ARC Review: Nine Lives by Wendy Corsi Staub

Nine Lives
Author: Wendy Corsi Staub
Series: A Lily Dale Mystery (Book 1)
Publication: Crooked Lane Books (October 27, 2015)

Description: After the death of her husband, Bella Jordan and her son need a fresh start. But on their way to stay with family in Chicago, a storm forces them to spend the night in Lily Dale, New York.

Brimming with psychics and mediums, Lily Dale is just the kind of quirky little town Bella's late husband always talked about settling down in. So when she's asked to step in for the local hotel owner, who recently passed away, Bella agrees to step in and help temporarily.

But for Bella, finding a home means finding danger, too. Leona was murdered, and it's up to Bella to track down the killer before her new home comes crashing down in bestseller Wendy Corsi Staub’s warm and witty series debut.

My Thoughts: Bella Jordan has lost everything—her beloved husband, her job, and her home. She and her five-year-old son Max are on their way from the East Coast to Chicago to live with her mother-in-law until she gets her life back together. She isn't looking forward to it; she and her mother-in-law don't get along. But she doesn't have a choice.

When she gets to Western New York, she is looking for a campground when she discovers a pregnant cat in the middle of the road. Fearing it is injured, she takes it to the nearest veterinarian who reads its chip and sends her to Lily Dale to find its owner.

Lily Dale is a town that is filled with psychics and mediums. The cat's owner ran a guesthouse. But when Bella arrives, she learns that Leona, the owner, had died the previous week. The next door neighbor, another medium, encourages Bella to stay and take over the guesthouse. She agrees but is sure that it will only be for a couple of days. But Max finds a friend, the cat has her kittens including one that needs bottle feeding every two hours, and Bella becomes sure that Leona was murdered.

Bella has a number of suspects including any and all of the guests at the guesthouse, the nephew of the murdered woman, and the other mediums from the town. Figuring out the criminal and keeping herself and her son safe keep her busy.

This was an entertaining cozy mystery with a town that is almost a character in its own right. It is a story about a woman who is grieving and trying to move on. It is the story of looking for a home and finding an unexpected one. Fans of cozy mysteries will enjoy this story.

Favorite Quote:

But if Max is anxious, she'll wrap herself around him and cradle him in her arms all night, just like she did when he was plagued with nightmares when Sam was in the hospital and after Sam was gone.

At least she won't be lonely. It'll be better than having an entire king-sized bed—the one she used to share with her husband—all to herself.

I got this eARC for review at NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.