The Aspen House by Ellis Drake

Book Info:

Immediately after graduating from college, Miranda Morton suffered a severe illness. Now she has 100 dollars in her bank account and is on the verge of homelessness. That's why she accepts a job she's totally not qualified for: personal chef to rock god Michael de Bracy at a remote mountain retreat. Although Miranda expects to face challenges in cooking for de Bracy and his five friends, her real problems turn out to be much more serious: three people are viciously murdered with an ax during a freak snowstorm, and no one sees or hears a thing.

Now Miranda finds herself stranded in the mountains with a killer. Even worse, she thinks the killer might be the man she's fallen head over heels for, Michael de Bracy. Can Miranda protect herself and her heart until the police arrive?

Miranda was desperate. She needed a job, and fast, and a perfect one just landed in her lap - as a private cook to a famous rock star who happens to be someone she harbors a secret crush for. She has no professional cooking experience but thinks she can wing it. It all goes well until a surprise blizzard has everyone locked in and people are being knocked off, and everyone wonders to whom they can point a finger, even the guy she thinks is cute. Everyone in the house is a suspect: employees, ranch hands, the band members, and a ghost which has been said to haunt the property.

Part mystery, part light romance, the story starts out sweet enough making the reader long for something to happen between Michael and Miranda. Miranda is very likable, and how she reacts to the situation at hand is realistic. As typical in most campy murder mysteries, it has gore, a little something lurking behind every corner, and love triangles to swim around.

All this equates to a fun summer read. Easily devoured on the beach (which is what I did), but be careful when you begin reading. The story moves along at a quick pace and is hard to put down once it is started. Recommended read.

Here's an excerpt from the story:

Trapped with a killer...

Miranda cracked open the hallway door enough that she could see the shadowy outlines of the bedroom furniture and a vague lump in the bed. Making her way toward it, she tripped on a sneaker and fell forward, catching herself on the edge of the mattress with her hands and letting go of the fondue fork.

But it wasn't the loss of her makeshift weapon that made Miranda gasp. It was the feel of the mattress beneath her palms. It was soaked with something thick, and warm but already cooling.

Blood. She knew it as surely as if she could see it. With a jerk, she stood up and took some quick steps backward, pressing the back of her hand to her mouth to hold in a shriek. Squeezing her eyes shut, she tried to take to slow, deep breaths.

And that's when she heard the creak of a step behind her.

Author Bio:

• Ellis Drake worked in museums as a curator and researcher for several years before she realized that she wanted to write mysteries.
• Where to find Ellis: Blog | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon Author Page
• Buy Link:Amazon

This review was part of a book tour. Here are other stops:

July 15 Dina Rae's Write Stuff   - Review
July 16 Blogging By Liza - Excerpt
July 17 Busy Moms Book Reviews   - Excerpt/Review
July 18  Over A Cuppa Tea  - Review/Guest Post
July 19 Succotash Reviews  - Review/Excerpt
July 20 My Cozie Corner   - Guest Post

Disclosure: This book was provided by the author and any opinions are my own.