Dead and Berried by Karen MacInerney

I’m currently reading Dead and Berried, the second book in the Gray Whale Inn mystery series featuring female-sleuth Natalie Barnes. Natalie owns the Gray Whale Inn bed & breakfast on Cranberry Island, Maine.

This book opens with Natalie being awakened at 3:30AM by noises above her head - her bedroom is right below the attic. She thinks it’s just the wind, but the soft ‘thump-thump’ and creaking noises keep re-occurring. Natalie screws up her courage and goes to the attic to investigate. Nothing is there.

Natalie heard from a friend that the 150-year old inn is haunted. Of course, she heard that AFTER she bought the inn. The story goes that in the 1850’s a young girl cook was murdered there, and the locals swear they’ve seen lights in the windows at night when the inn was empty, One local gent who was inside the inn making repairs said he saw a ghostly lady on the stairs wearing an old fashioned dress.

So Natalie goes to the Cranberry Island Historical Museum to do some research and speaks with librarian Matilda. Matilda has information that says the dead girl was stabbed to death in the servant’s quarters, which were above the kitchen. Natalie realizes with a start that her bedroom is right above the kitchen! Yikes!

I don’t think I’d buy an inn (or a home) that was reputed to be haunted. I’m sure there are several people that would love to stay in a haunted inn. Let’s get the marketing people ready on that one!



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