An amazing start to a new series. I couldn't love this book more. It is a perfect cozy mystery. Even though it's not out yet, I can't wait for the next one.

What a great cozy mystery. It has all the things I look for in a good cozy: quirky characters, fun settings, a little romance, and enough twists and turns to keep you engaged. Also, the writing is well done - meaning the descriptions of the settings gave me enough detail to paint clear pictures of all the settings and characters in my mind.

Murder at Blackwood Inn is a fast-paced, delightfully cozy mystery that immediately pulled me in with its charming setting, quirky characters, and clever nods to classic sleuths like Nancy Drew. From the first chapter, I was hooked and didn’t want to put it down.

The story moves quickly, with just enough intrigue to keep the pages turning, and a plot twist that genuinely surprised me. I especially enjoyed the main character, Carissa—resourceful, curious, and very Nancy Drew-esque (a comparison the book playfully acknowledges!). Her sleuthing felt nostalgic yet fresh, and she carried the story with heart and humour.

That said, I did have to suspend a bit of disbelief at how freely the local police shared case details with townspeople—it stretched realism, but in the cozy mystery genre, that’s part of the fun. The quirky supporting characters—especially Carissa’s eccentric aunts, Runa and Hazel—added levity and warmth, and the lovable, mischievous cats roaming the inn brought a delightful dose of chaos and personality.

Overall, Murder at Blackwood Inn is a feel-good whodunit that blends charm, curiosity, and clever plotting. I’d recommend it to fans of cozy mysteries, especially readers who appreciate strong female leads, small-town charm, and a story that feels like curling up with your favourite comfort read.

Thanks to Netgalley and Cooked Lane Books for this ARC. This is my Honest review.

I wanted to enjoy this book more, I really did. But I feel it was released on Netgalley as an ARC too soon. It needed a LOT more proofing and correcting before it should have been offered to readers.

I wish I was exaggerating when I say it seemed like every single page held some type of error. Whether is be a grammatical error, spelling error, punctuation mishap, or simply sentences that contradicted themselves. The continuity was haphazard, the characters were all over the place, and parts of the narrative sounded childish, like I was reading a NA/ YA while other parts were clearly meant for an older audience.

The setting, plot, world building held so much promise but failed to hit the mark.

I truly hope all this jumble is tidied up before final proof and publication. I expect better quality ARCs from this publisher.

I will be leaving a rating on Goodreads, as I read to book, but not these comments. They are for Netgalley only.

a bit familiar to another book that i absolutely love. this needs more editing but this was such a cozy read! cats, witches, mystery. very good!

Thank you to Net Galley for the advanced read. This is my first book by this author but it won’t be my last. I found this book unputdownable. The setting was fantastic. I absolutely loved the characters and it was a really good mystery.

The book had was overall entertaining with a strong engaging mystery. Characters were unique and fun. If you do not like paranormal themes and references, then this may not be the book for you. I enjoyed reading this book!

This was a cute, cozy mystery. The characters were uniquely fun. The setting was quaint. The story was cozy (whodunnit, a tiny bit of romance, and eclectic group of characters, a mystery wrapped in a mystery, a B&B with amazing sounding breakfasts). I also loved the recipes at the end! This was a cute read and I would like to read more from this author!

Felt like a slow start, but overall this was quite an enjoyable read. This is a cosy mystery with lots of twists and turns !

3.5 stars rounded up. Fun cozy mystery. I loved the setting in Northern California at a B&B. I can feel the slow burn building between Carissa & Noah. The kitties were also a nice touch. I also collect crystals myself, so it was fun to see them used in a correct way in the book.

Murder at Blackwood Inn is a cozy little mystery book surrounding Carissa and her two aunts in the town of Pelican Point. There's some awesome themed rooms at the inn that include Scooby Doo, Nancy Drew and Sleepy Hollow. It was one of those silly feel good stories about solving mysteries and I really enjoyed it! I was hoping for more fall vibes but this was still a cute and cozy read!

Murder at Blackwood Inn is the first book in a Haunted Dead and Breakfast Mystery series. It takes place in the town of Pelican Point, CA. Carissa Blackwood is a ghost writer author. She has come to help her aunts Hazel and Runa open their home Blackwood Bed and Breakfast Inn and Herblery. Her father was the youngest child of Abraham Blackwood. Hazel loves her garden and her herbs. She also has a greenhouse with poison plants inside. Runa believes in crystals and the occult. The people who work for them are Noah O'Gara as a handyman and Marnie cook and housekeeper. They both have worked for the family when Abraham was alive. They are expecting for their grand opening the coming weekend the guests. They are Lindsey and Johnathan Duke, newlyweds. They will be in the Sleepy Hollow room. The McLaughlin family, Mike and Staci and their twins, Luke and Jake. They are all in the Scooby Doo room. Javier Santos and Malik Wilson, screen writer and actor, are in the Bird's Room. Henry Hill is a traveling salesman and is in the Ghostbuster room.

They have decided to do a preview party for the townspeople the night before their opening day. A small group shows up. They are Patty Fay Johnstone, a realtor; Annabelle Topper owner of the Pelican Point Inn; Harper Smith, their next door neighbor who is upset with what they did to the house and wants them to put it back to what it had been; Gracie Galloway is the town librarian and historian and Aiden Quincy a writer for the newspaper, The Pelican Point Press.

The morning after the preview party Sheriff Wil Lokey from the Sonoma County Sheriff Department is sitting in the kitchen telling them that one of their guests, Patty Fay Johnstone had died. The police department was notified by a burner phone. He also showed them the crystol that had been missing from the table the night before. It was found under Patty Fay's bed. It had been taken from the party.

While in her bedroom which had been her grandfathers, Carissa found a book in the slats under her bed. It held a small notebook hidden inside. It was her grandfather's. There were columns topped by letters. Leaving her room the next morning she bumped into Noah and dropped her book. He asked her if she was into hypnosis as the notebook was Mesner. Said her grandfather probably put it in the slats. Said that her grandfather probably used hypnosis in his seances.

As she was going down the stairs she heard a siren outside. Sheriff Lokey was there with Deputy Deb Santos. He told everyone that Patty Fay did not die of natural causes. She had been poisoned. The Coroner found Belladonna. Noah told him he could not search the property without a warrent. He said he would be back with a warrent. Suggested that they might need a lawyer.

The quests were at breakfast the next day. The boys came in showing their parents what they found outside. They had gotten into the greenhouse and taken a plant as well as taken a crystal. Harry comes to breakfast acting drunk. He sits and eats breakfast and all of a sudden he falls over and dies. They call the police. Hazel and Noah go out to the greenhouse and found it opened. They found the Belladonna had been cut in a few places.

The sheriff comes back and asks to see Harry's room. They find that he is not Harry Hill but Herman Hicks, a PI. They later come back with a warrent and find the plant Belladonna in the greenhouse.as well as Belladonna in the whiskey bottle. They arrest Aunt Hazel and take her to the police station. They later call Carissa and tell her they are charging her with the deaths of Patty Fay and Herman Hicks. Jonathan is the only guest left as all the others left. He is a lawyer and they ask him to help defend Aunt Hazel. He agrees to do so until they can find someone else. Carrissa decides she will try to find somelthing in the history of her family that could help her aunts. The more she looks into things about her grandfather the more she realizes that her grandfather is the answer to the mystery. She finds a box in the bottom of a trunk that holds love letters from different woman. She shows them to Noah. One letter is signed Patience - Faith and Joy. She realizes it is Patty Fay. The next letter is signed Maiden by the Sea - Annabel Lee; Scotish Mariner - Marnie and Amen - Gracie. This last letter mentions that she is pregnant with child. Who is this child? All of these woman attended the seances.

This is where the story takes off and takes the reader on an adventure. There is so much going on that it is hard to put all on paper. There are so many twists and turns and secrets it is hard to keep up with them. The ending is exciting with the build up and the discovery of who the childl is.

I really liked the story and all the characters that made up the Blackwood Bed and Breakfast Inn. I hope the author continues with this as a series.

Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for this ARC.

My rating:
3.5 stars
My opinion:
This is a perfect fall read. It had the perfect elements of spooky and thriller. The twist was nice and I did not see that coming. It was very enjoyable and easy to read. The characters were nice and all weird in their own way.

This definitely was a slow start. However, it was cute and cozy and definitely an enjoyable read once you get more into the story. I enjoyed the mayhem and magic that happened. This is a good start for this series and I imagine it will get better as it goes on.

Fun cozy mystery with a great cast of characters. Atmospheric setting with a well plotted who-dun-it made for a wonderful read on a rainy day! #murderatblackwoodinn #pennywarner #netgalley #goodreads

Such a lovely, well written book!! All the cozy vibes!! Definitely a good fall read with a blanket and candles !

Take a cozy mystery, sprinkle in a little magic and a dash of mischief and you’ve got Murder at Blackwood Inn by Penny Warner. Recently divorced, Carissa Blackwood returns to her hometown to get a fresh start and help her aunts with their new bed and breakfast. However, when she arrives at her family home, she is more than a little surprised by its eccentric haunted house theme.

Things get even stranger with spooky noises, flickering lights and unexplained bumps in the night. All that is enough to keep Carissa’s nerves on edge, but when her Aunt Hazel is accused of murder, Carissa must embrace the unknown and delve into her family’s secrets to get the answers she needs to clear Hazel’s name.

Murder at Blackwood Inn is a charming tale filled with bits of humor and supernatural fun. The plot has all the lighthearted elements of a cozy mystery and the witchy additions make it even more delightful. While not necessarily scary, the story is peppered with lots of unexpected discoveries leaving the reader to wonder what exactly had Carissa’s late grandfather been up to and is that house really haunted?

Warner does a nice job establishing the town of Pelican Point and filling it with all the usual cozy mystery suspects. You know, the ones who know everything about everyone and then some? Those busybodies become especially important as Carissa starts nosing around. While I appreciate the ambience they bring, I can’t help noticing how many characters contradict themselves. That is, their words do not align with their actions, and that makes it difficult to relate to them. Those shifting behaviors are confusing, and I’m not sure why some characters exist in the first place.

Others, however, bolster the book’s spirit by adding a playful and endearing touch. I especially enjoy Aunt Hazel, whose naivety and whimsy pairs well with Aunt Runa’s more direct approach. The duo does feel as if Warner plucked them right out of a family Halloween television special, but they land perfectly in this storyline and add to its quirkiness.

As with the characters, the story also has some inconsistencies and gaps. In some cases, I don’t receive enough information or backstory, and in others the information given is excessive and superfluous. The framework also sets us up for certain expectations that fail to follow through, leaving me feeling a bit disappointed and deflated. It doesn’t help that that copy I was given is in serious need of an edit, making the flow a bit choppy.

Overall, despite the few bumps in the road, I enjoyed this book. Warner’s colorful characters and unpredictable storyline sparked my imagination and if the Blackwood Inn really existed, I’d book a room. Again, this is not a frightening story, nor does it delve into the occult, so if that’s what you’re looking for, you may not like this. If, however, you’re a fan of cozy mysteries, this is a fun one to try.

This was a really unique beginning to a new cozy mystery series! I liked the characters, the setting, and the autumnal vibe of the book. Overall, I would definitely recommend trying it, to those who think it sounds good!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher.

I found it rather slow and ponderous to start with all the detailed descriptions of the food offered to guests. When the bodies started appearing the pace increased and it ended up being enjoyable. As other reviewers have said it could do with a final edit

This was a light hearted good time! Full of spooky house vibes, eccentric aunts and a dash of romance. Loved the cats and all the nods towards Nancy drew. If your looking for a cozy spooky mystery with all the fall vibes this won’t disappoint!