Book Review: This Old Souse

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

This Old Souse     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Mary Daheim
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Amateur Sleuth   Woman Main Character   Cozy
Series: Hillside Manor Bed & Breakfast # 20
Morrow, August 2004, $23.95, 320 pp.

The owner of the popular bed and breakfast Hillside Manor, Judith McMonigle Flynn is having a nice day when her cousin Renie asks her to go to the old neighborhood to see Moonfleet, a beautifully looking home badly in need of repairs. The owners of the home have lived there for over five decades but nobody has ever really talked to them. They keep to themselves and have their food delivered. Their sister Sally lives with them but she is as reclusive as they are.

While casing the premises, Judith and Renie meet the dairy man who tells them he never sees the occupants of Moonfleet. A UPS truck delivers a package to them leaving it outside their home. He tells the cousins that once a year on the same date the package is delivered to that address. When Judith goes shopping, she finds the murdered body of the dairy man in the trunk of her car. The mystery surrounding Moonfleet becomes very personal to the cousins so they seek answers.

The latest Bed-and-Breakfast mystery is a great amateur sleuth story due mainly to the heroine. She has to keep her husband from finding out about her investigation, find her lost precious cat and cope with the marital woes of her son and her daughter in law while solving a mystery. This is a fabulous book in a fantastic mystery series. Mary Daheim deserves a career achievement award for her continuous high quality and unique originality.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner