A COZY & VINTAGE MURDER MYSTERY -- A REVIEW

Chris and Pamela Cross love the forties era, from the décor to the music. It doesn't hurt that Chris resembles Humphrey Bogart, and his impersonations of the Bogey Man are part of the draw to their restaurant. When it burns down, though, they must begin again. Nonplussed by the obstacles, however, they soon begin renovating a newly purchased vintage house that will become Bogey Nights.
Unfortunately, shortly after their purchase, a dead body shows up in the basement, compliments of their Labrador retrievers, Sherlock and Watson, and their "sniffing" skills. Soon an investigation is launched, the body is identified as someone once living in the old boarding house, and the time period of the death is the early 1940s.

When relatives of the decedent ask Chris and Pamela to unofficially investigate, the two are off and running, searching out clues and seeking the connections between the residents of the old boarding house.

Will their questions lead to more puzzling events? What does an old woman living in a retirement home have to do with the events from those days? And how will an old joint called Dapper Dan's figure in to the mystery?

Throughout Bogey Nights, I felt as though I were back in that vintage era, full of the colorful music and the ambience of the clubs and night spots. I loved peeking into the lives of the characters, in their youthful incarnations as well as their aging personas. Meanwhile, the present day Chris and Pamela's story, told in Pamela's first-person narrative, showed me a cozy and comfortable couple living an ordinary life, while pursuing extraordinary adventures. They felt real and as if they could be people I would love to hang out with, enjoying tea and cookies. A wonderful cozy read that kept me turning those pages; a five star read.