Review of Dead and Breakfast by Kate Kingsbury

Dead and Breakfast is the first book in a new series by acclaimed author Kate Kingsbury. It's obvious from the start that Kingsbury is highly skilled at creating the basis for a long-lived series. In this first book a lot of time is spent introducing the main characters and telling their back stories. There were a few brief moments here and there where I thought "less personal, more mystery", but it was not enough of a problem to take away from an excellent book. In the end I was thankful that this first entry in the series presented such a clear image in my mind of these characters because Kingsbury now has the ability to pack a lot of action into future installments in this series. My favorite part of the book had to be the relationship between the two main characters, Melanie and her grandmother Liza. Liza is full of spunk and had me laughing all throughout the book! She is one of those characters you just can't get enough of. The story begins with Melanie and Liza fixing up an old house they purchased together in order to turn it into a B&B. They have hardly begun when a gruesome discovery shuts down any further renovation and threatens to ruin their fully booked grand opening weekend. In typical Liza fashion she decides to take matters into her own hands and insists Melanie help her solve the mystery and get their project back on track. I absolutely adored Liza but found I liked Melanie just as much but for different reasons. She had dealt with a lot of trauma leading up to the purchase of the inn and I found myself hoping this was the fresh start she needed to take back her life and find the happiness she deserved after living through a number of painful experiences. After finishing the book I decided the mystery part of the story was satisfying enough; however, now that we have been introduced to these ladies, I hope the next book will keep me on the edge of my seat. I would love to see some of the secondary characters show up again in future installments and I look forward to more of Kingsbury's descriptions of the beautiful Oregon coast. I would recommend this book as an introduction to a series that has the potential to really stand out. I'm hoping the next adventure with Liza and Melanie has a bit more action, but still plays to my emotions like this book has. Oh, did I mention the laughing ghost, the sheepdog, or the possible love connection for Melanie? This book had so many entertaining parts that it would be impossible for me to share them all in this review. My advice: Get this book and decide for yourself what you like best!