A Very Woodsy Murder by Ellen Byron is the first in I hope a long new series about Dee Stern and her friend Jeff Cornetta, who give up the Hollywood scene for a fixer upper motel in the gold rush area of southern California. Dee, a burned-out screenwriter, finds her only motel guest murdered and as she and Jeff try to stay solvent and solve the murder more mayhem ensues. The characters in the towns of Foundgold and Goldgone are fun to become acquainted with, although, I still have trouble pronouncing those names.! The depictions of living history Goldgone is well done and a lot of fun to read.

If you love books where you can laugh out loud, this is the absolute perfect cozy for you. Ellen does such a wonderful job crafting oddball characters in an oddball town that are so funny you won't be able to put the book down and will be sad when the story ends. I loved Jeff and Dee and their adventures (and many, many mishaps) as they attempt to turn their lives around by renovating a shabby motel into something new and sparkling--all while trying to solve a murder and save their motel's name. I really enjoyed how the mystery itself caused the characters to learn more about the town and the neighboring town and I felt like I got to experience such a full cast of characters and vibrant storyworld right along with Dee and Jeff, bringing the story and mystery more to life. I cannot wait for more books in this series!

Dee Stern wants to escape the life of LA and discovers a mid-century hotel for sale in central CA. Pooling her money with her ex-husband, best friend, Jeff, they purchase the Golden and begin to bring it back to life. When their first guest is murdered on the property and they are the prime suspects, the two decide to solve the murder. Lots of suspects, plenty of red herrings, a town rivalry and a bear all play a part in the latest new series by Ellen Byron. The setting is great, the characters are quirky and the tourist trap mentality is high. Love this introduction to this series, I hope it continues for many books to come!

One of my favorite cozy authors has a new series and it's a winner! Aging out of Hollywood's quest for youth, sitcom writer Dee Stern heads out out of traffic smog central to get her head together. While rejuvenated by the mountains and greenery, she spies a For Sale sign on a rundown but charming mid-century motel. Convincing her ex, now best friend, to invest with her, they embark on restoring rooms one by one while dealing with inhabitants of a hostile neighboring tourist town, Stoney the Bear, and that pesky murder of their first guest. Dee's a delightful lead full of insight and grit. All those years in writing rooms honed her ability to dissect and understand motivations which comes in handy with the array of vivid and surprisingly multi-layered characters she comes to meet. Plot's full of red herrings and the book is just tons of fun!

A new series about Dee Stern who has ditched her old life and moved to Foundgold, A tiny mountain village in southern California. There her bf Jeff and her are remodeling a hotel in the mountains. Filled with humor this is a very good cozy. Lots of great characters. Loved the locale. Even has bears! Thanks #Netgalley and # Kensington for the eARC in exchange for a honest review. All opinions are mine.

Dee Stern chucked her old life in southern California to move to the tiny mountain village of Foundgold. She's going to refurbish a mid-century hotel in the mountains with her best friend, Jeff, and people will flock to the beautiful mountains and nearby national park. Everything is going to be golden... until the bodies start piling up.

The town of Foundgold and the neighboring village of Goldsgone are steeped in tradition, they maintain the gold rush era buildings, wear gold rush era clothing and use gold rush era language. But though times have changed, people have not. Both towns still have their shady characters and their sweethearts. Will Dee be able to figure out which of the shady characters killed her guest? Or was it one of the sweethearts? Are any of the sweethearts really shady characters? The shady characters, sweethearts? We'll find out!

I've read several series by Byron and enjoyed them all. This may turn out to be my favorite. I really like Dee. She's fun and a little spicy and I love how she's left the rat race to restore a piece of bygone Americana. Jeff is really sweet, he's a good friend, very supportive and with an interesting skill set that allows him to do some fun stuff for the motel.

I'm a huge fan of mid-century modern anything and I am very excited to see the Golden Motel rise again, better than ever.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

A Very Woodsy Murder by Ellen Byron is the debut of A Golden Motel Mysteries. Dee Stern and Jeff are unprepared for owning a rundown motel near a state park. A Very Woodsy Murder reminds me of an older sit-com where things are exaggerated (Dee and Jeff remind me of Lucy and Ethel). We learn about Dee’s time in Hollywood as a screenwriter and her relationship with Jeff. I can certainly understand why she needs a fresh start. The motel is a near the town of Foundgold which has a population of 68 (maybe). A nemesis of Dee’s from Hollywood checks in and gets murdered. When the murder causes people to cancel their reservations, Dee and Jeff set out to find the guilty party. It does not help that Deputy Sheriff Aguilar and Chief Ranger O’Bryant do not get along. Plus, the residents of Goldsgone (that is really the name of the town) do not welcome Dee and Jeff with open arms. Dee lacks subtlety when questioning people (she will need to acquire this skill in order to deal with guests and for future investigations) which does not earn her any friends. Dee and Jeff are bumbling amateur detectives (which suits the story). I wish the same details were not repeated so often. As you can tell, there is humor scattered throughout A Very Woodsy Murder. A Very Woodsy Murder is a lighthearted tale with a ramshackle motel, a nemesis for a guest, a roaming bear, a murdered writer, withdrawn reservations, not so subtle sleuthing, and feuding officers.

Since this is the 1st in the series, there is lots going to introduce us to the characters. The murder kept me guessing. I look forward to what happens in the next book.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Former sitcom writer Dee stumbles upon a rundown motel with a national park nearly in its backyard and convinces her former husband but now best friend to invest in the place and help her restore it. They soon realize that the restoration is going to take more time, expertise and money than they thought. Prowling bears are the least of their worries, though, when a guest turns up dead, and a park ranger is determined to prove their guilt.

This is the first book in a new series by one of my favorite cozy authors, so I was really looking forward to reading it. The book is set in California, which is quite a change from her other series set in Louisiana, but the setting helped set the stage for the book. I like Dee and Jeff, and love the relationship between them, despite their history together. With a few exceptions, the rest of the characters were likeable, especially Ma’am and Mister Ma’am, Sam and Raul. It will be interesting to see which characters return in the next book.

The murder victim was a nasty piece of work, but appeared to be just a guest looking for a quiet place to work, so there weren’t any suspects other than Dee and Jeff at first. As the investigation progressed, though, additional suspects were added to my list. The person eventually revealed to be the killer *was on my list, but not at the top, so I was a little surprised at who it was and their motive.

I enjoyed this book and look forward to continuing the series.

Ellen Byron always brings it. In this series launch, exhausted TV writer Dee has found gold at the end of her particular rainbow. In her case, it’s an abandoned mid century motel in need of lots of love at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains. She wants to buy it and renovate it with her ex-husband and now best friend, Jeff, whose life also needs a bit of a reboot. The two agree to the plan, sinking their savings into it. They’re happily renovating when their first guest checks in: an old fellow sit-com writer frenemy of Dee’s. He seems to be roundly disliked by everyone in town and in good cozy fashion he’s shortly dispatched. (It’s the end of his particular rainbow.)

Dee and Jeff are not only suspects in the man’s death, but it’s also not helping to be known as the “murder motel” and future reservations are being cancelled right and left. There are almost more catastrophes than any fledgling business – or business partners – should have to handle, but Dee and Jeff put their extensive knowledge of Law & Order to good use as they get to sleuthing.

The surrounding towns – Foundgold and Goldsgone – are filled with a delightfully solid array of quirky characters that Byron, with her talented pen, brings fully to life on the page. My favorite was perhaps the bakery-cafe owner Elmira who turns out to make the worst baked goods known to man, but a close second is the wispy Serena, who loves to create charcuterie boards and carries either her baby or her dog in a sling, while the other is in the accompanying stroller (they are wittily named Emmy and Oscar). Serena is married to a cutthroat agent who is frequently out of town. There’s also a delightfully Eeyore style Deputy Sherriff, Raul, who, after a bit of a bumpy start with Dee and Jeff, warms up to them and even welcomes their detection assistance.

The fast paced plot will nearly have you forgetting what a completely charming setting Byron has created for her characters. The longer Dee and Jeff are there, the more townspeople are introduced, and it’s truly a skill on the part of the writer to have all of them be memorable. I’m already looking forward to meeting them again in the next book.

Byron doesn’t shortchange the gorgeous natural setting surrounding the motel, or the reason that Dee is there: she needs to slow down and take a breath (literally) of fresh air. For Dee the country is full of different sounds and a different pace of life – there’s even old Stoney the bear lumbering around, causing a ruckus.

The motel itself is not shortchanged either, and Byron’s description of the old fashioned wood paneled rooms will probably have many readers of a certain age flashing back to their childhoods. I’m a hotel brat, and I always enjoy a hotel based series. I’ve recently enjoyed books by S.K. Golden and Vicki Delany, and I’m delighted to add another motel centric read to my list.

Ok, I have to say I was really looking forward to reading this book as it's the start of a new series by Ellen Byron. This book really started out as a mixed bag for me. I realize setting up a new series is always tough, and this book had a lot of moving parts and characters. I felt at the beginning that this book was like a caricature of a sit-com that our MC Dee used to write for a living. It was a bit over the top, the premise is definitely interesting a burnt out television script writer gives it all up to buy an stuck in a time warp motel, a little worst for wear, at the foot of a California state park. She makes this investment with the help of her first ex-husband, who is now her good friend. The motel is in a town population 69, which basically only has a general store as the town meeting place but plenty of characters. The next town over, their bigger, better neighbors are totally set up as a gold rush town of old, with approximate storefront, souvenirs, and all town folk dressed in period garb. When an old nemesis of Dee's, from her old life, shows up to stay at the motel, she knows he is up to no good. When he is found murdered on the motel property, this favorite son from Goldgone, the neighboring town, puts all that Dee and Jeff have worked for at risk. With the local sheriff and National Park rangers at odds, the Goldgone residents trying to run them off and reservations disappearing our MC's become seriously bumbling amateur detectives. The steps Dee and Jeff take and how far they will go is a little over the top. I have to say, however, that by the end, the author had totally pulled me in, and I was invested in the outcome. I would really hope that things even out a little bit in the future as the stage has now been set. I will definitely try the next book in the series. Many thanks to #Netgally, #Kensingtonbooks, and the author for an opportunity to read. #AVeryWoodsyMurder, #EllenByron, #bookreview, #bookideas, #retiredreader

Let's hear it for having an older heroine, who is burnt out, looking for what to do with her life, and sees a diamond in the rough, in this debut book of the author's new series! Dee isn't Miss Nancy Drew however, and when her first guest ends up dead, her mouth talking befire she thinks, may end her up in jail as the suspect quicker than she can say. As the book progresses and she learns just how many people in the backwoods she might actually be able to depend on, she and Jeff work their way through getting their hotel off the ground and out of jail. It's a fun book and fans of Byron will love it.

"A Very Woodsy Murder, (A Golden Motel Mystery #1)," by Ellen Byron is the debut of her newest series. As a fan of Byron's other series, I was excited to read an advanced copy of this book.
The main characters are Dee Stern, a script writer who no longer fits into the Hollywood mold, and her first ex-husband/ best friend Jeff Cornetta. They buy a motel next to a National Park with the intention of restoring the former glory of the 1940's rustic decor. A worthy plan in theory, but not in execution. When a former co-writer of Dee's becomes a guest feathers fly, the plot gets moving, and the humor pours in.
An entertaining first in series, though Dee is a bit over-the-top and Jeff is naïve --- I know they can grow as the series continues.
Thank you to #NetGalley #KensingtonPublishing #KensingtonCozies for sending to advanced ecopy that I requested. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I review books that I enjoy for friends and followers.
#AVeryWoodsyMurder #NetGalley

A Very Woodsy Murder is a new series by Ellen Byron and it is a fun new set of characters. It's a lighter cozy with a different but fun vibe than her other books. Dee Stern and her ex.first husband Jeff decide to get out of LA and they buy the Golden Motel in Foundgold, CA. It takes them some time to.get to know the.locals who call them cidiots (city idiots). That made me laugh. Dee is excited when they get their first reservation until.she finds out who it is. It is someone from.Dee's past and she and Jeff become the prime suspects when the guest ends up dead. The Sheriff and the Chief Park Ranger don't get along. Dee is trying to fit in while figuring out who murdered the guest. It keeps the book interesting. She is a strong but likable character. The locals add humor and warmth and they also have a few secrets. This is an enjoyable cozy mystery. #AVeryWodsyMurder #GoldenMotel #KensingtonCozies

A delightful start to a new series. Enjoyable location and story. Loved the fact that I had not guessed the murderer. I look forward to reading the next one. Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary.

1 stars
Very cliche. The entire plot just tries too hard. Dnf
I tried to like it and it started out well but I put it down about 3 chapters in.

A Very Woodsy Murder by Ellen Byron is the first book in a new series called Golden Motel Mysteries. I enjoyed the premise, characters, structure, writing, and mystery.

Premise:

Former sitcom writer Dee Stern decides to make a career change. She buys a rundown retro motel in Gold Rush country in Southern California. She invites her ex-husband and current platonic friend, Jeff, to help her run it. The trouble is getting it fixed up and getting people to come stay.

I enjoy plots about fresh starts, new beginnings, life changes, and career changes in the first book of a cozy series. Struggling to make things work and mesh with locals is a well-worn but relatable trope when spun by a skilled writer, and Byron is a skilled writer. I also liked the setting (retro motel in a woodsy area). I would like to see more of these outdoorsy sort of cozies.

Characters:

The characters were all well-drawn and enjoyable. Dee makes a good protagonist. She is spunky and has faults. The spunk makes her likable, and the faults make her relatable. A sleeper character is Dee's dad. He had a minor but interesting role in the book. I enjoyed him more than perhaps any other character. There was a hint that his character may grow into something, and I hope it happens because I would like to see him involved in future mysteries.

Structure:

At the story's beginning, there is a list of characters with a basic description of who they are (something you might see in a script or play). I have to say, I really enjoyed this element. I bookmarked it and flipped back to it frequently as I got to know the characters and tried to solve the mystery along with the sleuth.

Writing:

Ellen Byron is an experienced writer. She knows how to structure a sentence and a story, and she excels at writing humor. Many cozies are marketed as "humorous" or "hilarious," but they are rarely as funny as advertised. This one did make me laugh out loud in numerous places.

Mystery:

There are plenty of suspects, and the amateur sleuth is integral to the investigation. I guessed the killer early on, but only through instinct. The mystery was fair, and the clues were well-placed.


Thank you to Net Galley and Kensington Books for the chance to see an advanced reader copy of this novel.

A great start to a new mystery series by one of my favorite mystery authors. I can't wait to read the next one in the series.

This was pretty good! I enjoyed it, although the odd way of life in Goldsgone got a little annoying. But I am looking forward to the next one!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Ellen Byron for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for A Very Woodsy Murder coming out July 23, 2024. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own..

I love Byron’s Cajun Country series, so I was excited to check out this book. I’m obsessed with cozy mysteries. I think the plot was really fun. Kind of reminded me of Schitt’s Creek so I loved the vibes. Dee and Jeff were interesting characters since they were exes, but I thought it was fun they decided to run the motel together. The woods is definitely a creepy setting, but I loved all of it. I definitely would read more books in the series.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys cozy woodsy mysteries!