Rumored to have once been a brothel, the scene of a murder and have a hidden cache of gold coins and recently restored by young Ashley, the house attracts a lot of visitors. Not all of them, however, are welcome. As the tour comes to an end, Ashley returns to the library where she finds her beloved mentor, Professor Binkie Higgins, fire poker in hand, standing over the body of his nemesis Sheldon Mackie, on whom Higgins has always blamed the death of his sister. 

Higgins protests that though he hated Mackie, Mackie was dead when he found him. Ashley believes her old friend, but her boyfriend, Detective Nick thinks things look pretty bad for Mackie. Ashley begins to look at Sheldon’s life and learns he may have been part of a payroll heist years ago, but how does that fit into this present day murder? And why has one of Ashley’s closest friends also been murdered in the house and who send old asthmatic Mrs. Pendry a large enough bouquet of flowers to kill her and is Ashley next and is her house the root of all evil in the town?  

Murder on the Candlelight Tour has a lot of potential but never quite picks up steam and comes together. There are a lot of storylines that all come together in the end with all the problems solved – though only through coincidences, many times implausible. The characters are very flat and seem like they should be interesting to get to know, but they are never fully involved. 

In addition, there is not enough exposition or back story to draw new readers into Ashley’s world. Her relationship with business partner Jon seems closer than her relationship with Nick and her relationship with Melanie is very uneven. A pleasant Southern atmosphere, paired with the Christmas season, will make readers wish for more of a plot and more developed characters.                                                              

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry