Title: Inn the Dead of Winter (Book 2 in The Spirit Lake Mysteries)
Author: Rhonda Blackhurst
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Book Blurb:
Welcome to Spirit Lake in the dead of a Minnesota winter, where the brutally cold temp isn't the only thing to fear.
Andie Rose Kaczmarek, a six-year sober life coach and owner of the haunted Spirit Lake Inn, has learned the hard way that the living are far more dangerous than anything in the spirit world.
When a controversial guest fails to return to her room on the same night a body is discovered in a fish house on Big Spirit Lake, Andie Rose teams up with her sponsor and sidekick, Sister Alice, and her emotional support red retriever, Aspen, to solve the case.
After Andie Rose discovers illegal activity on the inn’s property that ties to the murder, the investigation shifts into high gear. As she uncovers shocking secrets of those she thought she knew, someone is intent on keeping her quiet at any cost.
Can the inn’s resident ghost save her from impending harm when it seems the ones closest to her pose the greatest threat?
Excerpt:
“Hey, Sister Alice. Good timing.” I wandered to the parlor and stood in front of the fireplace.
“Can’t say that there’s such a thing as good timing when I tell you why I’m calling.” I groaned inwardly. It was going to be one of these days, was it? When I didn’t say anything, she continued. “They found a body in Big Spirit Lake.”
“Holy wicked whiskey!” My mind spun furiously. “Who’s they?”
“Police. And keep in mind when you go this afternoon that the police don’t need your help. Stay out of their way.”
“I’m insulted.”
“Stop pouting. You know it’s true. We’re to keep our own side of the street clean. Not stick your nose in where it doesn’t belong.”
“I want to fire you as my sponsor.”
She snorted with amusement. “Have at it. You’re assuming you could find another one. Be sure to hit up the meeting today,” she said.
My presence in St. Michael’s was mostly limited to the AA meetings housed there in the basement. Meeting Sister Alice there was the gift that kept on giving. She
proved sobriety to be a hoot and one didn’t need to booze it up to have fun.
“Yeah, yeah. I know. That’s where I get my entertainment.” I watched Simon and Lily as I spoke. His irritation was clear, but toward whom or what, I couldn’t guess. “What was the cause of death? With the arctic temps this winter, I’m guessing frozen to death.”
“Appears so. Some guy found him in the spearing hole inside a fish house. Must have fallen in.”
I clenched my teeth, then said, “Eww. That must’ve been quite the shock.” Those spearing holes, big enough for an enormous body to fall into, had always freaked me out. Then I had a thought. “I wonder if they’re considering foul play?”
“More likely floated up from under the ice.”
I shivered. “That’d be quite a fish story to tell.”
“Regardless, they’ll send the body to St. Cloud for the autopsy.”
I glanced again at Simon, who now stood staring out the window, and Lily, who watched him. “Keep me posted.” We hung up, and I strode to the reception desk.
“Hi, Simon. Everything okay?”
He looked at me as if noticing me for the first time. “Toots didn’t come back to the room last night.”
I hadn’t planned on relationship coaching this early. Lily must have read my mind.
“I’ll run to the kitchen and grab you a cup of coffee,” she told me. “Simon, would you like one?”
He shook his head.
After Lily left, I asked, “Did you and Tootsie have an argument?”
He scowled. “That’s absurd. Of course not. We don’t fight.”
First off, when someone in a marriage says they never fight, it was akin to someone assuring another that there was no judgment. There certainly was. Second, the interaction between them yesterday before teatime wasn’t exactly cordial.
“When did you last see her?”
“Just before eleven last evening.”
Simon’s tone appeared to unsettle Aspen. I scratched his head and kept my hand there. Sometimes I returned the favor and was his ESH—emotional support human. Fair was fair.
“Where was that?”
“The hot tub. I packed it in for the night about ten-thirty, but the ladies and Jerry weren’t ready to leave.”
“The ladies?”
“Toots, Carmen, and Tina,” he grumbled.
I asked the obvious. “Have you checked with Carmen and Tina? Maybe Tootsie crashed on the pull-out sofa in one of their rooms.”
He shook his head. “Toots wouldn’t do that.”
“It doesn’t hurt to check with them just to see for sure.” Lily just sat from bringing my coffee. “Lily, can you call Carmen and Tina’s rooms and ask them to come down to the desk for a second?”
“Tina left early to pick up Jerry. She left their keys and a note on the desk. I’ll—”
I shot my hand out to stop her. “Wait. Pick up Jerry from where?”
Lily shook her head. “I don’t know. That’s what her note said. She wasn’t around to ask questions.” She picked up the phone. “I’ll call Carmen.”
She punched in the number for Carmen’s room; Simon watched until she hung up; I tried to make sense of Tina picking up Jerry. Did that mean he didn’t come back either? I drew a sharp inhale, earning a quick glance from Lily and an irritated one from Simon. Could Jerry have been the body found this morning?
“Carmen will be down in a jiff,” Lily said as she hung up the receiver.
While we waited for Carmen, I was unable to get the visual of Jerry in a spearing hole out of my head. Simon leaned against the desk, arms crossed in front of him. I watched him in my peripheral vision. Oddly, he appeared more irritated than worried. When Carmen came into the room, he stood upright and waited for her to reach the desk. Aspen, who had just gotten settled at my feet, now sat up.
“I’m here. What’s up?”
Her appearance was like looking in a mirror back in the day after I’d tied one on the night before. Which had been most nights. I shuddered at the memory.
“Is Tootsie in your room?” Simon asked.
She squinted her bloodshot eyes, mere slits. “Why would she be in my room?”
“Because she didn’t come back last night,” Simon said.
As I listened, a terrible feeling gave birth in the pit of my stomach. The probability that the body discovered was someone from the inn just doubled. What Sister Alice said wasn’t my business, just became my business.
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub):
Publisher Link: https://wildrosepress.com/product/inn-the-dead-of-winter/
What makes your featured book a must-read?
In the cold blast across the country this winter, it’s the perfect read to warm up from the inside out with a murder, a mystery to solve, an emotional support dog, a little paranormal activity, and a dash of humor.
Giveaway –
Enter to win a $20 Amazon gift card:
Open Internationally.
Runs February 19 – February 25, 2025.
Winner will be drawn on February 26, 2025.
Author Biography:
Rhonda is an avid reader, writer, coffee and dark chocolate connoisseur, and certified life coach. She has 10 independently published novels: The Inheritance, a contemporary fiction novel; seven books in the Melanie Hogan Mysteries; and Finding Abby and Abby’s Redemption in the Whispering Pines Romantic Suspense duology. She received an award in 2024 from Digital Books Today and the 2022 Master of Literary Arts Award from the Brighton Chamber.
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