I was browsing the library shelves for a Christmas cozy when this book caught my eye. I liked the book cover --the dogs and the castle. Little did I know when I checked it out that I'd be down with food poisoning and a reaction to a shingle shot soon after. I can't say how many cozies disappoint me in the first 20 pages by throwing too many characters at me and a few scatty details before someone is found dead. This one drew me in with the premise of being snowbound in this fabulous place with a possible ghost and secret passages. Just the kind of place I'd want to stay in. The knitters were fun-- I am totally inept at knitting, but loved the knitting bomb notion of knitting little surprises and hiding them around the place. Fun. The pace was good, characters diverse enough, and the suspects plentiful. A fun read. ( )

Clyde Fortune, a former Ann Arbor, Michigan police officer with inherited psychic abilities is ready to leave the cold winter behind for a nice tropical vacation with her boyfriend Mac, a homicide detective. However, on their way to the airport, a winter storm has canceled flights. Unable to drive home in the blizzard they find shelter at a possibly haunted castle turned hotel. A cozy fire would be fine, if it weren’t for the fact that the hotel was fully booked by a knitting workshop group. As luck would have it, Clyde’s Mom, Aunt Vi and Mac’s Mom were part of said group. All was well until one of the hotel owners is found dead and the storm knocks out the power. The handyman was new and didn’t know how to operate the power generator. Being totally snowed in, Clyde and Mac have to take over trying to solve the murder until local police can arrive. A cute but rather slow moving entry in this series, I kept having to put it down and read other things. ( )

Let's get what cost this book 1 full star out of the way first:

I hate Aunt Vi. The character redefines immaturity. In spite of being a woman "in her 70's" she acts, without exaggeration, like a narcissistic, ADHD, 8 year-old. I suspect her character is meant to lend a quirky levity to the stories, but if that's the intent, it fails completely. The character has no sympathetic qualities whatsoever. She's single-handedly messing up an otherwise very good series.

If Aunt Vi was sucked up by aliens or otherwise missing from this narrative, what would be left would be a great cast of characters, great writing, and a pretty good murder plot. Clyde and Mac are on their way to a Mexican holiday when an approaching blizzard shuts down the airport. Attempting to find a safe haven to wait out the storm and salvage their weekend, they find a remote castle hotel that just so happens to be hosting a knitting retreat. A knitting retreat being attending by both their mothers and the dreaded Aunt Vi. Of course.

The blizzard snows them in and someone is killed, of course. Sadly, that someone was not Aunt Vi. Thus begins a classic variation of the mystery, with a very limited list of suspects all closed in together. Even though Clyde, her mother and (supposedly) her Aunt all have psychic gifts, they played a very small part in the overall story; easily less than 10%, which was a bummer. I guessed the murderer but it wasn't a gimme; until the end, it could have been someone else and I wouldn't have been shocked.

I enjoyed this one - probably not as much as the first and second book, but enough that I'll look forward to the next one. In spite of Aunt Vi. ( )

Finally Clyde(you’d know why she calls herself that if you knew her real name) and Mac are on their way to Mexico. Or so they think. As the snow flakes thicken, all flights are cancelled, so Mac takes them to a lovely secluded hotel until they can catch another flight. Should be fun as it’s rumored to be haunted.

Imagine their dismay when they are greeted by Clyde’s mother. And she informs them Clyde’s Aunt Vi and Mac’s mother are there also.

The hotel is hosting a knitting conference and all of the rooms are booked so Clyde and Mac have to bunk with their respective mothers. Talk about a sad excuse for a vacation.

I guess it wasn’t funny for Clyde and Mac, but it was for me. They were supposed to be on a sunny beach and instead they are still in Michigan, snowed in with both of their mothers and one very nosy aunt.

The storm worsens, the power goes out, and Voila!, a dead body is discovered.

Someone has murdered one of the hotel’s owners and the list of suspects is long. Now, instead of getting a lovely tan and dipping their toes in warm waters, Mac, a police detective, and Clyde, a former police officer and tentative psychic, have to take charge and weed out the killer from among the stranded guests.

What a great scenario for a cozy mystery. The guests are trapped. One of them is a murderer. And there isn’t a snowballs chance of help reaching them.

Then throw in some very colorful characters.

Clyde’s mother, Rose, who says I told you so. Her tarot cards foretold dark deeds.

Vi, Clyde’s aunt, a self-proclaimed pet psychic, who can’t keep her cute little nose out of the case. Taking her own notes and poking into police business. I swear she was in hog heaven trying to figure it out.

Then there’s Lucille, Mac’s mom, who doesn’t see that this isn’t Clyde and Mac’s idea of a great vacation.

And on to the main characters, Clyde and Mac. I felt for them but had a lot of fun at their expense. The poor souls. Their romantic vacation is a bust and now they are snowed in with a murderer and their mothers. They were trying to get away from their families and instead have to bunk with them. It truly had me snickering.

I had a lot of fun poking around the hotel for clues, sitting in on the interviews, chilling out with the many guests, and discovering hidden passages.

And what’s a good cozy without some adorable dogs and a cat that appears to vanish and reappear out of thin air.

If you’re worried about reading this without having read the first two books, don’t be. The author gives snippets of information from previous events in just the right spots without slowing down the story.

I love cozies and when you add in a paranormal or supernatural element, you’ve made my day. ( )

A Fright To The Death is the third book in the A Family Fortune Mystery series.

Clyde and Mac are heading for Chicago to catch a plane for Mexico. They are driving in a blinding snow storm when find out that their has been cancelled. Just a few miles from home Mac decides to stop by the Carlisle Castle, a private home that has been turned into a hotel to wait out the storm. As luck would have it, the hotel is booked up by a group of knitters. As if their planned vacation on hold isn't bad enough, they soon learn that Clyde's mom and Aunt Vi and Mac's mother are there as part of the knitting group.

That evening at while everyone is having their dinner and getting to know each the hotel loses it's electricity and for some unexplainable reason the back-up generator refuses to start. Wallace Prescott, Linda Garrett, the owner and her daughter start to scurry around finding candles and flashlights and thinking that the generator will start anytime. A short time later there is a loud scream. Linda Garrett has gone to her niece Clarissa's room with a lamp, only to find her dead.

During dinner, Clyde and Mac observed some disagreements between Linda and her daughter Jessica, and Clarissa. They also overheard some of the knitters talking of run-ins that they had with Clarissa in the past. Mac decides that the death is definitely suspicious and decides, even though he has no real authority, that he and Clyde should begin to interview the owners, staff and guests. This way they can protect the crime scene and police can take over once the snow lets up and the roads are cleared.

Quite naturally Clyde's mom and her aunt want to help with the investigation and intend to use their psychic powers, as they have in the past. But it seems that the more questions that are asked the muddier the water become.

This is a very enjoyable series with an interesting cast of characters. Clyde and Mac's romance is blossoming. It's also enjoyable to listen mom and Aunt Vi to use their psychic abilities to sleuth and to provide pertinent clues to Clyde. Dad and Seth also arrive to help with investigation. For the pet lovers, Baxter, a Mastiff, and Tuffy, A Shit tzu had a paw in helping to solve the case.

Looking forward to the next book in this fun series. ( )