Through NetGalley, I received a free copy of MURDER AT BLACKWOOD INN (Book 1 of the Haunted Dead and Breakfast mystery series) by Penny Warner in exchange for an honest review. Following her divorce, Carissa Blackwood moves to Pelican Point, California to manage her family’s new horror-themed “haunted” bed and breakfast run by her eccentric Aunts Runa and Hazel. Aunt Hazel, an herbalist with her own personal poison garden (just like the one in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Rappaccini’s Daughter), becomes the primary suspect in the poisoning murder of a local woman, and Aunt Runa, who has an interest in the mystical properties of crystals, is a person of interest in the same homicide. Soon, all of their guests flee because, apparently, murder is bad business even for a spooky-themed B&B. In order to clear the aunts of murder, Carissa will need the aid of the handsome handyman, the assistance of a charming newspaperman, the representation of a lawyer-guest of the inn, the unveiling of community secrets, and the revelation of family history.

I liked the book. I recommend the book to fans of cozy murder mysteries featuring returns to family, eccentric relatives, inns/B&Bs, paranormal occurrences, mystical beliefs, and lots of cats.

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