My ReviewElizabeth Grady is managing a Catskills resort called Haggerman's in 1953. Her mother, a retired actress, is the owner, but Elizabeth is doing the day to day work. When a guest is murdered, she becomes involved in solving the mystery. There are lots of details about day to day life at the resort, and even a little possible romance for Elizabeth.
I wanted to read this mystery because I love historic mysteries and am fascinated by the Catskills. I never pass up a book, movie, or TV show set in this locale.
Deadly Summer Nights is a delightful read. The author does a wonderful job at establishing a sense of time and place. There are so many fascinating little details, like this description which involved retro food:
"I followed him across the lobby, up the grand staircase, and into the ballroom. The orchestra was having a break, and the lines at the bar and the food table were long. An angel food cake covered with a thick layer of pink icing dotted with maraschino cherries, platters of Rice Krispie squares, and a glistening pineapple upside-down cake were tonight’s offerings. More than a few of our guests took a piece of everything on offer. Some helped themselves to more than one piece of each" (eBook location 708).
The mystery is well plotted, with a number of plausible suspects. I figured the killer out about the same time Elizabeth did. There is a large cast of characters which led to a slightly slower read - but that just gave me a little extra time to enjoy the book!
Elizabeth is a fun amateur detective. She's very smart and enlists the help of her lifelong friend Velvet in solving the mystery.
I highly recommend Deadly Summer Nights to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, and most especially to readers who enjoy Mid-Century settings and retro Catskills. I look forward to upcoming books in this series.
Book Synopsis
A summer of fun at a Catskills resort
comes to an abrupt end when a guest is found murdered, in this new 1950s
set mystery series.
It’s the summer of 1953, and Elizabeth
Grady is settling into Haggerman’s Catskills Resort. As a vacation
getaway, Haggerman’s is ideal, and although Elizabeth’s ostentatious but
well-meaning mother is new to running the resort, Elizabeth is eager to
help her organize the guests and the entertainment acts. But Elizabeth
will have to resort to untested abilities if she wants to save her
mother’s business.
When a reclusive guest is found dead in a
lake on the grounds, and a copy of The Communist Manifesto is found in
his cabin, the local police chief is convinced that the man was a
Russian spy. But Elizabeth isn’t so sure, and with the fate of the
resort hanging in the balance, she’ll need to dodge red herrings,
withstand the Red Scare, and catch a killer red-handed.
Author Bio Vicki Delany is one of
Canada’s most prolific and varied crime writers and a national
bestseller in the U.S. She has written more than forty books: clever
cozies to Gothic thrillers to gritty police procedurals, to historical
fiction and novellas for adult literacy. She is currently writing four
cozy mystery series: the Tea by the Sea mysteries for Kensington, the
Sherlock Holmes Bookshop series for Crooked Lane Books, the Catskill
Resort mysteries for Penguin Random House, and the Lighthouse Library
series (as Eva Gates) for Crooked Lane.
Vicki is a past president of the Crime
Writers of Canada and co-founder and organizer of the Women Killing It
Crime Writing Festival. Her work has been nominated for the Derringer,
the Bony Blithe, the Ontario Library Association Golden Oak, and the
Arthur Ellis Awards. Vicki is the recipient of the 2019 Derrick Murdoch
Award for contributions to Canadian crime writing. She lives in Prince
Edward County, Ontario.
Author Links
Website – www.vickidelany.com
Facebook – www.facebook.com/evagatesauthor;
Twitter: @vickidelany and@evagatesauthor
Instagram: vickidelany
Bookbub: Vicki Delany Books – BookBub
Purchase Links – Amazon – B&N – Kobo – IndieBound
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