investing in family, hot tubs, and murder

When Misty Murphy decided to move to North Carolina and start her life over as the owner of a rustic lodge in the Blue Ridge Mountains, she had no idea what to expect. In the months since, she found a happy life running the Mountaintop Lodge with her assistant manager, Brynn, and her handyman Rocky. Add in Patty, who runs the diner next door and supplies breakfasts for the guests, and Misty has made a good life since her divorce.

And when her ex-husband and two sons show up for Thanksgiving, Misty is happy to have the band back together. The divorce had been amicable, and she’s missed her sons, now that they’re off at college. But they all gathered at the lodge for a family holiday, along with Rocky and his college-aged daughter Phoebe. They had a lovely weekend and then sent the kids back to school for finals, before they came back to the lodge to work over their breaks.

Misty’s sons apply themselves to learn the duties of running the lodge, including cleaning the guest rooms. And it’s good that they learn quickly, as the lodge fills up with a real estate developer and potential investors for a week. Nigel Goodwin is pitching a luxury resort down the road from Mountaintop Lodge, several stories high with a waterpark inside it and a number of activities like a ropes course, snowmobiling, and helicopter tours.

Local residents are against the development, knowing it will disrupt the local wildlife. There will be more traffic and noise, and the residents don’t want that, including one man who has been driving around, keeping an eye on Misty since he learned she would be hosting the resort owner at her lodge. Misty starts to wonder if she had done the right thing, letting Nigel Goodwin use the lodge to try to raise funding for a resort that would be direct competition to her. But she’s also a businesswoman, and turning down a full lodge for a week would be a big decision for her.

But then, Goodwin doesn’t make it back into the lodge after a long day of skiing. And when they find his body buried in the snow pile that Rocky had made from the snow in the parking lot, Misty can’t help but notice how many people were not fans of the man. In the few days Misty had known him, she’d seen him argue with his wife, be rude to his assistant, patronize his potential investors, and take on a group of local residents who are opposed to his plans. When a local wildlife photographer tried to show Goodwin the creatures he would be disturbing, showing video from trail cameras he’d put up where they were planning the resort, Goodwin started yelling about calling the police on his trespassing.

But who hated the man enough to kill him and bury him in the snow? It will take all of Misty’s resources, including her white cat Yeti, to find a killer and protect her family from danger.

Snow Place for Murder is the third novel in Diane Kelly’s Mountain Lodge Mysteries, and it’s a very snowy murder mystery. This one has a lot of family togetherness, bringing family warmth to the holidays and to the lodge. There area also several mentions of pancakes and pie, so it you are susceptible to hunger by suggestion, keep some tasty snacks handy for this one.

I am enjoying this series more and more as it goes along. I loved the addition of her kids in this one, where Misty’s original family and newfound family get to meet and interact. I loved the idea of the other resort and all the potential investors (that’s a suspect list right there), and I thought it added a lot of intrigue as well as a way for the locals to point out all the best parts of the area. Snow Place for Murder is another strong story in this series, with Yeti stealing the show once again.

Egalleys for Snow Place for Murder were provided by St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley, with many thanks.