Author: Amerie Brand Genre: Mystery Digital Book ASIN #: B0963t9BGX CleanTales Publishing 68 Pages $.99 Amazon August 1, 2021 ⭐⭐ Welcome to Honeywell. A small coastal town on the East Coast that has its fair share of social misfits, nosy neighbors, struggling businesses and...murder. Norman runs the Willow Oaks Inn on the outskirts of town with his trusted Border Collie, Milo, by his side. He doesn't think twice when he checks in a new guest who seems to be passing through town. He's seen many of such guests and knows he'll see many more in the future. Things take an awful turn for the worse when Norman discovers this guest in an unusual position the next morning.. and stone cold dead. There was something about this guest that makes Norman think there's more to their death than meets the eye. The further he delves into this mysterious murder, the more he realizes how this stranger in Honeywell was related to some movers and shakers in town. He also realizes how his curiosity to find the killer is attracting unwanted attention to his fledgling establishment and putting his life at risk. Will he discover the killer before this murder investigation is relegated to the dust heap of unresolved cases at the local police station or will he face his fears and find out whodunit? ✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽ Let's get to the blurb: Norman's business isn't 'fledgling.' From what I read, he owned this inn with his late wife and continued after her death. Just thought I'd set that straight. When Norman finds a dead body he calls his police officer friend Ben, and Ben calls who is needed, but when they return to the room, the body is missing. This causes all kinds of problems for both Ben and Norman, but Norman is determined to discover who killed the person and why. Unfortunately, he's not getting the answers he wants, and it's leading to issues at his inn and his personal life... I really hate to ding authors on the first book, and I struggled with this one. I waited a couple of days before writing the review to ensure that I was fair. However, there were so many things wrong that I just couldn't get over it. However, do not read any further unless you have already read the book: First off, we're told Norman has a bad knee and can barely walk. So how does he clean the rooms by himself? That's a lot of work, to push around a linen cart, change the linens, clean the bathrooms, vacuum, dust, etc. It's just not believable for a retired man. Then, his friend Ben gets booted off the force for a month but somehow he discovers something that puts him back on almost immediately. Sure. Also, Norman grabs someone's motorcycle and the guy is alright with it? Seriously? Plus, we're supposed to believe he actually rides one with his health problems? Then, he 'saves' a hooker? Honestly? To top it off, the writing was like a teenager had written it, with simple sentences and the characters wooden with no depth. At the end, I just didn't believe at all the reason for killing the person. Just like the rest, not believable. Sorry. Show/Hide I really would have liked to have given this book a better rating. But between the listings in the spoiler, and the writing -- which was decent, but written as if the book were for a tween -- it is pretty rudimentary and the book reads at about a tween level. Perhaps in the next book the characters will be more developed. However, I do think that this author has promise. https://www.amazon.com/Make-Room-Murder-Willow-Mystery-ebook/dp/B0963T9BGX/ref Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4196447887
