Review
The First Catskill Summer Resort Mystery
Summer in the Catskills is about relaxing, eating and drinking well, and being entertained. Unless, of course, you're the woman in charge. For Elizabeth Grady it's about managing staff, paying bills, and placating guests while her mother provides a star's panache. Haggerman's Catskill Resort is in its second year and despite machinations from nearby Kennelwood resort, is doing well. Their modest success could be at an end though when a guest is found murdered. Not believing the quiet man was actually writing a novel the chief of police cries "Reds!" and starts implying that Haggerman's is a hotbed of communists while calling in the FBI. Elizabeth will have to minimize the damage that red scare gossip causes or else this summer in the Catskills may be her last!
DEADLY SUMMER NIGHTS is a great start to a new series. Strong female characters in a world that tries to belittle them stand out as they reach for their own success. The mystery was unique and the path to its solution ingenious. While the book started slowly, once Elizabeth figured out what was going on, it was a thrilling rush to the end.
The patronizing attitude of the men and the haze of cigarette smoke brought the 1950s to life while simultaneously making me happy I didn't have to live through it, although I wouldn't have minded all the cocktails and associated hors d'oeuvres.
Along with a first rate mystery, plenty of laughs, a little romance, and a sweet bulldog named Winston make DEADLY SUMMER NIGHTS a summertime treat that transports you back in time. Now, who's going to make me a pink squirrel?
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Deadly Summer Nights (A Catskill Summer Resort Mystery) by Vicki Delany
About Deadly Summer Nights
Cozy Mystery 1st in Series
Publisher : Berkley (September 7, 2021)
Mass Market Paperback : 304 pages
A summer of fun at a Catskills resort comes to an abrupt end when a guest is found murdered, in this new 1950s set mystery series.
It’s the summer of 1953, and Elizabeth Grady is settling into Haggerman’s Catskills Resort. As a vacation getaway, Haggerman’s is ideal, and although Elizabeth’s ostentatious but well-meaning mother is new to running the resort, Elizabeth is eager to help her organize the guests and the entertainment acts. But Elizabeth will have to resort to untested abilities if she wants to save her mother’s business.
When a reclusive guest is found dead in a lake on the grounds, and a copy of The Communist Manifesto is found in his cabin, the local police chief is convinced that the man was a Russian spy. But Elizabeth isn’t so sure, and with the fate of the resort hanging in the balance, she’ll need to dodge red herrings, withstand the Red Scare, and catch a killer red-handed.
About Vicki Delany
Vicki Delany is one of Canada’s most prolific and varied crime writers and a national bestseller in the U.S. She has written more than forty books: clever cozies to Gothic thrillers to gritty police procedurals, to historical fiction and novellas for adult literacy. She is currently writing four cozy mystery series: the Tea by the Sea mysteries for Kensington, the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop series for Crooked Lane Books, the Catskill Resort mysteries for Penguin Random House, and the Lighthouse Library series (as Eva Gates) for Crooked Lane.
Vicki is a past president of the Crime Writers of Canada and co-founder and organizer of the Women Killing It Crime Writing Festival. Her work has been nominated for the Derringer, the Bony Blithe, the Ontario Library Association Golden Oak, and the Arthur Ellis Awards. Vicki is the recipient of the 2019 Derrick Murdoch Award for contributions to Canadian crime writing. She lives in Prince Edward County, Ontario.
Author Links:
Website – www.vickidelany.com
Facebook – www.facebook.com/evagatesauthor;
Twitter: @vickidelany and@evagatesauthor
Instagram: vickidelany
Bookbub: Vicki Delany Books - BookBub
Purchase Links - Amazon - B&N - Kobo - IndieBound
This is my kind of read.
ReplyDeleteMarilyn