A review by dollycas
Peril in Pink by Sydney Leigh

funny lighthearted mysterious

4.0

Dollycas's Thoughts

The Pearl B&B in Hudson Valley is having its grand opening and Jess Byrne, her partner, and best friend Kat Miller, along with Jess's brother Nate want it to be a huge success. They have booked reality singing sensation and Jess's ex-boyfriend Lars Armstrong to perform. The guests arrive to check-in and Jess encourages everyone to take pictures and share their opening weekend experience all over social media. #bestplaceever #girlsweekend #thiscallsforwine #Roséallday
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Lars arrived with his stepfather/manager, Bob, and Jess knows they have a very strained relationship. Later when Bob is found dead and Lars leads the list of suspects Jess doesn't know what to think. Lars proclaims his innocence and begs Jess to help him. She is worried about how the murder is going to affect her B&B. She wants the killer caught as soon as possible and before her guests, one of whom could be a murderer, checks out, so she agrees to help him.  She never imagined she would find him at the scene of another murder.

A killer is on the loose, guests aren't happy, and The Pearl is getting the worst publicity ever. #murder #killer #don'tstayhere Jess asks Kat for help as they try to save the B&B, catch the killer, and hopefully clear Lars' name too.

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Jess and Kat take on a huge project turning Jess’s grandmother’s run-down former boarding house into a fun B&B aimed at 20 - 30-year-olds like themselves. With them handling the basic running of the place, Jess's brother running the bar, his wife Sarah doing yoga sessions, her Aunt Marnie working wherever she is needed, and her mother dropping by randomly to throw in her 2 cents, The Pearl B&B is a real family affair. All the characters are well-developed for the first book in the series. Their interactions and dialogues are true to real life.

The Pearl is an amazing B&B. The "behemoth" Queen Anne is set on a large piece of land and has ten guest rooms each with a bottle of sparkling Rosé in the mini-fridge, "a big pool, sprawling deck, and an adjacent garage turned bar" the Cool Vibes Café, all with a soft-blush aesthetic. It's a superb place for a cozy mystery series.

The victim was not a nice man and had caused a lot of trouble. The more we found out about his past more suspects were brought to light. Kat and Jess are obsessed with true crime. "Murderinos" who love the My Favorite Murder podcast. So of course they are primed to be expert amateur sleuths.  Detective Holloway wants them to butt out and leave the case to him. The girls learned about some surprising relationships and a second murder twisted everything up. Jess ran herself ragged trying to do everything to be sure her guests were taken care of while trying to solve the case. It was her dog Duke though that gave Jess her A-Ha moment and set the reveal in motion.

Peril in Pink has set this series off to a fine start. A fresh voice that will draw a new generation to cozy mysteries while entertaining current fans of the genre.  #funny #sparklingrosé #murder #mystery #Insta-worthy #hudsonvalley I am looking forward to the continuation of the delightful new series.