Mrs. Morris and the Venomous Valentine is book 9 in Tracy Wilton’s Salem B&B series, but it easily reads as a standalone novel, so if you’ve missed the previous books like I have, you can still jump in with this one.
Charlene has a gaggle of famous models staying at her B&B over Valentine’s Day, while their famous photographer, Dale, tries to pull together a come back calendar before announcing his retirement. Their celebration after the shoot wraps is brought to an abrupt halt when Dale falls sick and then dies, and it’s revealed that he was poisoned.
With every member of the group having secrets and grievances with Dale, there is no lack of suspects. Additionally there is a hacker threatening the entire group. Is the hacker responsible for Dale’s death, or is it someone closer to home?
Charlene, and her ghostly resident, Jack, put their sleuthing skills to the test solving the murder of Charlene’s former guest. In the meantime she must entertain this group of spoiled people, and that is no easy task.
The author kept me guessing with this mystery, simply due to the multitude of viable suspects. The only part I found a bit hard to believe was the whole blood contract portion and how all these people took it so seriously. I would have found it easier to believe if they had all been brought up with the same background, believing in witchcraft, but the models all came from very different cultural backgrounds. I found it hard to believe that at least one of them didn’t question the validity of such a contract binding them to Dale (and possibly some dark lord after his death).
Other than that I really enjoyed the story. I would like to read some of the previous books, just to know the history of some of the background characters, like Jack, and Charlene’s current love interest, Sam.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Mrs. Morris and the Venomous Valentine releases on December 24 2024, and curling up with it, and a good glass of wine (or your drink of choice) with a cozy blanket, would be a great way to spend Christmas Eve (if you celebrate)…or any winter evening for that matter.
Life, Tea, and Everything 