The Inn at Holiday Bay: Boxes in the Basement

First in the series!
Memorable characters, a cozy seaside inn, small-town charm, and a celebration for every holiday.

After suffering a devastating personal loss, Abby Sullivan leaves San Francisco and impulsively buys a sprawling old mansion in Holiday Bay, Maine—sight unseen. She hopes to find solitude and healing but instead finds herself unexpectedly adopted by a giant Maine Coon cat named Rufus, a mysterious drifter named Georgia, and Georgia’s lovable but insecure dog named Ramos. Even though Abby initially believed that solitude would be essential for her to heal, she discovered an inn she never planned to own, a cat who refused to leave, and a family she never imagined needing.

In the first book in this series, the small seaside town is rocked by the murder of a local girl. Abby is drawn into a tangled investigation when she stumbles across boxes in her basement that may hold clues to the killer’s identity. She’s not a detective, but as a New York Times bestselling mystery author and the widow of a homicide detective, she knows how to follow the trail. Together with Georgia, Rufus, Ramos, and Police Chief Colt Wilder, Abby races to solve the case before the killer strikes again in what could be an annual spree.

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5.0 out of 5 stars 
An Exciting New Start
Reviewed in the United States on November 20, 2018
Format: KindleVerified Purchase
This is the first book in a new series written by Kathi Daley. The writing style flows smoothly, and the book is an easy read. The author is very talented in descriptive writing, and much of the time I was reading, I felt like I was right in the midst of the activities taking place and sharing the characters tragedies and joys. The mystery was well plotted and complex, with lots of twists and turns to keep the reader engaged. The setting is charming, the well-developed characters are affable, compassionate, and caring, and this book is a perfect blend of humor, mystery, heartache, joy, and caring.

When a distracted driver swerved into oncoming traffic, Abby Sullivan’s life changed forever because her husband, Ben, and their five-week-old son, Johnathan, didn’t survive. A year later, Abby, a published author, hadn’t written a word since the accident and was still struggling to cope with her loss. She decided a change was in order, so she bought a huge old house in the charming town of Holiday Bay, Maine without even seeing it, sold her condo, packed up her belongings, and left San Francisco. Over the years, the house had been neglected and was in need of repairs, but there was an adorable little cottage on the property that she was able to move into. Abby isn’t a cat person and had never owned a pet, but the day she arrived, a large orange cat she later learned was a Maine Coon named Rufus whose owner had recently passed away, entered into her life, and she finds that she can’t resist his sweet meows and cuddling. Abby contacted Lonnie Parker, a highly recommended contractor, and a decision was made to convert the main house into an inn. She became fast friends with him and his wife, Lacy. A young woman, Georgia Carter, who’d gone through some hard times and been on the road for over a year with her rather large dog, Ramos, shows up on her doorstep looking for a job and a place to stay. Being kind-hearted and knowing how devastating the curves life throws at a person can be, Abby puts Georgia in contact with Lonnie and offers her the cottage’s second bedroom for at least a few nights. The body of Darcy Jared, a murder victim, was found in the woods on Abby’s second day in town. Abby found four boxes in the basement of the main house, each containing possessions, and photos of teenage girls, which she thought was odd. When Police Chief Colt Wilder showed her a picture of a group of people, she recognized one of the young women as one of the girls whose pictures were in the boxes she’d found. Abby becomes intrigued with the girls, two of whom had died, one who was missing, and the final one who was still alive and well and starts investigating. Although she’s not a trained professional, she always did research for her books and used to brainstorm with her husband, who had been a homicide detective, on some of his cases, and he’d often told her she had a natural knack for seeing details others had missed.