Outside A Dog

Still catching up: the first book I read in March is Lacing Up For Murder by Irene Radford. It’s always a good sign when I get so lost in a book that I look up halfway through and wonder where the time has gone!

Glenna is the manager of the Whispering River Lodge in Oregon — so named for the high-pitched noise that can be heard throughout the town as the wind blows through a nearby canyon — and she’s doing her best to keep the lodge running smoothly and her guests from a major laceworker’s convention happy when her ex-husband shows up with a group of foreign investors. Shortly after he threatens to have her fired from the Lodge, her ex-husband turns up dead, and a length of silk stolen from the convention is found to be the murder weapon. The evidence begins to mount, and Glenna finds herself at the top of the suspect list, so she turns to the Lodge’s brand-new chief of security to help her clear her name.

I have to say, I loved the cast of characters in this book. Glenna’s best friend, Joy, the former owner of the lodge, George, who ‘haunts’ the resort, the new security chief, Craig — and even Glenna’s dogs — make this a really enjoyable read. I’m usually a little wary of mystery novels because my tendency to figure out whodunnit long before the last pages (I’m not sure if that is more a product of my mental skills or my bad luck in choosing mysteries to read) but this one kept me occupied and guessing and entertained until the very end. Lacing Up For Murder is billed as the first in the Whistling River Lodge mystery series, and I’m looking forward to seeing what’s going to be in store for Glenna in the future.

Lacing Up For Murder will be available at www.bookviewcafe.com.