A Very Woodsy Murder

July 1, 2024
A Los Angeles scriptwriter chases her dream of revitalizing a midcentury motel in the Sierra Nevada foothills. Like so many cozy heroines, Dee Stern is ready to give up her hectic big city job for a quiet life in the country. Fortunately, unlike so many cozy heroines, she's remained on excellent terms with her ex-husband, Jeff Cornetta. So when Dee falls in love with the worn but picturesque Golden Motel in Foundgold, California, she's able to persuade the data analyst to join her in restoring the quaint property to its former glory. The two "citiots," as their new neighbors call them, face a host of challenges. Foundgold is the poorer of the two towns nestled at the base of Majestic National Park. Apparently, once the miners found the gold, they took the money and ran. Neighboring Goldsgone, on the other hand, is populated by descendants of the miners who, finding no gold, stayed put and over the years built a thriving tourism economy. The last thing folks in Goldsgone want is a revitalized Golden Motel to compete for their tourist trade, and they sabotage Dee and Jeff at every turn. The biggest blow, however, comes when their very first guest is murdered outside his newly refurbished room. Foundgold's citizens rally around Dee and Jeff, including Elmira Williker (whose All-in-One General Store dates back to the Gold Rush and whose homemade baked goods taste like they do too) and Serena Finlay-Katz (a Hollywood agent's wife whose trendy handcrafted charcuterie boards prove a surprise hit). It's a close call, but justice prevails. Filled with small ironies, Byron's debut novel is well paced, good-natured, and, as promised, very woodsy.

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Starred review from July 1, 2024

Sitcom writer Dee Stern has seen her career spiral slowly downward until she's writing for a kids' show. She's so depressed that she gets in her car and just drives until she comes across a rustic motel in Foundgold at the foot of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. There, she's excited to discover that she has a new dream: restoring the Golden Motel to its 1940s glory, with the assistance of her first ex-husband and best friend, Jeff. He'll be the tech side, designing the inn's website and taking reservations, while she cleans and renovates the cabins and lodge. Dee is suspicious when their first guest is Michael Adam Baker, a fellow sitcom writer who sabotaged her career. He's a favored son from the neighboring town of Goldsgone, so why is he staying in Dee's rundown motel? When a neighbor finds Baker's dead body, Dee and Jeff are suddenly murder suspects. They're desperate to save their investment in the motel, so they turn amateur sleuths, but they're only a little better at investigating than they are as motel owners. VERDICT Byron ("Cajun Country" mysteries), an award-winning novelist and sitcom writer, has written a model cozy with delightful, slightly inept sleuths, quirky characters, and an entertaining mystery.--Lesa Holstine

Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 19, 2024
Nestled on the border of a national park in the Sierra Nevadas, where the neighboring towns of Foundgold and Goldgone celebrate the gold-rush era, the Golden Motel is a 1950s gem that has seen better days. Dee Stern, a Hollywood writer seeking a change, and her ex turned best friend, Jeff Cornetta, a techie seeking to escape the Bay Area's high prices, put their savings into rehabbing the motel. Trouble starts with their first guest, a writer with whom Dee worked. When he's found dead at the edge of the forest, Dee and Jeff are the first suspects investigated by both the park ranger and the local sheriff. With warring law enforcement, competing towns, conflicts between the locals and the "citiots" moving into the area, and the jealousies of Hollywood not left behind, Dee and Jeff quickly learn the best and worst of their new, and sometimes quirky, neighbors, all with deep loyalties--and hostilities. First in a new series, this will appeal to fans of mysteries set in both small-town B&Bs and Hollywood.

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