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Bed-and-Breakfast Mysteries #4
Dune to Death
Life’s a beach…and then you die!
Bed-and-breakfast hostess Judith McMonigle and her policeman beau Joe Flynn have finally gotten hitched—and they’re off on a sunny honeymoon to beautiful Buccaneer Beach. But an unfortunate confrontation with a dune buggy run amok puts hubby Joe in hospital traction—leaving his beleaguered blushing bride stranded in paradise with a bad case of ennui by the sea. Luckily irrepressible cousin Renie has selflessly agreed to keep Judith company. And when the landlady of their cozy, costly cottage by the shore turns up dead in their living room, the cousins suddenly have a murderous mystery to keep them afloat. Rumors of a fortune in buried pirate gold add spice to their adventure. But digging up both a treasure and a killer is dirty business—and Judith and Renie might end up digging their own graves.
Bed-and-breakfast hostess Judith McMonigle and her policeman beau Joe Flynn have finally gotten hitched—and they’re off on a sunny honeymoon to beautiful Buccaneer Beach. But an unfortunate confrontation with a dune buggy run amok puts hubby Joe in hospital traction—leaving his beleaguered blushing bride stranded in paradise with a bad case of ennui by the sea. Luckily irrepressible cousin Renie has selflessly agreed to keep Judith company. And when the landlady of their cozy, costly cottage by the shore turns up dead in their living room, the cousins suddenly have a murderous mystery to keep them afloat. Rumors of a fortune in buried pirate gold add spice to their adventure. But digging up both a treasure and a killer is dirty business—and Judith and Renie might end up digging their own graves.
240 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1993
51 people are currently reading
517 people want to read
About the author
Mary Daheim
94 books440 followersMary Rene Richardson Daheim was an American writer of romance and mystery novels.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
March 12, 2020
Imagine being on your honeymoon and the groom ends up in the hospital. What do you do you call your cousin so the cabin you rented is used. Of course, being Judith you will find a body and get entangled with a mystery including rumors of a fortune having been buried somewhere near the cabin. The fun keeps on coming.
February 14, 2018
Judith and Joe finally tie the knot and head off on their honeymoon, always a good starting point for a book. Some nice twists along with a few interesting new characters and a fun new setting on the beach made this book one of my favorites of the series so far.
February 25, 2020
Plot is quite good; setting lovely but the sub plot of the horrid cranky mother has reached a point of so creepy that I'm done. Her mother treats her so poorly that it's abusive; she takes it and rationalizes to death.
August 14, 2020
Its interesting that we see the protagonist develop during these books - she rekindles her love, and marries. But her husband oddly doesn't play a huge role in the actual stories. We'll see how that developes.
July 23, 2019
I don't know why I keep reading this series. I keep hoping it will get better. I have to stop... I have to stop... But, her Alpine series is so good. ... I have to stop.
September 20, 2021
What a honeymoon! Hopefully, that doesn't bode any ill tidings for Judith and Joe's next anniversary. ;) (cause we all know it will!)
June 2, 2024
I keep hoping she kills off Gertrude, but it has yet to happen.
April 7, 2025
Julia and Renie try and solve a murder. Their rented beach house attracks mayhem. Read this book and find out what happens.
October 5, 2025
Fun read
Love this series. Fast paced, funny and always a surprise ending. I enjoy every single minute and laugh myself silly.
Love this series. Fast paced, funny and always a surprise ending. I enjoy every single minute and laugh myself silly.
November 28, 2025
I enjoyed this. Hubby in hospital so girl pals do the sleuthing. Who is the guy in the shack? Who killed the woman. Who was she.
Donate. Read it twice but not interested to read again.
Donate. Read it twice but not interested to read again.
July 24, 2016
I have an affinity for cozy mysteries. They generally aren't written in pursuit of a spot on the bestseller list; rather, cozies are written to give the reader a sense of comfort and calm (ironically, by way of murder).
My mom read cozies to escape her three eccentric young daughters and grumpy husband: one daughter, the artist, painted five-foot tall green flowers on the side of the freshly painted rental when she was four; the adventurous daughter asked which way north was, and was found by neighbors five hours later walking up the beach, wearing a backpack, in pursuit of Santa in the North Pole (we lived on an island--she wasn't the brightest of the three of us); and the oldest daughter (that would be I) caused her first-year kindergarten teacher to quit by demanding that all classroom toy soldiers and toy weapons be removed from the classroom so that her classmates would not become violent adults, and that the teacher immediately stop smoking on her breaks because she would surely die of lung cancer. As to my mother's husband, he had some strange notion that feeding 40 stray cats, a stray goat, a duck, and 4 turtles (not stray) out of a 2-bedroom apartment was odd. He also became irrationally upset when the cat gave birth in his shoe. So you see, for my mother, it was either read a cozy or drink (or possibly dispose of the children and husband).
Years later, when my grandmother came to live with us (bigger house, different country, revolving pet door, dad retired and usually lost in Best Buy, girls now goth, theater geek, and raver) we slowly replaced her true crime books with cozies in order to keep her from roaming the house at night after taking her pain pills, looking for the Son of Sam whilst armed with a shoe horn.
And all this is how I came to read cozies myself, because they were always there to help me escape my crazy family, you could carry on a screaming match with a sibling and not miss much in the book, and thanks to grandma's Dahmer intervention, there were always a shitload in the house. (Serious reading was done away from the insane people.)I have an affinity for cozy mysteries. They generally aren't written in pursuit of a spot on the bestseller list; rather, cozies are written to give the reader a sense of comfort and calm (ironically, by way of murder).
My mom read cozies to escape her three eccentric young daughters and grumpy husband: one daughter, the artist, painted five-foot tall green flowers on the side of the freshly painted rental when she was four; the adventurous daughter asked which way north was, and was found by neighbors five hours later walking up the beach, wearing a backpack, in pursuit of Santa in the North Pole (we lived on an island--she wasn't the brightest of the three of us); and the oldest daughter (that would be I) caused her first-year kindergarten teacher to quit by demanding that all classroom toy soldiers and toy weapons be removed from the classroom so that her classmates would not become violent adults, and that the teacher immediately stop smoking on her breaks because she would surely die of lung cancer. As to my mother's husband, he had some strange notion that feeding 40 stray cats, a stray goat, a duck, and 4 turtles (not stray) out of a 2-bedroom apartment was odd. He also became irrationally upset when the cat gave birth in his shoe. So you see, for my mother, it was either read a cozy or drink (or possibly dispose of the children and husband).
Years later, when my grandmother came to live with us (bigger house, different country, revolving pet door, dad retired and usually lost in Best Buy, girls now goth, theater geek, and raver) we slowly replaced her true crime books with cozies in order to keep her from roaming the house at night after taking her pain pills, looking for the Son of Sam whilst armed with a shoe horn.
And all this is how I came to read cozies myself, because they were always there to help me escape my crazy family, you could carry on a screaming match with a sibling and not miss much in the book, and thanks to grandma's Dahmer intervention, there were always a shitload in the house. (Serious reading was done away from the insane people.)
My mom read cozies to escape her three eccentric young daughters and grumpy husband: one daughter, the artist, painted five-foot tall green flowers on the side of the freshly painted rental when she was four; the adventurous daughter asked which way north was, and was found by neighbors five hours later walking up the beach, wearing a backpack, in pursuit of Santa in the North Pole (we lived on an island--she wasn't the brightest of the three of us); and the oldest daughter (that would be I) caused her first-year kindergarten teacher to quit by demanding that all classroom toy soldiers and toy weapons be removed from the classroom so that her classmates would not become violent adults, and that the teacher immediately stop smoking on her breaks because she would surely die of lung cancer. As to my mother's husband, he had some strange notion that feeding 40 stray cats, a stray goat, a duck, and 4 turtles (not stray) out of a 2-bedroom apartment was odd. He also became irrationally upset when the cat gave birth in his shoe. So you see, for my mother, it was either read a cozy or drink (or possibly dispose of the children and husband).
Years later, when my grandmother came to live with us (bigger house, different country, revolving pet door, dad retired and usually lost in Best Buy, girls now goth, theater geek, and raver) we slowly replaced her true crime books with cozies in order to keep her from roaming the house at night after taking her pain pills, looking for the Son of Sam whilst armed with a shoe horn.
And all this is how I came to read cozies myself, because they were always there to help me escape my crazy family, you could carry on a screaming match with a sibling and not miss much in the book, and thanks to grandma's Dahmer intervention, there were always a shitload in the house. (Serious reading was done away from the insane people.)I have an affinity for cozy mysteries. They generally aren't written in pursuit of a spot on the bestseller list; rather, cozies are written to give the reader a sense of comfort and calm (ironically, by way of murder).
My mom read cozies to escape her three eccentric young daughters and grumpy husband: one daughter, the artist, painted five-foot tall green flowers on the side of the freshly painted rental when she was four; the adventurous daughter asked which way north was, and was found by neighbors five hours later walking up the beach, wearing a backpack, in pursuit of Santa in the North Pole (we lived on an island--she wasn't the brightest of the three of us); and the oldest daughter (that would be I) caused her first-year kindergarten teacher to quit by demanding that all classroom toy soldiers and toy weapons be removed from the classroom so that her classmates would not become violent adults, and that the teacher immediately stop smoking on her breaks because she would surely die of lung cancer. As to my mother's husband, he had some strange notion that feeding 40 stray cats, a stray goat, a duck, and 4 turtles (not stray) out of a 2-bedroom apartment was odd. He also became irrationally upset when the cat gave birth in his shoe. So you see, for my mother, it was either read a cozy or drink (or possibly dispose of the children and husband).
Years later, when my grandmother came to live with us (bigger house, different country, revolving pet door, dad retired and usually lost in Best Buy, girls now goth, theater geek, and raver) we slowly replaced her true crime books with cozies in order to keep her from roaming the house at night after taking her pain pills, looking for the Son of Sam whilst armed with a shoe horn.
And all this is how I came to read cozies myself, because they were always there to help me escape my crazy family, you could carry on a screaming match with a sibling and not miss much in the book, and thanks to grandma's Dahmer intervention, there were always a shitload in the house. (Serious reading was done away from the insane people.)
June 29, 2009
In this mystery, Bed-and-breakfast hostess Judith McMonigle and her new husband, Police Lieutenant Joe Flynn, are on their honeymoon at Buccaneer Beach. But during a dune buggy ride, Joe crashes the buggy, breaking his leg. Judith calls her cousin Renie who agrees to stay with her while Joe is in the hospital. Soon after Renie arrives, they find their landlady dead in their cottage, strangled to death with a kite string. Never one to pass up a mystery, Judith and Renie investigate the murder, as well as look for a buried treasure. Can they solve the mystery and find the treasure before returning home?
This is another fun "cozy" mystery by Mary Daheim. There are tons of humorous moments in this book. It's well plotted and, while I was able to figure out who the murderer was near the end of the book, there were still a few twists and turns that I didn't see coming.
I've read several of these bed and breakfast books by Mary Daheim and I enjoy them more and more. Highly recommended!
This is another fun "cozy" mystery by Mary Daheim. There are tons of humorous moments in this book. It's well plotted and, while I was able to figure out who the murderer was near the end of the book, there were still a few twists and turns that I didn't see coming.
I've read several of these bed and breakfast books by Mary Daheim and I enjoy them more and more. Highly recommended!
February 4, 2016
Judith and Joe finally get away for their honeymoon only to have things turned upside down.
Faced with time alone while Joe is in the hospital, Judith invites 'cos' Renie to come stay in the little beach side cottage the couple had rented. As an added attraction to the sun, surf and cozy cottage, the dead body of the landlady is found on the front room floor by the two cousins. This tantalizing items sets the cousins off on another sleuthing adventure to try and solve who-dunnit.
Along the way they meet the landlady's family: a stand-offish sister, ditzy niece and her rodeo husband, hangdog nephew and wife with the passel of kids, the strange man who appears to be living at the boathouse and an old murder that was never really solved. Assisting them is the sheriff and the chief of police who have their own bumbling turf war going between them.
This cozy and humourous read is fun, entertaining and light. I have read a number of her books and enjoyed them all. For me a Good Read.
Faced with time alone while Joe is in the hospital, Judith invites 'cos' Renie to come stay in the little beach side cottage the couple had rented. As an added attraction to the sun, surf and cozy cottage, the dead body of the landlady is found on the front room floor by the two cousins. This tantalizing items sets the cousins off on another sleuthing adventure to try and solve who-dunnit.
Along the way they meet the landlady's family: a stand-offish sister, ditzy niece and her rodeo husband, hangdog nephew and wife with the passel of kids, the strange man who appears to be living at the boathouse and an old murder that was never really solved. Assisting them is the sheriff and the chief of police who have their own bumbling turf war going between them.
This cozy and humourous read is fun, entertaining and light. I have read a number of her books and enjoyed them all. For me a Good Read.
October 20, 2015
Beaches, treasures, hospitals, restaurants and an interesting cast of characters in a small NW Coast town with a police chief and sheriff both playing a sort of Barney Fife roll. Witty and mysterious cover to cover.
Since I live in a small NW Coast town I really enjoyed the parody of life on the coast. The newspaper reporter had me laughing out loud as he closely resembled a real one. The chamber of commerce holiday was too true.
Somehow I'd missed reading this book when it was published so thank you, Mary, for recommending it. I loved it.
Since I live in a small NW Coast town I really enjoyed the parody of life on the coast. The newspaper reporter had me laughing out loud as he closely resembled a real one. The chamber of commerce holiday was too true.
Somehow I'd missed reading this book when it was published so thank you, Mary, for recommending it. I loved it.
April 8, 2022
Part of it was terrible because here she is on her honeymoon and due to an accident got to spend very little time. Most of it was hilarious and exciting. The cousins were not on a negative bummer. Their mothers were safely far away. It wasn't overly dramatic or a narcissistic narrative where only one person's feelings are catered to. Each of the characters got equal acknowledgement & empathetic reactions from one another. I like that. it was just a good cozy mystery. While I pretty much guessed who did it early on, there were several, little unexpected twists getting there.
March 20, 2013
I liked this one the best of the Bed and Breakfast mysteries so far. Possible causes for this: not much complaining about the darn cat, not much feuding with the mom, Judith and Joe are now married (so neither is acting like an idiot over the other), plus it involved beaches and a treasure hunt!
Again, enough clues so you could figure out the mystery if you really tried hard but not so obvious as to make reading the book irrelevant.
Again, enough clues so you could figure out the mystery if you really tried hard but not so obvious as to make reading the book irrelevant.
July 22, 2014
Another cute B&B murder. This time not in the cousins home town, but at a small cottage where Judith was having her honeymoon with Joe. I still love the two griping cousins and the relationships they have with everyone. Jake, Joe'a roomie at the hospital was quite the surprise and a hoot and a half.
May 29, 2009
Twenty-five years late, Judith has finally married Joe Flynn and they head off to an Oregon beach honeymoon. Unfortunately, Joe breaks his leg in a dune buggy accident. Judith calls cousin Renie to keep her company while Joe recuperates, but Renie soon founds a body.
June 16, 2013
It's quite the honeymoon for bed-and-breakfast hostess Judith McMonigle and her homicide detective husband Joe Flynn. He's laid up in the hospital after a dune buggy accident and she (along with her cousin Renie) keeps tripping over dead bodies. Just another day at the beach for Judith and Renie.
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June 30, 2015I enjoyed the first in the Bed and Breakfast series. I have read several others in this series, but don't remember ever reading this forst one. I enjoyed it. Though a few things were a bit hard to believe. And felt that the local law enforcement was just put in for comic affect.
September 15, 2007
There's not much point in a honeymoon for one, but when the groom Joe Flynn is injured, Judith takes her cousin along to the beach. But her landlady turns up dead.
June 22, 2009
This was a good entry in the series with some twists at the end.
May 3, 2010
The cousins go on a vacation ... NOT!!! But that's what ends up happening. :)
February 24, 2011
Pretty good. I liked that it took place at the Oregon Coast. I think the town was made up, but I pictured it as Newport or Florence and that was fun.
August 10, 2011
I don't like Mary Daheim's books as well are other author's. Not a rich story line to hold you to the book.
June 3, 2012
I read this book many years ago when we lived in the Seattle area. I wanted to reread it again. Cute and light-hearted but not a "thinker" of a book.
September 3, 2013
This series is funny in a rather wry manner. I liked the plot and the ending. can't wait for the next one!
January 8, 2014
The only redeeming character in this series is Sweetums and her mother.
September 10, 2016
Easy read. Light murder mystery series...I recommend to read books in order.
December 28, 2022
3 1/2 - Very Good
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews