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Carolyn L. Dean
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BED, BREAKFAST, and BONES: A Ravenwood Cove Cozy Mystery (book 1) Kindle Edition

by Carolyn L. Dean (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 13,720 ratings
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FIRST BOOK IN THE BEST-SELLING RAVENWOOD COVE COZY MYSTERY SERIES

Amanda Graham inherited a rundown bed and breakfast, a starving cat, and some dead guy who’s buried in her garden!

What should’ve been a simple remodeling project and a new business in a small Oregon beach town winds up with her uncle named as the number one murder suspect, a slew of odd neighbors and problematic townspeople, and Amanda wanting to just sit down and eat her weight in chocolate pie.
Sure, she could pack her bags and travel back to LA…or should she dig in, heal from her failed romance, and find a whole new set of friends and adventures in Ravenwood Cove?
And how could a quiet little coastal village have so many secrets? Includes the free recipe for Amanda’s (and the author’s) favorite cinnamon rolls. Mild PG rating (because hey, there's a dead guy in it).
Previous page
  1. Book 1 of 17
    Ravenwood Cove Cozy Mystery
  2. Print length
    391 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  5. Publication date
    July 28, 2016
  6. File size
    448 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01JBFLIKK
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Freeform Publishing; 4th edition (July 28, 2016)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 28, 2016
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 448 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 391 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 13,720 ratings

About the author

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Carolyn L. Dean

Carolyn L. Dean

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Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

USA Today Bestselling author

Carolyn's Website at http://CarolynDeanBooks.com

I've been writing and making stories in my head as early as I can remember. In third grade I came home, set my lunchbox down, and told my mother I wanted to be a writer. Luckily, Mom was supportive.

I've been a published author for a while now, under different names and genres, but the thought of writing about a small coastal town in Oregon, and about its loves and mysteries and holidays and people has been with me for years. To be honest, I am a bit scared to dump those ideas onto the written page, but hope you'll enjoy getting to meet the people who inhabit my imagination.

In real life, I'm married with kids, live on the West Coast of the US, and own a hobby farm just outside of my favorite small town. I love to travel, and can often be found strolling down a windy Oregon beach, holding onto the string of a high-sailing dragon kite.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
13,720 global ratings
You honestly will not guess who the real culprit is!!
5 Stars
You honestly will not guess who the real culprit is!!
Nothing like inheriting a run down bed and breakfast from a relative you barely know! Amanda is bound and determined to bring the B&B back to it's glory days. Of course there are some people in that small town who want her to fail. A stray cat adopts her--then a body is found buried in her backyard.Will she be able to help bring the town and the Bed and Breakfast back to it's former self while trying to figure out who murdered the man. You honestly will not guess who the real culprit is!!
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Top reviews from the United States

Turtle Parker
5.0 out of 5 stars super cute story!
Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2024
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I was kept entertained and riveted. The characters were well written and given a great storyline. Couldn’t put it down and read it in one sitting! Can’t wait to read the next one in the series!
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James J. Cudney IV (Jay)
4.0 out of 5 stars Cozy Mystery Fun - You'll want to open your own B&B just to find a body you can investigate!
Reviewed in the United States on October 25, 2016
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4+ stars to Carolyn L. Dean's BED, BREAKFAST, and BONES: A Ravenwood Cove Cozy Mystery, the first in this series about Amanda Graham's adventures in opening up a bed and breakfast on the coastal shores of Oregon.

Story
When Amanda Graham inherits an old bed and breakfast from her uncle who recently passed away, and she ends a relationship with a cheating boyfriend, a move from LA to a small sleepy town sounds exactly like what she needs. After arriving, she quickly learns it's anything but sleepy. The new mayor has it out for her, the town won't let her re-open the inn and a dead body turns up in her garden. After getting to know the various villagers, Amanda falls in love with Ravenwood Cove but she can't afford to stay unless she can open the inn for business. She quickly finds her allies, determines who may be out to stop her and solves the mystery of who put the dead body in her garden. Along the way, she learns her uncle was not a well-liked man, and she has a mysterious neighbor who has something to hide...

Strengths
For a debut cozy, this story sets up a wonderful little town full of good characters and lots of potential for drama, conflict and depth. The various shop owners' plights make you root for them to survive in a town where tourism is non-existent, but they have a hope for it to change. The history and relationships of all the villagers are intricate and appear to have some traction for future stories. Amanda's immediate ties to the town are strong and give you a good sense of why she wants to make this new life work.

Often in cozies, the protagonist talks a lot about how (s)he has no experience in searching for the killer -- almost to the point of it being too direct; however, in this series, even though it's obvious she's not trained in detective work, Amanda's instinctual skills and talents kick in very naturally. I never questioned why she was searching for the killer because it just happened along the way in a very realistic manner. I liked this change in a cozy.

The introduction of her potential suitors went well -- and I'm actually rooting for two men she has interacted with thus far - James and his brother Derek. It was only a small introduction, but fighting over 2 brothers would definitely be a good setup of trouble for the future.

Suggestions
I'd like to know more about her uncle and what happened to push him out of the town 8 years ago. I'm not sure if this was deliberately left open in book 1 to have a story to reveal in a future book or if this was just not anything of importance, but I found myself wanting a stronger and more immediate conclusion to this part.

Final Thoughts
This is the first book I've read by this author, and I definitely enjoyed it and will read another one soon. It has a lot of potential as a debut novel in this series, especially with likable characters, a strong background and setting to tell a story and a direct plot with some hidden clues and some guess-work. You can read it in a few hours one afternoon and walk away with a smile and a wish to visit your own sleepy little town. (But don't go finding your own dead body!)
5 people found this helpful
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I. L. McWherter
5.0 out of 5 stars Only the first in a great series
Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2023
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Thus far I have read 10 of the 17 books in this series and I have enjoyed every one. There are a lot of reviews regarding the plots and the people so I will not dwell on those. I enjoy reading cozy mysteries for many reasons but this has been one of the best series I have read. First of all it is in a US setting written by an American author. So many are written by British authors in England with all the difficult city/town names and the phrases and words that are unique to England that require me to use the dictionary so that I may understand. These books are filled with mystery and intrigue that can keep you interested without all the blood, guts and gore in intimate detail that many current mystery writers seem to use to maintain the reader's interest. Great books written by a great author, I hope you can enjoy them as much as I have.
4 people found this helpful
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sara
5.0 out of 5 stars Fun Read!
Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2022
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Such fun mystery read! Great characters, and a few twists. I found myself chuckling along with the characters, as well as right besides them as tensions rose. A great balance of fun, mystery, descriptive details, and a little romance. I can’t wait to read the rest of the series! Thank you to the author for sharing!
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mabg
4.0 out of 5 stars a nice light cozy
Reviewed in the United States on December 15, 2016
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There's a fair amount going on in this cozy, between the mystery and all of Amanda's problems as she's trying to settle into the Cove. The book is generally well written and has a likable main character, though to me, she seems a bit too good to be true (she's totally stressed about her own situation and has lots of work to do on the Inn, but still makes time to support all the other local businesses).

Amanda also seems inconsistent in her responses to James--sometimes she reacts as if she resents him, sometimes as if she's feeling pressured by any male attention, and sometimes there's no issue. Now those are all reasonable reactions for someone who's just gotten out of a bad relationship, but she keeps circling back around to reacting negatively to a look on his face or tone in his voice, long after the point when I felt she should be past that with him. Near the end of the book, there were still moments when I checked that it really was James she'd just run into, since her reaction felt more appropriate toward someone she disliked or distrusted. That's a little thing, I guess, but it felt odd and was one of the few aspects of the book that felt less polished, and kept knocking me out of the story.

Another issue for me was the mystery--it was a typical found body mystery with some added complications, but then it got resolved in a rush, and the resolution depended on Amanda's making a leap that I felt was a bit of a reach, especially since she didn't do much work to solve it. Having a weaker mystery is not unusual with cozies, though, since the characters, atmosphere and location often take priority.

My main issue with the book was the lack of descriptions. Although it seems like the center of the story ought really to be the Ravenwood Inn itself, Dean doesn't quite make that happen, mostly because she just doesn't describe the Inn well enough to make it real. Dean talks about there being oriental rugs and vintage/antique furniture in general, but never says what style the architecture is or describes many of the rooms.

Similarly, in the final chapter, Dean describes the Inn's opening party, but uses phrases like 'the stairway was decorated with flowers and ribbons' or 'there were trays of delicious food.' Those phrases are just too generic to allow the reader to really enter the scene, so there's a level of fuzziness or blur that affects how I imagined either the Inn or the characters to look, since Dean does the same thing with them. With many of the people, all we're told is their names and what they do or where they work, and that's not enough to make them feel real or help the reader keep track of who is who.

So this is a good book that could be better, but is fine for a light read, and maybe the next book will be stronger.
25 people found this helpful
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m.j.
3.0 out of 5 stars Totally predictable, Totally entertaning…
Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2024
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Chick lit at its best. Great characters and classic setting together with an interesting tale. Did I guess the culprit? Yes,I did but it was still a good read.
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deaner55
5.0 out of 5 stars Keeps you guessing
Reviewed in the United States on November 23, 2023
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Fast reading. Story keeps you on the edge of your seat. Looking forward to reading mor her books in the future, Love the that included a recipe.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars A great mystery which was impossible to put down
Reviewed in the United States on January 27, 2024
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I really enjoyed this first book in a series, and read it straight through! Multiple story lines which all worked seamlessly together. A great read.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Kirstin
5.0 out of 5 stars A delicious mystery
Reviewed in Canada on November 12, 2023
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A gorgeous old Inn with secrets, a roaming neighborhood rooster alarm, a handsome detective and a mysterious body uncovered in the garden equals a delicious recipe for cozy detecting. I have no doubt the cast of characters in Ravenwood Cove will create lots of entertaining chaos for its newest resident to dig into.
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Nikkib
5.0 out of 5 stars New cozy mystery series, great first book!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 3, 2022
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The first in a new cozy mystery series set in Ravenwood Cove, a small town in America. Amanda has inherited a run down house used as a bed and breakfast from her last surviving relative, with nothing to keep her in LA she moves to renovate the house back to a bed and breakfast.

When she arrives in Ravenwood Cove, it soon becomes apparent the Mayor, who runs everything in the small town, isn't keen on the bed and breakfast reopening, so rezones the area to residential only. When Amanda begins to receive visits from pest control, building control and the like, she soon gets the idea she's not wanted there.

When a body is found in her large garden, her deceased Uncle is top suspect, she realises she could lose her inheritance if the estate is sued, so she sets out to find out who killed the body who was buried, despite it being many years before. Along with James, local Detective and some new friends, she finds she may be able to make a life for herself after all.

Of course, as with all good Cozy Mysteries, there has to be a cat, this one is a large but scrawny ginger tom who decides he likes it with Amanda, oh and a large, noisy rooster called Dumb Cluck.

I really enjoyed this book and an looking forward to the rest of the series.
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Mystery set in a quiet town is an all time favourite!
Reviewed in India on October 28, 2018
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Good story with a rhythmic title! A nice whodunnit along with a recipe at the end! Overall a good page-turner.
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cheyenne
5.0 out of 5 stars Macht Spass zu lesen
Reviewed in Germany on May 1, 2017
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Amanda erbt ein grosses histirisches Haus, in dem ihr Onkel und ihre Tante ein Bed and Breakfast betrieben hatten. Sie beginntmit der Renovietung, um es erneut zu öfffnen. Das gefällt aber nicht jedem und so erlebt sie einige sehr unschöne Überraschungen. Es ist ein Buch über Neuanfang, Freundschaft und Gier. Sehr interessant zu lesen, die Story ist rund, man taucht mitten in die Geschichte ein. Gefällt mir sehr.
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Toots Sullivan
5.0 out of 5 stars Very enjoyable reading
Reviewed in Australia on November 9, 2018
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I just loved the characters in this book, good and bad, they are written about so well. There is a lot of mystery
, secrets, and a long ago murder and some new attempts to try and figure out. It’s a lot of fun with a hint of future romance all set around an old B&B. Very good imagination by the authour, wonderfully written fun and mayhem, so much more than a cozy.
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