Murder, My Suite, by Mary Daheim (1995)

Murder, My Suite, by Mary Daheim, "A bed and breakfast mystery", 1995

Truth to tell, I don't like Daheim's "Bed-and-breakfast" mysteries. Amateur detective Judith's cousin calls her coz all the time, an affectation that grates on my nerves. In addition, Judith's mother lives with her, and is a mean old biddy who doesn't like Judith's second husband, so we get a lot of verbal abuse. I just want to slap the old woman!

Nevertheless, it's definitely a "cozy." And there are a lot of books in the series so someone must like them...

Backmatter
Gossip columnist Dagmar Delacroix Chatsworth and her yappy lapdog Rover's recent stay at the hillside Manor left hostess Judith McMonigle Flynn's nerves, and best bed linens, in tatters. So Judith joins Cousin Renie for some well-earned off-season R&R at Canada's famous Bugler Ski Resort-only to discover with horror that the swanky getaway is the next stop on destestble Dagmar's itinerary. But it seems the cousins aren't the only guests with serious grudges against the dirt-disher and her malicious mutt.. And when one of the despised lady's entourage is murdered on the snowless slopes, Judith sets out to corner a killer-before more hapless hangers-on discover that Dagmar's company can be even more poisonous than her pen.

Opening paras
Judith Grover McMonigle Flynn stared in horror at the slashed beige drapes, the shredded down comforter,, and the tattered petit-point chair. Hillside Manor's choice bedroom was a shamble. Judith understood why her current guest had been thrown out of the Cascadia Hotel.