I thoroughly enjoyed Staub's book The Other Family, and was excited to be approved to read her next novel The Stranger Vanishes. Set in Lily Dale, a silly little town where the residence talk to the dead. Bella Jordan, widow, runs the local B&B with her son. Bella is skeptic of this "talking" until she herself talks to the dead. The characters are quirky and likable. Such a fun read and a solid mystery.

Thank you to Severn House and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this digital arc

This is the fifth book in a fun mystery and romance series. It says for young adult but I’m not that and I still love this series. Love the cover and the cats.

Quirky setting and characters, along with plenty of cats, make this a fun read. Liked the historical connection to the underground Railroad.

This was my first visit to Lily Dale after a recommendation, I didn't really know what to expect. What I did get was a cozy village setting with well developed characters. The characters themselves are interesting and likeable, I can certainly see how the humour would develop once you getting to fully know them.

Bella is a really relatable character and the skeptic in a village of believers adds a realistic touch. I am interested to know more of Bella's back story and I hope by picking up earlier books, as this is 5th in a series will provide further depth.

The plot naturally develops as you move through the book which keeps me engaged and although you are introduced to numerous characters it is easy to follow and keep up.

The setting of Lily Dale is warm and inviting, and the author has done a really good job os painting the scene with a vivid description and you can really picture the small told feel as you read along.

I can see how this series could easily become a cult classic and I will certainly be visiting Lily Dale again in the very near future.

Thank you Netgalley and Severn House for the chance to review

Charming Series…
The fifth in the Lily Dale mystery series takes the reader back to the town where people can talk to the dead. Bella Jordan is alone on being a non believer in the phenomenon, despite acknowledging that people there often know things that are quite frankly unbelievable. A strange event is about to befall her which she will have no explanation for - will she find a logical cause and get to the root of the latest mystery to befall the quirky town? With a cast of colourful and eccentric characters and a fun storyline this is another entertaining addition to this rather charming series.

Bella accepts a middle of the night guest at her guesthouse only for him to have disappeared the next morning. So thought he was a spirit others thought he skipped out on his bill, but Bella didn’t believe either. She felt as if something happened to her guest. As time and investigation goes on it seems spirits want to provide help for Bella and her friends to solve the mystery.

When I saw this book available on Netgalley for review I didn’t know it was book five in a series and the description was interesting. I was happy I requested the book. I had no problems enjoying this book as a stand alone mystery. I am sure there are some backstories that would be helpful but I never felt confused about what was going on. The characters are likable, interesting, and relatable. There are a large number of secondary characters that have gifts of seeing spirit, however, the main character Bella isn’t one of them. Bella is smart, accepting of others, and caring. The setting of Lily Dale gives you a welcoming small town feeling. The mystery is well plotted with plenty of surprises. I recommend this book to cozy and paranormal cozy mystery fans.

All thoughts and opinions are my own, and I have not been influenced by anyone.

I absolutely love Wendy Corsi Staub's books and this was another great one. Wonderful mystery author.

The residents of Lily Dale have talents that people come from all around partake in. While Bella Jordan isn’t one of those talented people, she is a Lily Dale resident and trusts her instincts. When a lodger comes late at night and disappears the next morning, her friends tell her it sounds like she saw Spirit…but Bella doesn’t believe in ghosts and believes the man was a real as she is and didn’t run out without paying, especially when he leaves behind his satchel and a very old journal. But when she reads the journal, Bella starts to question whether it was a real man or not.

As she and her friends, both psychic and not, dig into the mystery of the missing lodger, they begin to find out more about the local history and soon connect it to a local family. But first she needs to determine whether the lodger was spirit or human…and what happened to him. With her friends worried her her safety, Bella takes heir help and refuses to give up until she has answers, whether human or spiritual.

I remember reading the first book in this series and I was hooked from the get go. The story of a young widowed mother finding a new place to call home and new friends to call family along with the specialness of Lily Dale make this one you cannot put down and eagerly await the next entry in the series. If you like paranormal cozies, this one is for you!

Lily Dale, a quirky town where the residents talk to the dead. Young widow, Bella Jordan runs a B & B with her son, Max. Bella has her doubts until it happens to her. Good solid mystery. Quirky characters. A great fun read! Thanks #netgalley and #SevernHouse for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine.

The Stranger Vanishes is part of a delightful series in which Bella, a widow with a son, bought a B and B in a rather haunted town. Surrounded by mediums and fortune-tellers the mysteries always feature humor.

In this book it is the evening of Juneteenth. A black man appears in clothes from another era. Bella sees him but doesn't interact one on one. The next day she can't find him anywhere and wonders who he was - was he real or perhaps a ghost.

Bella's medium friend tells her to watch out for Barry. She can't imagine who this Barry would be. Until the thought that she might be misinterpreting the word and it really means bury.

The mystery and characters that solve it are delightful. If this place existed in the real world I would spend every vacation there. Or, maybe it does.

Thanks to Netgalley for this ARC