Murder Checks Inn
A Lighthouse Inn Mystery, No. 3
By Tim Myers 

Alex Winston is a nice, accommodating kind of guy who owns and operates Hatteras West, an inn centered around a colorful lighthouse located in the Blue Ridge Mountains, far from its Atlantic Coast namesake. What with demanding guests, financial difficulties, woman problems and a gathering of the Trask clan to read their father's last will and testament, Alex has his hands full.

His load becomes even heavier when his uncle, the Trask family lawyer who has been like a father to Alex, is found murdered in his law office. Who could have possibly wanted to bash in the head of the genial old eccentric? Tim's brother Tony, who was about to be written out of the uncle's will? Julie, a surprise Trask heir from the wrong side of the blanket? Perhaps the lawyer's secretary Nadine, the only one who can decipher the old man's handwriting? Or Vernum, the shy and shaggy gardener who hides from Tim's guests?

Tim Myers' Lighthouse mysteries are the coziest of the cozy, and Murder Checks Inn, the third in the series, is no exception. By now the lighthouse setting has become familiar to readers, and no longer offers the surprises of book one, Innkeeping with Murder. Instead, Myers maintains interest by peppering the pages with suspicious characters, each with a more compelling motive than the last.

Cozy mystery readers are a forgiving breed. If the characters are a trifle homogenized and the solution a wee bit formulaic, we don't care. Alex Winston is just such a gol-darned nice guy, and we really care about what happens to him and his charming inn. By the end of the story, Alex' life is heading in a satisfying direction and we look forward to what future books in the series have in store.