I really enjoyed reading this cozy mystery. This book is the first in the series. Antonia has moved across the country to the Hamptons to purchase and take over the Windmill Inn. Originally the cause of death of the previous owner was natural causes but Antonia is not so sure. Then she hears the rumor that the inn is cursed and previous owners die under mysterious circumstances. When another previous owner dies she sets out to solve the murders. I really enjoyed the Windmill Inn and Hamptons settings. The characters were a lot of fun. The mystery was good with lots of suspects. to make it interesting The solution made sense. I look for word to reading the next book in the series. Enjoy

I enjoy mysteries but could not get into this one and had a hard time finishing it hopefully others will enjoy it more.

5.0 out of 5 stars Extremely good cozy!
Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2020
I just love a cozy set in opulent surroundings! The characters are fleshed out and the story was well written. Plenty of twists and turns to keep me guessing. I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher and this is my honest opinion

Death On Windmill Way by Carrie Doyle tells us about the new owner of East Hampton’s Windmill Inn. Antonia is happy to become an innkeeper, but she learns about a curse that haunts the inn. Apparently all the previous owners have suspiciously died. She has to look into these deaths and see if they were natural, suicide, or murder. She takes us down a dangerous path until she finds the truth.

This book had a great plot and commendable characters.

I recommend this book.

I enjoyed reading this novel and learning more about The Hamptons. The writing is very atmospheric and the mystery was good as there were several suspects. I look forward to the next installment.
Many thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is the 1st book in the Hamptons Murder Mystery series and my 1st book by this author. I loved the setting and the descriptions. I'm hoping in the next book I'm a little more fond of Antonia,,,, she makes me think of a mean girl. Joseph is by far the best character in the book!

This was an enjoyable read. The cast of characters was fun, and I enjoyed trying to solve the mystery.

Antonia Bingham is the latest owner of the Windmill Inn. She’s not crazy about the actual inn-keeping part but loves the restaurant and creating new dishes. Renovations ran over budget as they always do but adding on her must-haves like a period, carved desk where guests check in, shipped from England, and budget overruns don’t begin to describe the amount of money she’s spent.

Things are going pretty well when a rumor starts. It seems previous owners of the inn have died suddenly and under mysterious circumstances. Although Gordon, the owner before her, supposedly had a heart attack, rumor has it that his death had something to do with a bee sting—in December? The more Antonia researches, the more believable the stories are. Is she next? She’s already moved from the West Coast to the Hamptons to get away from her past. Will her future haunt her as well?

To say Gordon was not well liked is an understatement. He was pretty much hated. Even his girlfriend, who is now claiming she was his common law wife, didn’t like him all that much. She swears there was another will, leaving everything to her. His sister disagreed, and she sold the inn to Antonia. Another owner swears Gordon stole the inn from her, buying it for back taxes. The most surprising thing about his death is that it didn’t happen sooner.

This is book one of four. Antonia is a likable character, determined to find out the truth about the deaths, and not a little spooked to think she might join them sooner rather than later. Her beach-walking friendship with a movie star adds a bit of the glam of the Hamptons to the story.

Look for a review of Death on Lily Pond Lane, second in the series, coming soon.

Death on Windmill Way is the first book in the Hamptons Murder Mystery series by Carrie Doyle. Antonia has started a new life on the East coast as the owner of a restaurant and bed and breakfast. She bought and renovated the property without any real business plan or even a thorough check of the property's background. She discovers that the previous owners all died under suspicious circumstances. Antonia is not very likable. She is extremely judgmental of everyone and is surprised to learn she is nearly broke even though she imported furnishings from overseas. The author's writing style was a bit long-winded. I found myself skimming entire sections as the descriptions went on and on (and on). Antonia's best friend was a pointless addition who flitted in and out in a self-absorbed cloud. I will be passing on future installments.

I volunteered to read this book, through netgalley in exchange, for an honest review. This book is well written and the characters are described well. I adore the character Antonia Bingham. The pacing of this story is good. It kept me on the edge of my seat trying to figure out who did it. This book is in bookstores now for $7.99 (USD). You guys should get this book. I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone.

ike many Carrie Doyle began publishing professionally as a free lance writer. She was a frequent contributor to special interest magazines such as Town and Country, Harper's Bazaar, and the Hamptons Magazine. In 2016 she started a series set in the Hamptons. Book one, Death on Windmill Way, has been reissued by Poisoned Pen Press.

Like New York City, the Hamptons have a reputation that some might say exceed their reality. Since the early 20th Century, this small Long Island beach communities have been the playground for New York's elite. Numerous novels have used this setting. Few have chosen an inn the hook for our protagonist. Doyle created the Windmill Inn, and has given us Antonia Bingham, a well schooled chef who is new to the hospitality industry.

I will say this about Antonia. She cooks well. The passages that describe the kitchen process, and the food served show Doyle's knowledge of the restaurant industry. Her time spent as an employee of Ina Garten was time well spent. Like many protagonists in book one of a series, however, Antonia is filled with self doubt. I found this to be a downer. Almost 100 years into the Women's movement, and yet our women are still not self actualized. The other quibble and this is a big one, is Doyle took the risk of writing characters that are not likeable. One character in particular was
described as 'odious'. For me, that didn't begin to cover his personality. Antonia's best friend is best described as a fashion focused ego. These two voices led me to wonder if I was reading a satire of a cozy. In short, the book has a Bridget Jones' Diary vibe. This reader hopes for a lot of growth from these secondary voices.

The mystery is fairly straight forward, with many possible suspects and many avenues for investigation. Antonia does excel as an amateur sleuth. While the perpetrator was fairly easy to guess, the method of discovery was not. All in all a fairly good "gum drop" cozy.

Full disclosure: I received this ARC copy from netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press in exchange for an unbiased review. Thank you for this opportunity.

Death on Windmill Way by Carrie Doyle is the first novel in A Hamptons Murder Mystery series. The cover is just lovely for this cozy mystery. Antonia Bingham bought Windmill Inn without seeing it in person on the advice of her best friend, Genevieve. Antonia was anxious for a new start after her divorce from her controlling ex-husband. The main thing that sold her on the property was the large restaurant because Antonia is a chef who loves to cook. When Antonia learns that there may be a curse attached to the inn, she decides to do a little snooping. After all, her childhood nickname was “snoop” per Genevieve and Antonia claims to be a better detective than her former husband. I had high hopes for Death on Windmill Way, but there were several things that kept me from enjoying this cozy mystery. Carrie Doyle is a detail-oriented writer. A person is described down to the color of their nail polish and a room is discussed in detail including where she obtained the fabric and the color of the lamps. Every single person is given this attention along with other properties, rooms, stores, streets, etc. I felt it was too much detail and bogged down the story. There was a discourse on bees that went on for several pages and included information that was interesting but not relevant. There were also some facts in the book that were inaccurate (an example is New York does not recognize common law marriage but a character in the book kept claiming to be Gordon’s common law wife). There were a variety of characters in Death on Windmill Way. I liked John Fowler who lives near Antonia and eats at the restaurant each night. Larry, though, was a piece of work. I really wish the author had not included the obnoxious man considering how he views women and his inappropriate comments. Antonia’s best friend, Genevieve is another unlikeable individual. She is vain and shallow. I am baffled why Antonia likes Genevieve who cares more about herself than her friend. The mystery had multiple suspects, red herrings and pointed clues. The guilty party could easily be identified early in the story. The reveal scene is reminiscent of Murder, She Wrote, but Jessica Fletcher got to the point much quicker than Antonia. The reveal scene seemed to go on forever (I lost track if it was two chapters or three) and lacked concrete facts. Unlike most cozies, this one does contain foul language. Death on Windmill Way contains 416 pages which could have easily been edited down with the elimination of repeated case details and the overly descriptive sentences. The author failed to develop the main character (I know it is shocking, but true). We are given scant details on her past. Antonia needs to be fleshed out and made more likeable. I found Antonia to be contradictory. She carefully furnishes each room in the inn paying close attention to every detail, but then she lets someone she does not know control the finances. Antonia seems to be unaware that she has overspent on renovations and not bringing in enough income to pay the number of people she has employed. I also felt the romance was too soon for Antonia after what she had been through with her husband and she seemed a little obsessed with the man (searching for him each day). A Hamptons Murder Mysteries has potential. It just needs editing and rewriting to help achieve it. The food sounded delectable and the town sounded lovely. Death on Windmill Way is a culinary cozy mystery with a curious curse, bewildering bees, a fashionista friend, bothersome bookkeeping, and a chef cooking culinary cuisine.

Hampton's wouldn't be my choice spot for the setting of a mystery but I enjoyed this one despite the setting. The mystery was well crafted and it was an enjoyable afternoon's escape.

This is the first book in the new cozy series "Hamptons Murder Mystery" by cozy author Carrie Doyle.
Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley for the opportunity for review. My review opinions are my own.

I enjoyed this first in series with the perfect summer location of the Hamptons. The author perfectly describes the coastal enclave of a mix of locals and visiting wealthy types. The characters are richly defined and likable. The sleuthing was done to perfection. We are introduced to Antonio Bingham who wants to solve the mystery of who is killing the inn keepers at The Windmill Inn of which she is the new owner. As she researches the history and talks to the locals she finds out every previous inn keeper has died under mysterious circumstances. When a series of pranks occur to her she fears she may be next. She has the help of her trusty staff and friends in the local residents who help her decipher clues .

This was a fun sleuth that centered on both present and past. I love the descriptions of the old Inn and the supporting charcters. I look forward to reading further books in this fun new series set in the Hamptons.

Antonia Bingham has left her California life behind and has used her inheritance to buy East Hampton's Windmill Inn. As she is hitting her stride with her new inn and restaurant she learns about a curse that haunts the inn—all previous owners have died suspiciously. Will she solve the murders of the last two owners in time to save herself?

In "Death on Windmill Way," Antonia tries to solve the mysterious deaths that seem to swirl around her newly-acquired inn and restaurant in the lovely Hamptons. Unbeknownst to Antonia, previous owners had fallen prey to a strange curse. Will Antonia be the next to succumb to death? Could the unknown killer be the gardener, the previous manager, or the girlfriend of the previous owner? Antonia risks her life and her new business to discover the truth.

The setting in the Hamptons presents a pretty background picture for the nefarious doings in the small town of this novel. I really liked the idea of the inn and restaurant as key elements of this story. The characters were interesting and intriguing. Unfortunately, this novel suffers from too much detail, which bogs down the plot. I did not really need to know the exact color and type of furniture in a home, or a minute description of Antonia examining herself in several mirrors while bemoaning her figure. The extensive details add little to the storyline. Some readers may find these details help them know the characters better, or add to the feeling of "being there" and being drawn into the novel. I found them to be tiresome.

I received this novel from the publisher and from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

Princess Fuzzypants here: Antonia is beginning to second guess her decision to pull up stakes and buy an inn in the Hamptons. It is not that she is unhappy with the inn. She loves it. She does not love that all the previous owners have met with unexpected deaths and there is a rumour the inn is haunted. Her desire to learn more about the “curse” leads her to investigate the death of the last owner, possibly by heart attack and possibly by bee sting. There are lots of suspects as he had not treated the people in his life or business well.
There is the common-law wife and the sister, both of whom are bitter. There are the employees he fired. And it appears most of them had access to bees. But thankfully, Antonia has made many new friends including a big movie star and a delightful senior and her team is loyal and excellent. But if having a possible curse and a murder hanging over her isn’t sufficient, the inn is not making money and she made need to make some serious but unwanted decisions.
Even though the suspect list was large, for some reason, I twigged to the killer from the first time that person appeared. There was just something about the character that niggled. There were a couple of times when my confidence wobbled but I was vindicated in the end. It was quite satisfying. It’s made me want to visit again both on paper and in real life.
Four purrs and two paws up.

Overall a fair book, but struggled a bit to stay fully invested in this book. Not sure why, so expect just me. Interested enough to read to the end, would recommend.

An inn with a restaurant, a cook, and a murder. Actually, more than one murder. This should have been a slam dunk for me. But I only got 60% through this mystery. There was nothing really wrong with it, but it definitely didn't grip me. It just felt to me like nothing urgent was happening. Larry's despicable, Lucy seems like the killer (though I might be totally wrong), and Antonia seems like a clueless business owner. (I always see them on reality shows like Restaurant Impossible or whatever and think, "Nobody would do that!" Would they?) If this were they only book I had on my Kindle, would I keep reading? Sure. Why not? Like I said, it's not that it's terrible or anything. It just doesn't connect for me in the way I had hoped it would.

Review copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this first in series and will probably keep reading in it. It looks as if this series came out several years ago and is being redone with new colorful covers, which I absolutely love over the old ones! What a nice improvement! The book was very well written, and I enjoyed the overall plot. Just comparing to the cozies I'm used to reading, there was quite a bit more descriptions of places, but in this setting it seemed necessary due to it being in the Hamptons. Heck, I'll probably never see those places, so good descriptions in this case helped really place me at whatever scene was happening.

For some reason, I had the perp picked out early but it was fun watching it play out. It's interesting to reread the prologue after you know who the killer definitely is. There were a lot of different and quirky characters, and a lot of them had motives to murder the man who died. I think my favorite secondary character had to be Joseph Fowler. Antonia saw him as a surrogate father figure, since both her parents had passed, and I just thought he was a sweetheart. They made the best sleuthing team with Antonia doing the legwork, and Joseph helping her piece it all together when she came back with information. I loved the end where she gathered the suspects like in an old mystery novel. And the very ending was so good that it makes me anxious for the next book!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of the book provided by the publisher via NetGalley, and my opinions are my own.