Death by Windmill by Jennifer S Alderson

Death by Windmill is the third book in Jennifer Alderson’s Travel Can Be Murder series.

Lana Hansen is back with yet another murder mystery. This time, Wanderlust tours is hosting a mother’s day special tour to Netherlands. Dotty and Sara join the trip and so do the Fabulous Five ladies (sans Rebecca) whom we last saw in Death at Danube. Lana is in for a surprise when someone else joins the tour. Meet Gillian Hansen, Lana’s estranged mother. Lana is a little angry at Dotty for inviting Gillian but Dotty wasn’t wrong in taking this decision – she wants Gillian and Lana to reconcile.

The guides Lana and Randy take the guests to The museum of Bags and Purses, tulip fields and windmills, best restaurants in town and shopping! Tragedy strikes at the windmill when one of the guests is hit by one of the windmill’s blades and falls to her death. The Dutch police suspect murder and guess who was seen near victim seconds before their death? Gillian!

Let me start this review by saying I am huge fan of Jennifer Alderson’s Travel Can Be Murder cozy series. Jennifer is a master storyteller. I have been to Budapest, Paris and Amsterdam without leaving the comforts of my home, thanks to Jennifer. 😀 With the lockdown in effect, this book was definitely a welcoming read.

Jennifer currently lives in Netherlands so I kept my expectations high about the tourist spots she would include in this book. Were the details up to my expectations? Definitely yes! In fact, it was way above my expectations. I cannot wait for the lockdown to be relaxed so that I can pack my bags and go on a month long trip to Netherlands. The Tulip fields and windmills ,the famous Indonesian restaurant Kantjill and de Tijger, and many more. The Museum of Bags and Purses are permanently closed so if you know how to time travel, let me know! I would love to pay this museum a visit!

I do get a little carried away when it comes to traveling and visiting new places…

Travel can be Murder series is getting better and better with each new addition. Danube, Paris and now Amsterdam, Lana is surely having loads of fun. In this book, we see Lana facing her past – the relationship with her mother and her dismissal from Seattle Chronicle. Priscilla, the ex-CEO of a company who filed a lawsuit against Lana’s report on environmental pollution, is one of the guests on this tour.

Gillian seems to be avoiding Priscilla. Another mother-daughter pair seem to be holding a grudge against Priscilla and so is Anne, one of the Fabulous Five ladies’ daughter. Almost all of the guests had an axe to grind with Priscilla. But who would want her dead? Suspects are plenty and so are the motives. But the Dutch police has their eyes set on one of them – Gillian. Lana wants to prove her mother’s innocence and bring the real killer to justice before it is too late.

I have been following this series from the start and it was really good to see Lana’s new look. From someone who had a non-existence dating life, a boring job and no hopes in life to someone is confident, willing to make changes and move out of comfort zone, Lana has come a long way. Randy, whom we last saw in Death by Baguette, has a surprise for Lana. I am eager to see how this ‘surprise’ would change Lana’s life and the series plot. 😀

The mystery behind the murder kept me guessing until the end. The red herrings are plenty so give your grey cells a rest. Although the clues were all there, the identity of the killer was well-hidden.

Excellent character development, a murder mystery that keeps one guessing and a free (virtual) trip to Amsterdam make Death by Windmill a must-read book of this year. If you are really itching to go places but cannot due to lockdown, this book is the perfect read for you!

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There’s a giveaway for this tour. Giveaway details are here.

Many thanks to Lori for the blog tour invite.