The next fall: The Pleasant Inn
Margaret Rudley hung up the phone. “That was the book reviewer from the Brockton paper,” she told Rudley. “He wanted to know what we thought of Mr. Thornton’s latest book.”
Rudley paused, his pen poised over his paperwork. “And?”
“I told him the photographs were lovely.”
“I agree, Margaret. Much better than the ones in his previous book. What was that? Famous Outhouses in Ust’shchugor?”
“Something like that, Rudley. Anyway, he wanted to know what effect the book had had on our business.”
“I can’t see that it’s had any effect. The story was in all the papers, in any event. I haven’t noticed any fall-off in our reservations.”
“In fact ” — Margaret sighed —“I would say there’s been an increase in inquiries, as is usually the case after one of these things.”
“People are ghoulish.”
“I did tell the reviewer I didn’t like the cover much. That picture of a little Santa hanging by his neck…that was a bit uncalled for.”
“With any luck, it might have a negative effect on sales.”
“Quite the opposite. The reviewer says he thinks it will do quite well.”
“In that case, perhaps we should sue him.”
“I don’t think we can, Rudley. Not if the book is factually correct.”
He shrugged. “I imagine you’re right.”
“It will all blow over. It always has.”
“Yes,” he agreed, “and it wouldn’t be the first time someone has profited from insider knowledge. I suppose he couldn’t resist the temptation. In fact, Margaret, I wouldn’t be surprised if that were his intention from the beginning — coming here to get the inside story of an inn with a history. Planting those wretched little Santas to add a little spice. And Tiffany thought she was the main attraction.”
“Now, Rudley, we don’t know if Mr. Thornton had anything to do with the Little Santas.”
“What about that felt-tipped pen Tiffany found under his bedside table after he left? The Little Santas were defaced with a felt-tipped pen.”
“Felt-tipped pens are not uncommon.”
“No, but the one Tiffany found was the same brand we use here. I’ll bet Thornton stole one from the desk.” He gave the register a triumphant thump. “Case solved,” he said. He gave her a lopsided smile.
“You’ve taken this very well, Rudley.”
“In the grand scheme of things, we didn’t come out badly. No one seems to think any less of us.”
“I don’t think they could, Rudley.”
“And we didn’t lose Tiffany to that idiot. And the whole episode wasn’t as dreadful as it could have been.”
“It was pretty awful, Rudley.”
He signed an invoice with a flourish. “It was a friend-killing-friend situation. It could have happened anywhere. It’ll make future guests feel more secure, knowing they won’t be killed by strangers.”
“That’s true. It is more likely you will be killed by someone you know.”
“And,” he said, “according to Doreen’s postcard, Walter has recovered from his surgery and is in wonderful spirits.”
“He’ll be ready for Halloween then.”
He smiled. “I’m looking forward to that, Margaret. I think I’ll dress up as Santa Claus.”
She gave him a stern look. “Be nice, Rudley.”
“Aren’t I always?”
About the Author
Judith Alguire’s previous novels include Pleasantly Dead, The Pumpkin Murders, A Most Unpleasant Wedding, and Peril at the Pleasant, the first four books of the Rudley Mysteries, as well as All Out and Iced, both of which explored the complex relationships of sportswomen on and off the playing field. Her short stories, articles and essays have also appeared in such publications as The Malahat Review and Harrowsmith, and she is a past member of the editorial board of the Kingston Whig-Standard. A graduate of Queen’s University, she has recently retired from nursing.
Print book ISBN 978-1927426-26-5
EPUB ebook ISBN 978-1927426-27-2
Kindle ebook ISBN 978-1927426-28-9
Margaret Rudley has finally persuaded her husband to take a vacation, a week-long canoeing expedition in Northern Ontario. Rudley hates the idea of leaving the Pleasant, but he is reluctant to deny her a cherished dream. They set off, with long-time guests Elizabeth Miller, Edward Simpson, and the Phipps-Walkers, and a pair of neophytes, Vern Peters and Eric Turnbull. They leave the Pleasant and a few regular guests, including the Sawchucks and their incorrigible eight-year-old grandchildren, Ned and Nora, in the capable hands of Mrs. Millotte.
But contrary to their hopes, it is chaos at the Pleasant. Ned and Nora disappear and a ransom note is received by the local paper. Tiffany encounters an intruder in the kitchen. The laundryman’s truck is stolen. And a serial murderer is on the lam in the vicinity. Detectives Brisbois and Creighton are on the scene to investigate these various crimes, including the appearance of a dead body in a ditch a few miles from the Pleasant.
Meanwhile, the canoeists continue downriver, oblivious to the threat that lurks around the next bend.
Print book ISBN 978-1897109-99-1
EPUB ebook ISBN 978-1927426-07-4
Kindle ebook ISBN 978-1927426-11-1
Another summer, and The Pleasant Inn, nestled in beautiful Ontario cottage country, is filled to capacity. This season is especially exciting, as perennial guests Miss Miller and her long-time admirer Mr. Simpson have chosen to marry at the Inn. The guests and staff are clamouring to be involved, particularly Bonnie Lawrence, a young wife adrift while her husband is off fishing. Margaret and Trevor Rudley are delighted to host the wedding, and barring Mrs. Lawrence’s obsessive interfering, everything is set to go off without a hitch.
But when a neighbour is found dead in the woods behind the inn, the possibility of a joyous occasion starts looking distinctly less likely. Detective Michel Brisbois, who is heading up the case, is back on the Pleasant Inn’s doorstep. Rudley barely tolerates the presence of the police, who are once again on site interviewing the guests as possible suspects. Even though she’s prenuptially preoccupied, the fearless Miss Miller refuses to be left out from solving yet another murder at The Pleasant…much to her own peril.
Print book ISBN 978-1897109-45-8
EBook ISBN 978-1897109-69-4
Autumn returns to Ontario cottage country. Leaves redden. Pumpkins ripen. And Trevor and Margaret Rudley, proprietors of the Pleasant Inn, expect nothing more than a few Halloween high jinks to punctuate the mellow ambiance of their much-loved hostelry. However, the frost is barely on the pumpkin when Gerald, a female-impersonator friend of the Pleasant’s esteemed cook Gregoire, turns up, dragging his very frightened friend Adolph behind. After witnessing a drug deal in Montreal, they’re on the lam, hoping to blend into the Pleasant’s pleasant rhythms until the heat is off. Alas, they hope in vain.
As the bodies pile up, the intrepid Elizabeth Miller jumps into the fray, fully armed with her peculiar intuition, her maddening charm, and her devoted swain, Edward Simpson, who proves a useful fellow behind the wheel of a car. Detective Michel Brisbois, in the past bested by Miss Miller in rooting out unpleasantness at the Pleasant, finds himself racing — quite literally — to keep up with his amateur challenger. But when the chips are down — as they inevitably are — it’s the laziest creature on Earth who ends up saving the day for the kindly and rather eccentric folk of Ontario’s most peculiar country hotel.
Print book ISBN 978-1897109-37-3
EBook ISBN 978-1897109-68-7
Trevor and Margaret Rudley have had their share of misfortunes at The Pleasant Inn, the cherished Ontario cottage-country hotel they’ve owned for twenty-five years. There have been boating accidents, accidental poisonings, and then there
was that unfortunate ski-lift incident. But this year their hopes are high for the summer season. However, barely a week goes by before their hopes are dashed. There’s a dead body making a nuisance of itself in the wine cellar, and it’s nobody the Rudleys know.
The guests at The Pleasant Inn, a wealthy and eccentric lot, are dying for distraction, and one of them, Miss Miller, sets out to solve the case of the deceased, relying on wild speculation, huge leaps of logic, and the assistance of her great admirer, Edward Simpson, who is too smitten to dissuade her from her adventure in detection. Challenging her in the race to resolution is the disciplined Detective Brisbois, whose deep-rooted insecurities about his style and status are aroused by the hotel guests’ careless assumption of privilege. When Brisbois stumbles into peril of his own, the intrepid Miss Miller is the only one left who can solve the crime.
Many Unpleasant Returns Page 25