Elisa Shoenberger has been building a library since she was 13. She loves writing about all aspects of books from author interviews, antiquarian books, archives, and everything in between. She also writes regularly for Murder & Mayhem and Library Journal. She's also written articles for Huffington Post, Boston Globe, WIRED, Slate, and many other publications. When she's not writing about reading, she's reading and adventuring to find cool new art. She also plays alto saxophone and occasionally stiltwalks. Find out more on her website or follow her on Twitter @vogontroubadour.
Some of you may be going through withdrawal as the most recent season of The White Lotus has ended. The setup is perfect – a hotel where all sorts of people mingle and mix that probably wouldn’t in their daily lives. And there’s a time limit – people will eventually leave. It’s a perfect mix for high emotions and devilish intentions. So if you need some more drama and murder at a hotel or motel, I’ve got you covered.
A Very Woodsy Murder by Ellen Byron
This recently Anthony-nominated cozy series features Dee Stern, a sitcom writer who is questioning her life choices. She decides to chuck it all and buy a midcentury motel in gold mining country in California. Running a motel with her best friend and ex-husband Jeff shouldn’t be any harder than dealing with the drama of Hollywood, right? Admittedly, there are definitely fewer bears in LA. Worst of all, Stern’s writing nemesis ends up checking into her motel but never checks out. Now she and Jeff have to figure out who else wanted the much-hated writer dead. Solid Gold Murder, book two in the Golden Motel series, comes out July 29, 2025.
The Plus One by S.C. Lalli
This book has been described as “White Lotus meets The Guest List.” Perfect. Shaylee “Shay” Kapoor was just the plus one at the biggest social event of the season held in Cabo. Her significant other, Caleb Prescott III, was the groom’s best friend, and this wasn’t just a wedding, but the unification of two of the wealthiest and most influential Indian-American families. No expenses were spared. No one would have predicted that the wedding coordinator would find both the bride and groom shot dead on their wedding morning. Kapoor finds herself drawn into the case using her outsider status to help her pull apart this tangled thread of lies and deceit.
Scot Free by Catriona McPherson
Lexy Campbell may work as a therapist, but she has to sort out her own life first. Within a year, she left Scotland for California, got married, and got divorced. She’s only got one thing left before she heads back to her native land: help two elderly clients get divorced. But instead of untying the knot, someone decided to blow up the husband with fireworks, and the wife is the number one suspect. Lexy finds herself drawn to clearing the wife’s name, but that means finding a place to live for now. That’s how she ends up at the Last Ditch Motel, which has its own quirky residents. You’ll love how Lexy tries to understand weird U.S. American ways with her new friends. It’s the first of seven books so far; the seventh, Scotzilla, was also just nominated for an Anthony.
The Haunting of Room 904 by Erika T. Wurth
In this paranormal thriller, Olivia Becente has been hired to investigate Room 904 at the Brown Palace in Denver, Colorado. No one understands how a girl is found dead in the room, every couple of years, even if she did not check into that room. Becente has to use her paranormal gifts which are a blessing and curse. She’s still haunted by her sister Niache’s own death. Little does Becente realize that this case will blow open all the things about her life and her late sister’s life.
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Dominoes, Danzon, and Death by Raquel Reyes
This is the fourth book in the Caribbean Kitchen Mystery series where the plot centers around a hotel…well, the hopes for a hotel. Miriam Quiñoes-Smith has been enjoying creating her culinary show, Abuela Approved, and raising her young children. Her husband Robert has been working hard on a hotel project at the local golf course, but when human bones are found in the excavation, Miriam is called in for her cultural expertise, along with other members of the community. But not all bones are what they seem, especially when a fake skeleton with her husband’s surname pops up in the harbor. Something is very amiss, and Miriam has to figure out what is going on, who is threatening her family, and why.
Want more books and hotels? Here’s an article about 5 Great YA Books Set in Hotels and Resorts. Or check out this article about being a “Book Butler.”
The following comes to you from the Editorial Desk.
This week, we’re highlighting a guide to reading short stories! If you’ve been curious about what short stories have to offer and want to make them part of your reading life, get to know the form and learn where you can find some good ones so you can get started right away. Read on for an excerpt and become an All Access member to unlock the full post.
May is Short Story month, so what’s on your reading list this month? Short stories are one of my favorite things to read right now. Life’s busy, and short stories are fiction that can fit into a hectic day. Instead of using the one-chapter-per-night method to work your way through a novel, what might it look like to read a short story each evening?
I love short stories precisely because they’re every bit as interesting, complex, and beautiful as longer fiction, but they’re more realistic to read when you’ve got a lot going on.
I have a confession: I used to hate short stories. Okay, okay, maybe “hate” is too strong a word. Let’s just say that I basically refused to read them. You might be wondering why I would have such a strong aversion to short stories.
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