Judith Flynn owns the Hillside Manor, a bed-and-breakfast in Seattle. She and a few of the neighbors noticed a moving van and wondered what was going on. They soon discovered that someone by the name of “bus” was moving in. Little did Judith know at the time is that the people moving in were Vivian Flynn, her husband’s ex-wife and her new, much younger husband Billy Buss. Billy is a former minor league baseball player.
Judith just could not stand the thought of Vivian, whom she refers to as “herself”, moving in so close to her. Things have really changed for Vivian. She is now very wealthy. She was married to Billy’s father, Potsy, who left her everything when he died. This did not make Billy and his brother, Frankie very happy. Billy solved his problem by marrying Vivian.
Things were not too bad but then Vivian announced that she had plans to tear down her house and build a condo. This did not set well with Judith and the rest of the neighbors.
Billy’s brother, Frankie, and his wife come to town and stay at Judith’s bed-and-breakfast. Frankie has plans of his own to get back some of the money his father left to Vivian.
A body is discovered. Who is the victim? What happened? Judith does not really want to get involved in another investigation but she knows she must.
Does Judith find out who the victim is and what happened?
The zany characters really make this novel stand out. Mary Daheim does a great job with one, in particular, known as “herself”, who is the former wife of Judith’s husband. Judith makes her dislike for “herself” come through loud and clear and she makes many snide remarks behind “herself’s” back. She does an excellent job in describing “herself” and the reader can just picture this character in their mind. Mary Daheim always does an excellent job with this bed-and-breakfast series by adding something new to each novel. I feel Vi Agra Falls is Mary Daheim’s best novel yet. There is plenty of suspense, a great deal of humor and several zany characters that all combine in making this a fun and interesting read for everyone. Be sure to add “Vi Agra Falls” to your reading list.