I apprecitate the publisher allowing me to read this book. I found this a really interesting read and the characters are quite engaging. it kept me reading until the end. I highly recommend.

Even though I hadn’t read the first book in the Ivy Nichols series, I had no trouble following the storyline in Dust to Dust, the second in the series. I loved the setting at the Hotel 1911. It provided lots of atmosphere and was a great backdrop to the mystery plot. Ivy is an excellent protagonist and the fact that she’s a gravestone historian is both unique and interesting. Further, Ivy has a personal connection to the Hotel 1911: it is linked to the past of the family Ivy never knew.

Inevitably, there is a murder. The victim is a fellow member of the Association for Gravestone Studies, the group to which Ivy belongs and the members of which are at the Hotel 1911 for their national conference. The police focus their suspicions on the hotel’s manager, Mr. Fig, whom they believe to be the only person who had access to the victim’s room. Ivy, however, believes that Mr. Fig is innocent and sets out to prove the police wrong..

This is where the story begins to twist and turn, as Ivy discovers both possibly incriminating evidence regarding Mr. Fig and secrets of others which could have provided motive to want the victim dead. Suspects abound. As if Ivy weren’t busy enough trying to solve the murder, she discovers a secret from her own past which she must unwind.

I found Ivy to be an excellent character to whom I could relate. Like all of the characters populating the story, she is multidimensional and fully developed, which greatly enhanced the plot as it moved along.

The plot developed exactly the way a good mystery plot should and kept me guessing. I will definitely be reading more of Ms. Keown’s books.

In Dust to Dust, a young woman investigated a murder at the hotel! This was a nice cozy mystery. The story is fast-paced and is filled with romance and suspense! Thus, I recommend this novel for fans of Helena Dixon, Verity Bright, and Lynda Wilcox!

Ivy Nichols works at a prestigious hotel known for its period-style ambiance. She enjoys working there because the hotel used to be the private residence of her ancestors. When Ms. Gallagher is murdered, Mr. Figg, the hotel butler and father figure to Ivy gets arrested for the murder. Ivy is determined to prove his innocence.

I loved the action and circle of events in this book. I loved Ivy's charming character and her family connection to the hotel. I would recommend this book to mystery readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

Dark Secrets.,.
The second in the Ivy Nichols mystery series. Hotel 1911 is an embodiment of charm and delight but does it also harbour dark and dangerous secrets? With a varied and deftly drawn cast, a compelling narrative and an intriguing storyline this is a wholly enjoyable addition to this series.

When reading this book, I did not know there was a first one. You don’t have to read the first to understand this one. It’s pretty self contained and reads as if it could be a standalone.

It was interesting following Ivy around as she’s trying to piece together the clues of the murder. I was entertained throughout and kept the pages turning so we could figure it out.

Nothing is as it seems in this story.

This is another book where I feel like my review of the first book in the series is going to be far better than anything I can put together here. I am surprised at the lack of enthusiasm for this book on Goodreads. As a cozy mystery, it hits its goal quite easily.
It would not be hard to start the series here, but reading the first provides a better foundation to understand Ivy's motivations for everything that she does. Ivy is still working at the hotel that once used to be her family home (before her birth). She is hunting out the evidence for her mental issues in the past her family left behind. The 'butler' and her immediate boss knows more than his fair share of secrets but is unwilling to just give them up to her. She is chipping away at it, especially after the discovery in the previous book.
A troupe of graveyard/gravestone enthusiasts arrive at the hotel to tour the statues and people buried under them in the garden. One of the members is found dead, and the investigation begins. The official investigation targets Mr Fig as the most likely culprit, and Ivy rushes to save him. In the midst of this, Ivy has to deal with her father, her changing feelings for her best friend and anything else the future might have for her. Especially given the way the book ended!
The writing is simple, and Ivy is an intriguing character to follow. Full of contradictions, She struggles to keep her priorities in order. I definitely want to read the next whenever it comes out.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience of this and the previous book.

Nice easy reading mystery with well written with clearly defined characters.
I enjoyed reading this and would recommend to others.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

I found this to be an enjoyable read, keeping me on my toes throughout. The storyline was written well and flowed seamlessly. I look forward to reading more by this author!

I really enjoyed reading this mystery book, it was a well done plot and had great characters. I loved going through this book and trying to solve what's going on.

This is an interesting combination of murder mystery and a sort of adult coming of age novel. The setting of the historic hotel, location of the murder, was well done. It immediately set the stage for secrets from the past. And the secrets were fundamental to solving the murder mystery and to revealing a family heritage.

The plot structure moves along at a methodical pace as Ivy, a clerk at the hotel and also a descendant of the original owners of the building, uncovers possibilities as to the identity of the murderer. In that sense, this is not a fast paced nor page turning novel. There is some suspense but only near the end of the mystery section. A bit more of the book reveals family secrets as Ivy comes to understand more of her heritage. I felt the solution to the murder came out of left field, so to speak. It was an unexpected surprise as I either missed clues or there were none.

This is a mystery for readers who like the story of the amateur sleuth to be as important as, if not more so, the actual solving of the mystery. I do like Ivy as a sleuth and will be looking for the next in the series.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

So this was book two of the Ivy series and I feel I needed to read book 1 to fully enjoy this book. Ivy works at a hotel which used to be her families estate. She's learning more about her heritage daily. A group of gravers have booked in to bosisit historical grave and one of them gets murdered. Ivy feels the detectives are looking in the wrong place so puts her life in danger on the haunt for the killer.

Look I love a crime thriller but I just wasn't keen on this receptionist / physic student detective work. It just felt a tad far fetched. I understand when you feel the police are looking in the wrong place but I don't know I just wasn't sold.

I think I didn't like Ivy very much so that made it really hard for Mr to interact with this book. Ivy just seems all over the place and reckless. She's clearly in love with her best friend and her relationship with her dad could do with some work. It appears she got herself all entangled with a previous murder case and ended up hurt why she would do it again inky God knows.

Her character would make a great detective or criminal psychology series but right now I am not a fan of her it has to be said that there is tons if potential that can come from this story and it just might know had been for me. I love action and feeling on edge until the final page. The only character I really liked was the butler but he wasn't a huge character.

The author is very talented and can write extremely well. I cannot fault Audrey Keown she has a talent and its great! I may find myself giubg back to biok1 then re reading book 2 to see if it fills in the gaps I currenyly have.

Would I recommend dust to dust? No I wouldn't not to those who have similar reading taste as I do, however I would recommend as a YA crime series to those who are just getting into this genre. 2.5 stars rounded up to 3

Thanks to netgalley, Audrey Keown and the publishers for the advanced digital copy in exchange for my fair and honest opinions.

Dust to Dust has us checking in to Hotel 1911. The staff dresses in period clothing and the hotel itself is like stepping back in time. Oh, and there might be a murder involved! The second book in the Ivy Nichols series has us meeting many unusual and quirky characters as Ivy plays detective in solving yet another murder at the hotel. I liked the setting of Chattanooga, Tennessee and the character development. The author really has a good sense of humor! A fun summer read!

This is the second book in the Ivy Nichol's series. Hotel 1911 hosts a national conference for gravestone studies and Ivy discovers there are grave markers on premises. Soon a murdered body is found and the hotel's manager, Mr Fig is arrested. Ivy tries to clear Mr Fig's name and discovers some family secrets along the way.

I SO wanted to like these books and I was really hoping that this book would be better than the first one; sadly, that was not the case. Where I neither loved or hated the first one, it was a lot better than this one. I am not sure how Ivy can get away with all that she does in a city like Chattanooga [where one hopes the police are better than the ones portrayed in these books] with no repercussions and basically with support of everyone around her [including, it seems, the police]. The situations she continually puts herself in, the lies she convinces herself are okay to tell, the actions she also convinces herself are okay all add up to a really disbelievable book AND a rather frustrating read. Add in the "mystery" around her father and it was just too much. I highly doubt I will be reading any more of these.

Thank you to NetGalley, Audrey Keown, and Crooked Lane Books for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This series is becoming very interesting and the second installment is even better than the first.
The author is a good storyteller and she delivers a riveting and entertaining mystery.
Good character and plot development, an interesting setting.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Book two in this series and I read as a standalone just fine! I found myself loving the protagonist Ivy who can't say no to solving a mystery. With more than one mystery to solve she finds herself desperate for the truth before someone else gets hurt or worse. The truth is shocking and wow what a ending! I highly recommend this book to all lovers of cozy mystery books!

Although I did not read the first book in this series, I soon found myself intrigued by the life of the series protagonist Ivy Nichols in Dust to Dust. Set in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Ivy is a receptionist at Hotel 1911, a themed hotel. Ivy has some personal problems; a history of panic attacks and a mother who disappeared when Ivy was a child.

The Gravestone Friends of Greater Pittsburgh group checks in to the hotel for their national conference and Ivy is intrigued to learn that one of them has connections to her family. The group begin their event by touring the historic graves on the hotel grounds, but then they find one of their own members strangled to death with the hotel manager, Mr Fig in the main suspect hot seat.

There are plenty of eclectic characters in this novel. As well as Ivy, whose vulnerability was well portrayed, I liked Mr Fig and Iv's friend George. The main plot, subplots and effervescent conversation made for a few hours of very enjoyable, worthwhile reading complete with a brilliant ending. I am left feeling enthusiastic to read the first in the series, Murder at Hotel 1911, as well as (im)patiently anticipating the third book.

Disclosure: Thank you to Crooked Lane for providing a digital ARC of Dust to Dust by Audrey Keown, via Netgalley for review. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my first look at the book.

First of all, I read this one without having read the first, which is usually a problem. However, I never felt like I was missing anything, which I believe is a testament to Keown’s writing.

I liked the bits of psychologist sprinkled in as well as the dynamics between the characters, and though I predicted the outcome, I enjoyed the characters enough to keep me going.

3.75 stars

Dust to Dust by Audrey Keown is an enjoyable mystery novel and the second in a series. I liked the vintage 1911 hotel/mansion and the intrepid protagonist Ivy Nichols. That said, I think I need to seek out and read the first book in this series to better understand the setting (Chattanooga, Tennessee) and the characters.
This author has a bright writing style with clever turns of phrase and keeps the mystery story moving nicely, without sacrificing character development. I recommend this book to readers of cozy mysteries with a charming setting and a resourceful heroine.

Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for the ARC. This is my honest opinion.