Murder on Devil's Pond

by Harper Rose

A quaint Vermont inn offers idyllic peace–until a body is found  on the property–in this charming series debut, perfect for fans of Ellen Byron and Ellery Adams.

When thirty-three-year-old Hannah Solace returns to her hometown to renovate and reopen the inn she co-owns with her sister Reggie, her mission is to give the old Victorian hotel an entirely new life. She’s even planting pollinator gardens around the inn–native flowers and fruit trees to lure honeybees and houseguests alike. 

Hannah’s fresh start is stymied by Reggie’s continual interference, unreliable contractors, a check-the-couch-for-coins budget, and townspeople Hannah left behind fifteen years ago. Her main source of camaraderie is Ezra Grayson, an eighty-year-old recluse who lives nearby. After an unsettling conversation with a disgruntled Ezra, Hannah is horrified to discover him dead on her property later that day. 

Ezra had always had plenty of people to complain about, especially locals trying to force him out of his property for its prime real estate. As buzz around town grows after his death, Hannah finds herself on the short list of suspects. Hannah starts digging and quickly discovers that secrets lurk beneath the charming surface of the town she once again calls home.

• ISBN10: 1639107118
• ISBN13: 9781639107117
• Publish Date: 9 July 2024
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Crooked Lane Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 304
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9781639107117

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

Murder on Devil's Pond is a new village cozy(ish) series starter by Ayla Rose. Released 9th June 2024 by Crooked Lane, it's 304 pages and is available in hardcover, audiobook, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. 

This is a fairly standard village cozy with the requisite cast of eccentric town oddballs hiding things from one another, irascible grumpy old man (who sadly exits stage left quite quickly), a moderately large cast of suspects, and the main character, 30something Hannah, back in town to open/refurbish a Victorian B&B with her sister. 

It's an enjoyable read, if trope-y (but that's why hotel/B&B cozies are such a popular niche genre). It's not at all derivative, and fans of Ellery Adams, Kate Carlisle, and Lynn Cahoon will find a lot to like here. It's marketed as a cozy, but fair warning for sensitive readers, the language is considerably stronger than the usual cozy fare, and there's a wood chipper featured in a murder (it's not graphic, but *yikes*). There are also some issues with the clues in the mystery and the local official police need to be rounded up and stripped of their authority (they share confidential info and are generally mind-blowingly incompetent). Especially surprising since the author is apparently an attorney in real life.

The unabridged audiobook has a run time of 9 hours 53 minutes and is read by Maria Ru-Djen. She has a full, well modulated alto voice and does a good job of delineating the characters of a range of ages and both sexes. She has a sort of neutral generic eastern US accent which doesn't overpower the read. Sound and production quality are high throughout.

Three and a half stars. It will be interesting to see how the characters develop over the next few books. Recommended for cozy readers who don't especially mind rougher-than-average language and some more graphic violence than average.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.