Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Veteran Delany kicks off a new series set in a 1950s Catskill Mountains resort. Elizabeth Grady was raised by her Aunt Tatiana while her mother, Olivia Peters, pursued a dancing career that made her famous and rich until she trusted the wrong man. Left with nothing but a Catskills hotel that she inherits unexpectedly, Olivia persuades Elizabeth to give up her bookkeeping job in New York City to help her make a go of Haggerman’s Catskills Resort. After all, it’s the heyday of the Borsht Belt, when New Yorkers flock to the Catskills’ high-end resorts and inexpensive bungalow colonies to escape the summer heat. What Elizabeth didn't expect is that, as she tells her best friend, Velvet, "I would manage the entire resort and everything to do with it, while she sips cocktails, looks gracious, and pops up now and again to charm the guests." Working endless hours during the busy summer season, Elizabeth finally has hopes of turning a profit, but they’re dashed when a guest is murdered and rumors of communist plots abound. The local police chief, discovering that the murdered guest’s cabin is filled with papers and maps, leaps to the conclusion he’s a communist spy and calls the FBI. The dead man’s next of kin, New York Times reporter Jim Westenham, insists that his Uncle Harold was a harmless retired professor writing a novel; he teams up with Elizabeth to investigate a crime the local police are putting on the back burner. Elizabeth must deal with whiny guests, clumsy staff, and nasty rumors spread by the competition while she, Jim, and Velvet attempt to solve the murder. Pitch-perfect period descriptions, a likable heroine, and a surprising conclusion will leave readers yearning for the sequel. Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

Former dancer, the glamorous Olivia Peters, and her daughter, Elizabeth Grady, run Haggerman’s Catskills Resort, with Olivia providing the star power and Elizabeth doing all the work. Things are looking up financially in their second year, although the owner of a neighboring resort has tried to sabotage their efforts by spreading unflattering rumors. When one of their guests, the reclusive Harold Westenham, is found dead and the police find The Communist Manifesto in his room, Olivia and Elizabeth, along with Harold, are accused of Communist leanings, a big problem in 1953. With the risk of losing business due to the murder and swirling rumors, Elizabeth investigates, along with Harold’s nephew, newspaperman Jim Westenham, who denies his uncle was a Communist. An immersive setting with details of running a Catskills resort in the 1950s (think Kellerman’s in Dirty Dancing) beautifully frame a story with plot twists and a cast of well-delineated characters.