A Sitcom Writer’s Death Isn’t a Laughing Matter
I’ve been a fan of author Ellen Byron for a long time now, and I’ve enjoyed seeing how she works her background into each of her books. She’s finally tapping into her former career as a sitcom writer for her new Golden Motel Mysteries, and the debut, A Very Woodsy Murder, is a delight.
Dee Stern has watched her career as a sitcom writer slowly die. While on a trip in the Sierra Nevada mountains, she stumbles on the Golden Motel on the outskirts of Majestic National Park. The motel needs some attention before it can be reopened, but Dee is inspired by the idea and talks her best friend, Jeff Cornetta, into investing in it together.
Their first customer is a former colleague of Dee’s, and she’s not that happy about it. Michael Adam Baker was a jerk when they worked together on Dee’s first sitcom, and his reputation hasn’t gotten any better since then. Still, Dee doesn’t expect to find Michael’s dead body. Not only are Dee and Jeff suspects, but the murder is hurting their fledgling business. Can Dee solve the murder in time to save the motel?
As you can see, being a sitcom writer is more Dee’s backstory than her current job. However, we get to hear some about her career, and, honestly, those are some of my favorite laughs in the book. As a Hollywood junkie, I got such a kick out of it. And it does inform Dee and how she approaches the investigation at times, which I really appreciated. The hook may be the hotel, but it was still a fun background.
And I’m ready to book a room at the hotel right now. Yes, it and the area where the majority of the action takes place are all fictional, but anyone familiar with California will know the inspirations behind the fiction. I’m ready to hop in my car and enjoy some fresh mountain air myself. The hotel sounds charming, too.
Yes, this is a mystery. The book takes a little time setting up the premise, but no more than it really needs to. It isn’t that long before Michael Adam Baker is introduced, and we get some hints at who suspects might be before he turns up dead. From there, we are off and running as Dee tries to save herself and the Golden. I didn’t identify the killer early, but everything was logical once Dee figured it out.
And the characters are wonderful. Yes, they are eccentric, maybe a little more than normal even for a cozy. But that just added to the charm of the series as far as I was concerned. Dee is meeting everyone here along with us, and I can tell that there are going to be some strong friendships formed as the series goes along. I already can’t wait to visit everyone again.
While not technically being released as a culinary cozy, this is Ellen Byron. She slips a couple of easy looking recipes at the end along with some road trip tips.
As I said, I’m booking my room now for the next Golden Motel Mystery. If you want a fun debut for the second half of the summer, pick up A Very Woodsy Murder today.
NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.
Mark, thank you for this awesome review!!
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of having the main character as a former sitcom writer. Fascinating.
ReplyDeleteI've been curious about this book, so thank you for this review!