Dust to Dust by Audrey Keown is a lovely cozy mystery and the second installment of the Ivy Nichols Mystery Series. The author expanded on characters beautifully from the first book, Murder at Hotel 1911. Ivy reminds me a bit of Stephanie Plum, trying to solve a murder, but falling into some mishaps along the way. I love the budding relationship between her and George. Also, Ivy’s father. I look forward to reading more about their stories if we get a third installment. As for the murder, clever! The way it was done and the who did it! I wold have never guessed! I found myself so Inthralled with the story, the characters, and their development, both main characters and supporting ones-I want to be a pot smoking, skinny dipping granny- and solving the murder, that I found myself reading at every chance. I would love to be a guest at Hotel 1911 on a FAKE murder mystery weekend.

Thank you Simon & Schuster, Netgalley and Audrey Keown for this advanced copy to review. Pub date for Dust to Dust is August 10.

The second in the Ivy Nichols cozy mystery series, Dust to Dust revisits the Hotel 1911, a fictitious grand house hotel set in Chattanooga in the vein of the Biltmore Estate. Ivy Nichols is back at work at the Hotel 1911 as a period-costumed clerk, and she is also back at her sleuthing around another murder. When a group of gravestone enthusiasts checks in to attend a conference, Ivy is surprised to learn they are expecting a tour of the graves on the hotel grounds. This is the first of the odd occurrences that culminate in the suspicious death of one of this odd bunch in her hotel room.

This hotel has got to be cursed! The second death of a guest in a year finds some return characters from Murder at Hotel 1911 in the hot seat again. But this time, Mr. Fig, the fastidious and proper butler has been accused of the crime and jailed. Ivy races to clear his name and get him released.

Ms. Keown has reunited a colorful cast of characters, who feel familiar, but not dull. Both Mr. Fig and Ivy’s father have secrets revealed that dramatically change Ivy’s perception of them. And her friend George has a surprise for her as well. While she may have seen it coming, it still shakes Ivy’s world.

The true test of a series is to have characters that continue to change and to reveal interesting aspects of themselves. The core recurring characters in this series, Ivy, Paul Nichols, her father, George and Mr. Fig all do this and do it well. The hotel, interestingly enough, achieved a certain status as a non-human character in the first book in the series, and it, like its human counterparts, also revealed some surprises.

Of course, the guests, a group of gravestone enthusiasts, added their own color to the mix. Truth be told, I had some trouble keeping them straight early on. To Ms. Keown’s credit, by the midway point in the book, I had a firm handle on who was who. Such is the challenge of the hotel model. Everyone checked in on the same day, which means they were all introduced in a short span.

Ms. Keown also weaves together both the main plot, which is the murder of a guest, and three continuing subplots in the series, exploring Ivy’s battle with anxiety, her compulsion to learn more about her mysterious family and her deepening relationship with her friend George. All were handled with grace and all came together in the end.

I look forward to Ivy’s continued exploits, the next murder at the hotel, and perhaps more of the broader Chatanooga setting in the next book.

I received an advance copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. The book is available August 10, 2021.

This was from a new to me and great author. I really enjoyed the book. Will definitely recommend this book.

A good cozy read. The premise is well thought out and the protagonist is a strong female. That being said, she's flawed, but recognizes this in herself and is willing to confront it. I enjoyed the setting of the hotel and its history. I would advise those who were interested in this title to pickup the first in the series. Keown made a valiant attempt to fill in blanks but I think readers would be better served to begin with book one.

Dust to Dust is part of An Ivy Nichols Mystery Series. Audrey Keown weaves a really interesting story.

In this book, Ivy Nichols is working as a clerk in Hotel 1911. It is a previous mansion and it holds secrets about her past. A national conference of the Pittsburgh chapter of the Association for Gravestone Studies is underway at the hotel. Of course, Ivy is curious about what they may find as it relates to her family.

Accused is the manager, but Ivy believes he is innocent. Determined to prove his innocence will only get closer to danger and the killer.

The story is really interesting with plenty of twists to keep you turning page after page until the very end. Highly recommend!!

An amazing continuation to a really good series. I can not wait to read more. This is such an incredible read.

A group of graveyard enthusiasts come to town, and one is murdered. Unfortunately the Police Chief arrests the wrong person. Good idea for a book, it just needs a little polishing in my opinion.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC!! I enjoyed every moment of this book and would eagerly pick up another book by this author. I enjoyed the thought of staying in a period themed hotel and the descriptions of the hotel and city were spot on. Ivy felt like a real friend and a genuine person. Someone just trying to live her life balancing work, family, and mental health like so many of us do every day. I enjoyed the twists of the story that really had me guessing who the murderer was and how all the pieces would fit together. Looking forward to the next book!

Ivy Nichols works in a hotel named Hotel 1911 as the hotel`s clerk. That hotel is a former mansion, a private residence that might be linked to the unknown family of Ivy. Then a group of people who specialized in the study of gravestones and graveyards checked in for their national conference. These people want to check the hotel grounds as they believe that the hotel is standing on an old cemetery. And that information had Ivy intrigue as one of them might know something about things she did not know about her family. But things get complicated as one of the members of the said organization was found murdered, strangled to death. Police came in and suspect MR. Fig the hotel`s manager for he is the only one who can access rooms without prior notice. Ivy does not believe this for she knows Mr. Fig is not a person who would commit murder. She finds him innocent and wants to prove it. She wants to uncover who the real killer is but doing so is going to put her life in danger. A lot of bizarre clues, suspects are increasing, and the truth that is almost just under her nose.
This book has the element of suspense in each chapter. It was never boring and always had me at the edge of my seat. I never knew that this was already the second book until I had searched it. That explains why some parts are a bit odd but it did not make me flustered. I just thought that it was just part of the mystery I was solving through reading the book. I had enjoyed this book for it has characters that are very likable especially the protagonist, Ivy, and have an entertaining story. would have loved to read the first book for this is such an amazing one.

This book was sent to me by Netgalley on Kindle for review...it is set in a period hotel with all the trimmings...who did it? Who committed the murder? Trying to determine the answer to that question, while trying to keep the characters and their relationships straight, is the question, this book just did not keep ,y interest , but other readers might enjoy it.

Chattanooga-Tennessee, murder, murder-investigation, law-enforcement, family-dynamics, friendship, cozy-mystery, angst, historic-buildings*****

In my personal opinion, the author has really gotten it together this time! The main characters are more solid, the transitory ones more interesting (let me tell you about the naked grannies in the public pool who smoke weed in their room). The publisher's blurb is pretty good so there's no need to go over that again and spoilers are silly. The twin mysteries are: the murder of one of the guests/police management of the investigation, and Ivy's need to investigate her own family history. There is misdirection and red herrings as expected but sneakier this time (that's a good thing). This one I loved!
I requested and received a free temporary ebook copy from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

I thought this was so cute and so fun. I was so pulled in to the story that I didn't even try to solve it, I just loved rolling along with Ivy as she uncovered each part. I liked the duel mysteries. One locked room type of mystery and the mystery of Ivy hunting down family. They were both equally fun to try to uncover. I also liked her dad, the great personality of the hotel and the guests. I haven't read the first one, but I know I'll circle back around and read it now. I'll definitely be looking for more from this series!

<i>A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.</i>

This book was a great read. Perfect to cozy up next to a fire and devour. It is about Ivy Nichols, a young woman who finds herself working at the Hotel 1911. The hotel is hosting a group of people fascinated with historic graves. During their trip, one of the “gravies” end up dead. Mr. Fig, the regal butler of the hotel is blamed for the murder. Ivy is devastated that her friend has been arrested and is out to prove his innocence. She doesn’t stop until she finds the real killer. She also learns more about the Hotel 1911, which was her grandparents home years ago. Ivy also deals with her crush on her best friend and hotel chef, George.
The plot was wonderful. I enjoyed every minute of this read. Thanks to the publishers for allowing me to read this book!

This is the first in this series and it probably wasn’t a good idea not to start with book 1. The setting, storyline, and mysteries are all fun, but I had a hard time with a lot of the smaller details. These were probably all explained in previous books, but having never read them, left me feeling perplexed and slightly left out. Also, I’m not a big fan of suspense endings.

This was a good book, I really enjoyed the story and the mystery kept me on the edge of my seat. However, I felt like the ending left a lot of things unresolved and I was not a big fan of that cliff hanger. It just felt like the book didn’t have a real ending. Other than that, the plot was good, the main character was very likeable and easy to relate to. I liked how the story added touches of romance and family drama so that it was so much more than just a murder mystery.

I really liked this book. I didn't realize it was book two in the series until after I posted it on Goodreads. Now I want to read book one as well. The main character Ivy is my favorite. She is easy to like and my heart feels for her throughout the book. The writing was very good. I was intrigued from page one and wanted to know how it would all come together. I finished the book in one day and I definitely would recommend this cozy mystery.

A delightful book. The author did an excellent job of engaging the reader. The book was an easy read leaving you wanting more books from this author and looking forward to the next mystery. I would give this book a 4.3

Dust to Dust is a fun and engaging mystery which takes places in an old hotel.. I'll be reading more by the author, Audrey Keown.

I really enjoyed this book. I found it to be quite delightful and fun. It’s a clever story without being heavy but with enough mystery and twists and turns to really engage the reader and keep you interested. I highly recommend both this novel and author and can’t wait to read more!

Ivy works at Hotel 1911, a former Pittsburgh mansion turned hotel. It’s faded opulence draws visitors to its doors, but Ivy senses something unsettling in the old building’s bones, perhaps secrets about her own, unknown family? A group of people dedicated to the study of gravestones and graveyards checks in, intent on finding the old cemetery believed to be on the hotel’s grounds. When a member of the party is strangled, police suspect hotel manager, Mr. Fig. But Ivy doesn’t believe it and sets out to uncover the real killer, following a series of ever more bizarre clues. This is a really fun book, I felt like I was reading a combination of Clue and an adult Nancy Drew mystery.