Seventeen-year-old Jen has grown up not really knowing her mother. After her mom ran off when she was just a little girl, the only contact Jen has had with her is short letters that arrived with gifts that arrived for her birthday and the usual holidays each year. Even that seemed to stop a couple of years ago.

As she is finishing up her junior year in school, Jen comes to the rescue for Grandma Kay, the owner of a bed and breakfast called the Schoenhaus. In fact, her grandmother has run the place for years and has become quite well-known for the mystery weekends she runs on a regular basis. Jen has always enjoyed helping out at the inn, she is not sure that she is thrilled be recruited this summer, particularly when she learns that Grandma Kay is going to use the mystery weekend as a chance to solve the family mystery.

Kay, who was really close to her daughter-in-law, never really wanted to believe that Jen's mom would have wanted to abandon Jen and her father. Now, Grandma Kay has come to the conclusion that death was the cause of Jen's abandonment, and using the mystery party as an opportunity to refresh everyone's minds about what happened at the time of the disappearance seems like a great way to get to the truth.

To make matters even more complex over the summer, Jen's boyfriend Kent broke up with her right after the prom. He was concerned that their relationship would not survive the distance that would come between them when he headed off to college in the fall. This way, they could stay friend. You would think she would want to get away from that situation, but the confusion broadens when she runs into Mark. Mark is her un-cousin ... they share a Grandma Kay, but not actual genes as they are both part of a blended extended family like so many other kids in the modern world.

The two become closer and closer over the summer as Jen works at the inn and they get quite a few chances to hang out together. Both insist they are just friends, though, because it would just be weird to be more. When they are thrust into the starring roles as fiances for the mystery party, everyone (including them) can't help but admit that there is more going on between them. Unfortunately, they may not be able to follow up on their feelings when the truth about Jen's mom comes out ... and they might not survive the big reveal.

This is a great example of a cozy mystery for teens, which is not really all that common. The Echo Falls novels by Peter Abrahams are the closest examples in YA literature. All of the players in the murder mystery party are quickly identified as suspects not only for the game, but also in the one related to Jen's mom.

Some of the suspects are better developed than others, but they definitely help set up an interesting background that seems to fit with the setting. They were presented in such a way that I, an avid mystery reader, was totally surprised by the conclusion of the mystery. There is no shortage of developing clues and distracting red herrings to throw the reader off the track. I think those who were fans of The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin when they were in middle school will fine this to be a pretty interesting step up into the realm of high school reading.