Murder in the Mystery Suite

by: Ellery Adams

Libby audiobook 9 hours

Read by: Johanna Parker

Published: 2014

Genre: murder mystery

When I "opened" this book to listen, it was on chapter 3. Apparently, I tried this once before and returned it unread and unblogged. This time I listened to the end. There were things I liked and things I disliked.

Here's the description that caught my attention (twice):

Tucked away in the rolling hills of rural western Virginia is the storybook resort of Storyton Hall, catering to book lovers who want to get away from it all. To increase her number of bookings, resort manager Jane Steward has decided to host a Murder and Mayhem week so that fans of the mystery genre can gather together for some role-playing and fantasy crime solving.

But when the winner of the scavenger hunt, Felix Hampden, is found dead in the Mystery Suite, and the valuable book he won as his prize is missing, Jane realizes one of her guests is an actual murderer. Amid a resort full of fake detectives, Jane is bound and determined to find a real-life killer. There’s no room for error as Jane tries to unlock this mystery before another vacancy opens up…

 

I liked the literary allusions! There were lots and lots and lots of references and some I didn't know. I liked that there were so many clues and twists.

Jane's twin sons were named Fitzgerald and Hemingway. Fun!

 

I like that so many of the guests thoroughly enjoyed the Murder and Mayhem activities and it benefited other businesses in the small town. It was fun to think that Jane would plan other theme weeks for Storyton Hall.

I didn't like "Mrs. Pratt" - she was probably why I stopped reading it the first time. She just seemed creepy. I'm not sure what her age was, but she came across as a middle aged sex-starved pervert. Yuk.

 

Aunt Octavia is sickening with her disregard for her own health (overeating and not exercising), especially considering her extreme concern for the big family secret.

 

Also, Aunt Octavia is spending money on extravagant clothes when Storyton is falling into disrepair and money is needed to take care of the building? What the heck!

 

The bend-over-backwards-to-appease the guests by Jane is absolutely mind-boggling. This was clearly written before the era of shaming Karen behaviors.

I didn't like how extreme the story got - they have a secret, hidden library that has untold treasures (like the fabled library at Alexandria). The Stewards are literal stewards of this treasure and Jane is now going to train to be a superhero of sorts. It just got to be a bit much.