I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Murder at Blackwood Inn
by Penny Warner
Series: Haunted Dead and Breakfast Mysteries #1
Series Rating:
Published by Crooked Lane Books on September 23, 2025
Setting: Pelican Point, California
Genres: Cozy Culinary Mystery
Pages: 281
Format: Audible Audiobook, Hardcover, Kindle, Paperback
Source: NetGalley
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Get Your Copy at: Amazon
A haunted house and the occult are the least of Carissa Blackwood’s problems when her eccentric aunts are accused of murder in this cozy series debut by multiple award–winning author Penny Warner.
Ghostwriter Carissa Blackwood is having the worst year of her life. After leaving her cheating husband, she finally takes up the offer to help her two eccentric aunts manage the Blackwood Bed ’n’ Breakfast Inn in Pelican Point, California–a house they only recently inherited from their deceased father, Bram Blackwood. The old man dabbled in the occult, and his daughters haven’t fallen far from the family tree. Aunt Runa is into crystals and plans to hold séances at the reportedly “haunted” house. Aunt Hazel has an herbary and offers herbal cures for everything from headaches to paranormal visions. But it’s Hazel’s poison garden that really concerns Carissa.
When one of the townspeople dies from a poison that could have only come from Aunt Hazel’s garden, the town is quick to point fingers. It doesn’t help that one of Aunt Runa’s charms is found at the scene of the crime. With a little help from Noah, the mysterious and handsome handyman; Aiden, the charming newspaperman—and the ghost of Carissa’s grandfather—it’s up to Carissa to clear her aunts and find the real killer before someone else is checked out for good at the B&B.
Murder at Blackwood Inn by Penny Warner follows Carissa Blackwood as she goes to help her aunts run their bed-and-breakfast in a small coastal town off the northern California coast.
Who would want the Blackwood Bed ‘n’ Breakfast to be shut down for good?
Carissa Blackwood
Carissa Blackwood is the only child of the three Blackwood siblings. Her father is the only boy in the family and the youngest, and he doesn’t really want anything to do with the house. Carissa was a ghostwriter before moving to Pelican Point, and she needs some fresh air. She never expected to actually need to solve a crime in real life since she did that for a living to sell books. I have to say that I do like Carissa, as she knows a bit more about solving crimes than the average amateur sleuth, but she still does need help. I like Carissa.
The Mystery
Carissa Blackwood didn’t find the dead body of the townsperson who had recently died after attending an event at the Blackwood Bed ‘n’ Breakfast. However, that doesn’t stop her from looking for and finding the culprit. Ms. Warner definitely had me going throughout this book. I literally had no idea who it could be, but I did have an inkling of who it could’ve been. Except I kept talking myself out of it until that person revealed themselves as the killer.
Four Stars
My rating for Murder at Blackwood Inn by Penny Warner is four stars. I am definitely going to be checking out some more of Ms. Warner’s books. Ms. Warner is a fantastic author. She definitely kept me guessing on who had the best motive to be the killer.
Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Murder at Blackwood Inn by Penny Warner.
Happy Reading!
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About Penny Warner
Penny Warner has published over 80 books, fiction and non-fiction, for both children and adults. Her 3X award-winning middle-grade mystery series, THE CODE BUSTERS CLUB (Lerner Books), featured four diverse kids who solve mysteries by cracking codes. Currently there are ten books in the series, with two more coming out in August, 2025. The books are also available in Japanese and Korean, and offer a total of 23 code-busting mysteries. She does school events for elementary students where she talks about how she writers her mysteries, and offers some code-busting fun, along with Top Secret code packets.
Her latest adult mystery, MURDER AT BLACKWOOD INN (Crooked Lane Books), is set in Pelican Point (aka Bodega Bay), and features a mystery ghostwriter who moves in with her two eccentric aunts to help with their new Bed and Breakfast Inn. You’ll find cats, ghosts?, and a hot handyman…of course, murder ensues… (Due out Sept. 2025)
She has also written Anthony Award-nominee, THE OFFICIAL NANCY DREW HANDBOOK, and is the author of three other adult mystery series, including DEAD BODY LANGUAGE (optioned by Academy Award Winner, Marlee Matlin), HOW TO HOST A KILLER PARTY, and DEATH OF A CHOCOLATE CHEATER. She and her husband Tom create fund-raising murder mystery events for libraries across the country.
Penny has a Bachelor’s degree in Child Development and a Master’s degree in Special Education, and taught child development at the local college for over 30 years. She lives in Danville, California and has two grown children and four adorable grandchildren. Penny and Tom don’t go anywhere without their Maltese/Shitzu rescue, Buster. He loves the RV and his bike chariot!
^taken from her author’s website
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 2025 Cloak and Dagger
- 2025 Craving the Cozies
- 2025 Cruisin' thru the Cozies
- 2025 Goodreads RC
- 2025 Medical Examiner Mystery RC
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