All the Pretty Hearses
Judith has donated for the auction a night with dinner at her bed and breakfast. A murder happens and she hopes to find clues to find the culprit.
Another mystery with food making children sick is another of her things keeping her plate piled high.
And her husband Joe is involved with a murder scene that lands him in jail...lots of names and careers appear in conversations that make some parts of the book confusing.
Amazing how it all comes together, wow!
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device). ( )

Winter is generally a slow time at Judith McGonigle Flynn's Bed and Breakfast which is why she can donate an overnight stay at Hillside Manor for a fundraiser. Unfortunately, the family that wins lives up to their last name - they truly are a Paine. But Judith has other more serious problems - her husband Joe is considered a murder suspect. Judith, with the help of her cousin Renie and newspaper reporter Addison Kirby, tries to clear Joe's name. Judith is no stranger to solving mysteries but this may turn out to be her most complicated case ever.

"All the Pretty Hearses" is a somewhat uneven entry in Mary Daheim's Bed and Breakfast cozy mystery series. The book gets off to a great start with several intriguing plot lines: Joe is suspected of murder; Judith has a mysterious guest who isn't who she says she is; school kids get sick from their school lunch; and the various comings and goings of the Bed and Breakfast guests. All of this was quite good and I got so caught up in the goings on that it took me a while to realize how implausible some of the plots were. The series always has been a bit over the top but Judith's reaction (or should I say non-reaction?) to events revolving around a horse were totally unbelievable (actually the appearance of the horse was way over the top even for this series). Judith, in fact, needed a serious backbone in this book - since when would she allow guests to leave without paying? The Joe plot line was quite good even if it didn't quite hold up in the end. The entire book seems to rely a bit too much on coincidences, including the appearance of Addison Kirby. The book is intricately plotted - too intricately in fact. There are enough plot lines to fill several books.

"All the Pretty Hearses" is far from perfect but I still enjoyed yet another visit to Hillside Manor. ( )

Didn't really care for this book. I did not identify with the characters and I found it hard to follow with all of the names and relationships. Would not recommend it. ( )