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    Death at Breakfast: A Novel
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    Death at Breakfast: A Novel
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    Death at Breakfast: A Novel
    Ebook367 pages7 hours

    Death at Breakfast: A Novel

    By Beth Gutcheon

    3.5/5

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    About this ebook

    From the acclaimed New York Times bestselling author of Still Missing, More Than You Know, and Gossip comes the first entry in a stylish and witty mystery series featuring a pair of unlikely investigators—a shrewd novel of manners with a dark heart of murder at its center, set in small-town New England.

    Indulging their pleasure in travel and new experiences, recently retired private school head Maggie Detweiler and her old friend, socialite Hope Babbin, are heading to Maine. The trip—to attend a weeklong master cooking class at the picturesque Victorian-era Oquossoc Mountain Inn—is an experiment to test their compatibility for future expeditions.

    Hope and Maggie have barely finished their first aperitifs when the inn’s tranquility is shattered by the arrival of Alexander and Lisa Antippas and Lisa’s actress sister, Glory. Imperious and rude, these Hollywood one-percenters quickly turn the inn upside-down with their demanding behavior, igniting a flurry of speculation and gossip among staff and guests alike.

    But the disruption soon turns deadly. After a suspicious late-night fire is brought under control, Alex’s charred body is found in the ashes. Enter the town’s deputy sheriff, Buster Babbin, Hope’s long-estranged son and Maggie’s former student. A man who’s finally found his footing in life, Buster needs a win. But he’s quickly pushed aside by the “big boys,” senior law enforcement and high-powered state’s attorneys who swoop in to make a quick arrest.

    Maggie knows that Buster has his deficits and his strengths. She also knows that justice does not always prevail—and that the difference between conviction and exoneration too often depends on lazy police work and the ambitions of prosecutors. She knows too, after a lifetime of observing human nature, that you have a great advantage in doing the right thing if you don’t care who gets the credit or whom you annoy.

    Feeling that justice could use a helping hand--as could the deputy sheriff—Maggie and Hope decide that two women of experience equipped with healthy curiosity, plenty of common sense, and a cheerfully cynical sense of humor have a useful role to play in uncovering the truth.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateMay 10, 2016
    ISBN9780062431981
    Author

    Beth Gutcheon

    Beth Gutcheon is the critically acclaimed author of the novels, The New Girls, Still Missing, Domestic Pleasures, Saying Grace, Five Fortunes, More Than You Know, Leeway Cottage, and Good-bye and Amen. She is the writer of several film scripts, including the Academy-Award nominee The Children of Theatre Street. She lives in New York City.

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    Reviews for Death at Breakfast

    3.5/5

    18 ratings3 reviews

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    • 3/5
      I really liked the premise of friends Maggie and Hope deciding on going on a small trip to see if they would be compatible on longer journeys in their retirement. The Oquossoc Mountain Inn seems like a good place. The Inn, seemingly on the skids and losing money, is pretty full as the new Chef is offering cooking classes. Hope's son, Buster, is the deputy sheriff, another good reason for them to head to Maine. It took about 100 pages for me to really discern what I needed to know about the important players in this murder mystery. I was glad I stuck with it, both Maggie and Hope are very astute, observing things quietly and getting to the crux of the story by the end. I did find it a bit wander-y, as old friends from other parts of the country did the legwork in some other areas for the women.
    • 4/5
      I liked the summary of this from the first so I was glad to get to reading it this week. It was a pretty absorbing and quick read. The murder actually takes place about 40% of the way in. The beginning is a set up for the our main sleuths, Maggie and Hope, the other characters staying at the Inn and also the small town locale. Maggie and Hope are newly retired BFFs who have decided to travel and this is their maiden trip to see if they travel well with one another. Adding to the sleuthing is Hope's deputy sheriff son, Buster. I watch what is likely far more British mystery television than is advisable, so in my head, Maggie and Hope were Rosemary Boxer and Laura Thyme of Rosemary & Thyme, without the accents. I had Hope's son Buster as Laura's officer son, Matthew too. So, I whisked right away with them but they were pretty much tertiary to the solving of the mystery until pretty much the last couple chapters where this all comes together. This makes practical sense, I grant, but it didn't give the reader a lot of time to get to know Maggie & Hope. Still, the case of who killed Alex Antippas turned out predictably & I wasn't surprised by the reveal or reasons of the murderer. All the threads were tied well and I enjoyed how the other characters were woven into the story. I know it's probably not likely but I hope Maggie & Hope run into Detective Prince sometime in the future (I think the Kleinkramers live in LA). The look in at the Antippas family in all their revolting glory was impressive in that there was humanity on display and it was rendered in such a way that made me feel a certain sympathy for people whose lives have become more habitats than habitable for having sought fame. Let me also raise a glass to Walter and I'll pour one out for Grommet.

      I thought this was a standalone when I began but by book's end, I was fairly sure this was the first in a series. I'm looking forward to the next visit with Maggie and Hope. Definitely recommended & not a bad choice for summer reading.
    • 1/5
      Abandoned 21-Jul-2018 at page 33 - Otherwise known as Day Three, October 8 - this novel's type of "chapter heading."

      There is a snippet of a review on the front cover that advises, "Everything Beth Gutcheon touches turns into an elixir that says, 'Read Me!'" I would suggest an elixir of "Tedious Redefined."