book eleven in the series The Inn At Holiday Bay. The story is well written and the characters are well developed. Abby and Georgia are getting ready for their new guest. The Art Gallery has some ghost mysteries to be solved. Colt has his stands full with a murder case. Abby is wrestling with feelings for Colt about something he said to her. Could this cause problems between them? There is some mysteries and a murder to be solved.
Abby Sullivan came to Holiday Bay after suffering a personal tragedy. It’s been two years now and she has a wonderful inn along with a new family. It’s Halloween and Abby is volunteering at the local art gallery where strange things have been occurring with the rumors that there’s a ghost. But when things go missing after a show, is there something more sinister going on?
I’ve really enjoyed this series and this book is a prime example of why. I’m a huge Kathi Daley fan because she does cozy mysteries very well. I was caught up in this well-written book from beginning to end. Kathi has kept this series fresh and fun. I’m eager for the next book. I highly recommend both book and series which I suggest you read in order.