There is an old saying: You can never go home again. Perhaps, a more true statement might be that you SHOULDN'T go home again. 28-year old Agnes Blythe has returned to her hometown, only to have her life implode. She can't escape the ghosts of her high school self, her professor boyfriend breaks up with her because he's been sleeping with the local pilates instructor, she loses her job, and then on top of it all, she becomes a murder suspect. One body.....then two bodies....then three. Seems anywhere but Naneda, NY might be better for Agnes. She teams up with her great-aunt Effie to sleuth and to restore the dilapidated, old family inn. Hopefully it will only be the old inn that's condemned, as the bodies start stacking up.

Bad Housekeeping is heavy on the humor and small-town charm and light on the mystery, as with most cozy mysteries. I love the characters in this first book in the Agnes and Effie Mystery series. Agnes believes carbs will cure all ills, and Effie turns to cigarettes and liquor. Agnes is reeling from sudden life changes, but is supported by her eccentric and outspoken great-aunt. As a team, they really kick some butt. Add in Cousin Chester and local hunk Otis to round out the group and it really turns out to be a fun group of characters working to save the Inn and ferret out a killer. The group reminds me of a grown-up Scooby Doo team, minus the dog. I found myself totally rooting for them all the way! I half expected the killer at the end to be Old Man Smithers in a disguise. :)

I will definitely be reading more of this series. It was a fun, light-hearted read that made me laugh out loud several times. I like the characters and the concept. This was an enjoyable read from beginning to end. The mystery was well-paced, the humor was great, and there were plenty of suspects.

Maia Chance is the author of several other cozy mysteries. For more information on the author and her books check out her website: http://www.maiachance.com/

**I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this book from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.**

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Review:

In my opinion, this cozy mystery is an okay read. I enjoyed the mystery aspect of it but I had a hard time connecting to Agnes, maybe it was her choice of boyfriend that had me annoyed or the fact that she seemed a bit of a pushover when it came to him. I thought that Aunt Effie was more with it when it comes to men. As far as the mystery itself went I enjoyed that aspect of the book.The setting was charming and the fixer/upper part I always like in a book. There was a fair amount of action in this book and quite a few red herrings that I fell for. This was not an easy mystery for me to solve despite the problems I may have had with Agnes she does a good job as an amateur sleuth. Effie and all of her antics were very amusing.

Final Thoughts:

This cozy does have all of the aspects of what I like in a cozy. it has the setting, the quirky characters and the murder mystery that stumped me. I will read more of this series. i am hoping that Agnes will develop more of a backbone when it comes to men.This review was originally posted on Cindy's Book Binge ( )

It could be me, it could be this author, it could be the genre of "Cozy Mystery"....

I didn't really like the two main characters, but I did like the other characters, even the one who done it....

Let's see; Agnes & Effie, her aunt/grandmother (I forget, and it's not important to me) are working to restore the old mansion/inn that Effie has just purchased... It is run down & thanks to the nasty head of the local historical society has been slated to be demolished.

Eventually the nasty woman is murdered and there are no few suspects, including her daughters...

The book mostly held my interest & I didn't skip as much as I did when reading the author's other books. ( )

What a funny, quirky new series. I loved all the characters especially Agnes and her great aunt Effie. I have not read books by Maia Chance before, but I have to say I'm an instant fan. It has been a while since I enjoyed a cosy mystery as much as this one.

I can't wait to read the next book in the series.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book. ( )

After Agnes Blythe puts Roger her professor boyfriend through grad school, he dumps her for a yoga instructor. She stomps out of their apartment, without her purse or packing any of her belongings. She's now stuck living with her dad, sleeping in her childhood princess bedroom, and wearing clothes that she wore in high school ten years ago. Then at the library she insults Kathleen Todd, chair of the local historical society. What now? Maybe she'll help her Great Aunt Effie clean out the condemned inn she inherited. Effie only has one week to bring the wiring up to code. Kathleen Todd had blackmailed the local inspector to set a deadline for demolishing the inn, since she wasn't able to buy the inn before Effie inherited. Kathleen remains a troublemaker after Agnes and Effie find her, strangled by her own scarf where it was caught in the wringer of an old washing machine.

Rumors start flying that Agnes and Effie killed the woman. Agnes is smart enough to realize that the killer started the rumors. With Effie's encouragement, Agnes finds her spirit of adventure, and the duo launches their own investigation. One-by-one the people they suspect are being killed. And Effie and Agnes are on the scene to find each body.

The rumors, bodies, and crimes all pile up in mystery. Agnes and Effie are only responsible for some of those. Bad Housekeeping is a funny mystery with a great cast of characters. I got an ARC from netgalley and crooked lane books. ( )