In the small town of Jasper Vermont Hannah Solace has moved back home to the place she grew up, She has come back as a part owner of Hummingbird Hollow Bed and Breakfast. She is now part owner with her sister Regina. They have now changed the name of the B & B. to The Jasper Inn. The B & B came Regina's way from a divorce settlement from her now ex Chad. Hannah has decided to redo the landscape at the B&B starting with the backyard. She has landscaper Ash to help her. Ezra Grayson is a family friend whose property boarders the B & B and he also had an adorable dog names Moose. Hannah is out walking at Devil's Pond when she ends up seeing Moose by himself which she finds very odd. Moose is a bit agitated and she take him home and ends up finding Ezra DEAD! Hannah calls the police detective Noah Booker comes to work on the case. Hannah takes Moose home with her as she doesn't;want hime to end up at the shelter, Ezra's nieces an. d nephews come and stay at the B & B along with Ezra's brother. They all think they are the heirs to Ezra's Estate. Hannah is determined to find out what happened to Ezra. Can she find out what happened to Ezra and who actually inherits the estate before another body appears, She also has to do this without annoying Noah and learn to work with Noah. As they start work together, be a bit reluctantly, Noah and Hannah
start become close. I'm looking forward to future books with this group of characters and seeing where Noah and Hannah's relationship goes.
I thoroughly enjoyed this new story.

This time, the driving force behind the story is an inheritance and long-ago family ties. Hannah is determined to find out who killed her friend Ezra. However, for this you have to dig deep into the past and the present, the only way to untangle the threads that seem to lead nowhere.
I loved Hannah's smart, clever character. I also found the mystery perfectly fine. Overall, I really enjoyed reading this interesting mystery.
The characterization, the writing style and the characteristics of the genre were all fine. I pushed Hannah until the end of the story and had a really pleasant reading experience.
Thanks to NetGalley for the novel!

This is such an amazing series! This author is wonderful and the book is very enjoyable. I can't wait for the next one!

So while it was a slow start to this book, I ended up falling in love!! Great read, and cannot wait for book 2!!!

Murder on Devil’s Pond by Ayla Rose
Who doesn’t love a good cozy mystery especially in the winter?!

Meet Hannah. A hard-working manager of a charming Victorian bed and breakfast in Vermont. Hannah has a vision for the house and grounds. When she finds her neighbour’s body on her property, her focus quickly shifts to sleuthing out what or who caused the death. Hannah’s list of suspects is long, but the police keep on circling back to her.

There are many interesting characters including 80-year-old Ezra, hard-as-nails Reggie, swoony Ash , and of course the dog Moose and Turnip the cat.

This is a little dark and there is a lot of family drama. If you’re looking for a light-hearted cozy mystery this might not be the one for you.

I’ll be back though to read more about Hannah and see what she can get done in her yard!

Thanks to NetGalley, Crooked Lane Books, and the author for an opportunity to read this ARC

I enjoyed the journey this book goes through very much. It kept me engaged the entire way. The investigation is different than most mysteries. The characters & actions informative. I would like to see if Rebecca continues to come despite being fired. #MurderonDevil’sPond #NetGalley

4.5

This book sucked me in from the beginning. It kept me interested throughout and I absolutely adored the characters, including Moose. I really enjoyed following Hannah’s journey through her sleuthing and how she learns about herself too.

I cannot wait to see where Hannah and Moose adventure next!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest and voluntary review.

The mystery of this story was incredible. The author brought me into the world of Ezra and Hannah so quickly and did a wonderful job connecting me to the characters even before the first murder. And then afterwards as clues were revealed and Hannah fought for her friend, I found myself unable to put this story down. Each character was so different and so lifelike, and I truly found myself not knowing who did what and I was completely absorbed into the mystery with Hannah. The reason I docked a star was because I was not a fan of the swearing. One of the things I love about cozies is that they're usually light on sexual content and light on swearing, and it was disappointing to read a cozy where the author was dropping f-bombs by the end.

it took me a little while to get into this story. I liked how it started as some sort of mysterious real estate family drama, but it wasn't riveting enough to keep me hooked all the way. I think the issue with the uneven pace also contributed to this lackluster reading experience. I'm not on a good current reading streak, mystery-wise, but I'm still on the lookout for a five-star unputdownable mystery novel that will wow me.

I love cozy mystery books that are set at B&B's so this one really hit the spot for me! I can't wait to read more in the series. I have a feeling it'll be one of my favorites!

A good first book in the series. I liked the realistic tone and interactions between characters. In cozy mysteries, the MC often crosses a lot of boundaries to get information. I like how the other characters call out Hannah for her intrusive actions; I wish this would happen more in cozy mysteries. I was caught off guard by the language. It is rare to find vulgarity, especially f-bombs, in these stories. I look forward to the next book.

This was a great start to a new cozy mystery series. Hannah and her sister Reggie are trying to get their Inn up and running in a profit, all while Hannah is also trying to preserve the wildlife and habitats of nature. Her friendship with an older, cranky man, Ezra, is the center of the mystery when he is found dead near the Inn. When the police start to ask Hannah questions as if she is a suspect, she begins to do some sleuthing and find justice for her friend. But, what she uncovers may just make her rethink how wells she knew Ezra!
Lots of twists and lots of motives, and the list of suspects seems to be piling up.
Love the characters, and looking forward to more in the series to watch the relationships among them develop.
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The death of her friend spurs Hannah to investigate why someone would want to kill him. The more she learned about his prior actions, the more she understood the man he became, and she is more than determined to find his murderer. I like how the author staged this whodunit with a solid mystery and the backstory of the characters who had pivotal roles in this intriguing and suspenseful tale. From his relatives to passing friends and to people who he did business with, anyone could have murdered him, but it was what Hannah uncovered and the follow-through that would eventually lead to the apprehension of the person responsible. Overall, I enjoyed this book and look forward to more adventures with Hannah and her friends.

It's billed and marketed as a cozy mystery. Cute cover, B&B setting, sister relationship. The crime happens and then the mystery gets going for good--at such a pace that I was flipping pages quite quickly. However, the language kept getting worse and worse until there were four letter bombs several times near the ending, and the profanity never lets up. (Even the preacher lady, who "hates cursing," takes pleasure in bandying about the more minor cuss of "hell.")

As far as crime solving, the procedural part from Hannah is pretty decent, but more than once the police pop out with a convenient fact that there's no way they could have known. For example, a man is put through a chipper and pulverized, but he's positively identified in less than 24 hours. No way can a small town police force get a DNA result that fast. Also the police repeatedly blab confidential case knowledge to several other characters.

Overall, it would have been a fairly solid story if I'd been expecting a hard-boiled mystery. As it was, the over the top language and the gory turn the murders took was not what I expected as a cozy mystery reader and I won't be continuing this series.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free reading copy. A favorable review was not required.

This was a wonderful start to a new series. I really like Hannah, her B & B, the small town Vermont setting, and what she is trying to do with her property. Hannah had returned to her hometown to run the B & B she co-owns with her sister, after her old life crumbled around her. She has been working hard to refurbish the Inn, but more importantly, the gardens and property around it, creating a healthy ecosystem for bees, butterflies and birds, and growing the produce she uses at the Inn. She is also trying to find peace and joy in her life again. She has befriended a cantankerous old man who was a botanist, he helps her with her gardens and gives her advice on how to proceed while she brings him food and tries to elevate his situation, as his home is falling down around him and he just doesn't seem to care. When her friend is found murdered on her property, and she learns what he had planned for the future, she becomes a suspect in his murder. This information opens a whole world of history that Hannah starts peeling away layer by layer to try and find out what happened to her friend and why his plans for the future were what they were. This history forces her to look at all kinds of people in the town, including her parents, their friends, and relatives of Ezra. How did what happened in the past get them to this current situation? This mystery is a little deeper them most cozies, the characters are real with flaws and strengths, the motives are many and life altering and the atmosphere is so real you can hear the bees buzzing and smell the flowers. I can't wait to read more.

Hannah returns to Jasper VT to help her sister run a bed & breakfast. Throughout the story you learn more about the town, Hannah's past, and try to solve "who did it" to the "millionaire next door". Ezra (the deceased, led a quiet, unassuming life. He & Hannah become friends, and Ezra has "something important to tell Hannah", until he is found dead on her property. His money hungry family was already in the area, and the plot thickens. A new series, one that I feel will develop into more. I look forward to reading the next installment!
Thanks to NetGalley, Ms Rose, and Crooked Lane Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

What a great cozy mystery. Hannah Solace, owner of the Hummingbird Hollow bed and breakfast in picturesque Jasper, Vermont, is hard at work beautifying the inn's grounds with indigenous plants to attract pollinators, and hopefully, guests. She's also enjoying getting advice on what best to plant from neighbor and friend, Ezra Grayson. Ezra is the town curmudgeon who lives like a hermit in his ramshackle old house near the b and b that plenty of people, including his niece and nephews, want him to sell. Ezra, however, has no such plans and let's that fact be known to one and all who will listen. Being a good cozy mystery, before long there is, of course, a murder to solve and Hannah takes it upon herself to investigate to find out the identity of the killer and their motive for killing. The characters in this delightfully well told tale are all believable and well written and you really get to know quite a bit about them throughout the story. There are several possible suspects and a really interesting look into the past to find motives that will keep you guessing who the killer is until the very end of the book. I totally recommend this book and am looking forward to more books in this series!
*I received an advanced reader copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Hannah Solace has returned to her hometown to renovate an inn she owns with her sister – and to build a new life for herself. It’s been a struggle – the inn is losing money – and it becomes even worse when she finds the murdered body of one of her friends on her property and most of the suspects are staying at her inn. Hannah wants to find out what happened to her friend but soon discovers that she will uncover secrets from the past – some that will involve her family. Is she ready to deal with the truth?

“Murder on Devil's Pond” is the very nicely done first book in Ayla Rose’s Hummingbird Hollow B&B cozy mystery series. There is a lot to like about this book starting with the setting –not only the B & B, but the property it is on and other property including the house belonging to the murder victim. Also well done are the characters, starting with Hannah, her sister, her niece, the murder victim, his dog, and so many more. The mystery is very well done and serves as a way for readers to get to know the characters better and for Hannah herself to learn about the past – there are many secrets unraveled including some very sad ones. The mystery is well plotted – I did figure out some plot points but not others – with plenty of suspects and a few surprises along the way. All in all, well done, and I look forward to the next book in the series.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley.

Murder on Devil's Pond by Ayla Rose is the first book in Hummingbird Hollow B&B Mystery series.

This is supposed to be a cozy mystery but for me it was more 'realistic' than majority of other of the same genre. The murder itself was grislier, the dialogues and the character were more relatable. I didn't mind at all.
The story was well presented, the mystery clearly explained.
However, I found characters slightly remote and undeveloped. I simply didn't warm up to them although they showed a lot of possibility.

This could be a good choice for those who liked both cozies and thrillers.

After a troubling event in her past, Hannah Solace returns to her hometown of Jasper, VT, to run her older sister's inn. When her friend and the town's curmudgeon, Ezra, is found murdered by Devil's Pond, Hannah feels compelled to find his killer. During her investigation, she uncovers decades-old secrets, blackmail, greed, and familial strife among the town's residents. She must also confront her own personal demons, both of the past and the present.

This mystery was well-constructed with a good plot and believable characters. I also enjoyed the novel's sense of place, painting a lovely picture of Vermont's great outdoors in the late summer. The MC Hannah seems to be a caring, if guarded, protagonist, as demonstrated in her relationships with Ezra, his dog, Moose, and her niece, Peach. Her relationships with her father, sister, and her late-mother's friend are complex, and will likely be explored in future novels as part of Hannah's emotional growth and healing.

Thank you, NetGalley, Crooked Lane Books, and author Ayla Rose for an advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.