Michael and Pam Tatum, owners of the Kot-Do-Init Inn in a small New Hampshire village, are the central characters in this amusing, and often perilous, story. The residents depend on the tourist traffic, and cancellations begin after the death of one of its own. Jim White died in a ski-mobile accident; he, a married man, was with Claire Dynor, a married woman. The Happy Morning Café, where all the locals meet, is abuzz with the news. Sam Bennings, the local newspaper reporter and investigator, is determined to find the true story behind Jim’s death. Roger Sundbee, a freelance investigative reporter, joins the pursuit. Karen Truesdell Riehl has penned a fascinating “whodunit” story in the fictional work, The Inn Game and Sins of Kot-Do-Init: Roger Sundbee Returns.

While many characters comprise this story, it is easy to keep track of each person’s motives and characteristics, due to this author’s story-telling skills. The reader can easily imagine each person, due to the realistic personalities and dialogues. Because the writing flows smoothly, the book is an easy and enjoyable read. Another interesting facet is how the author sets the stage of this modern-day tale of murder and affairs with the founding of the town four hundred years earlier. In The Inn Game and Sins of Kot-Do-Init: Roger Sundbee Returns, Karen Truesdell Riehl develops an engaging and yet thought-provoking tale. Is it possible that the origins of our towns have an everlasting effect on its residents? The early life history of the murderer is also at the core of the tale. There are many levels of wisdom within this fun novel – and that is one of the joys of this book.

The Inn Game and Sins of Kot-Do-Init by Karen Truesdell Riehl is a fiction novel that will appeal most to adults and young adults who are looking for an entertaining story to lose themselves in for an hour or two. The Inn Game and Sins of Kot-Do-Init takes place in the 1970s in a village of legend known as the village of Kot-Do-Init. The village was named Kot-Do-Init because its founder was caught “doing it” with the cook from an Indian tribe, and he was promptly banished from the tribe. The story takes place during tourist season in 1970 and follows various members of the town. The connecting factor of these different townspeople is the hunt for a lunatic and the constant swirling of all sorts of juicy rumors.

The Inn Game and Sins of Kot-Do-Init by Karen Truesdell Riehl is a well-written novel that makes for a short, entertaining read; the point of the book is simply to give the reader some entertainment. The Inn Game and Sins of Kot-Do-Init is not one of those novels that you need to struggle to understand, but instead one that you are able to just ride along with. My favorite characters would have to be Pam and Michael Tatum, the couple who owns and runs the inn. I liked how the couple interacted not only together as a couple, but also with the tourists and town members. Overall, I found that I really enjoyed reading The Inn Game and Sins of Kot-Do-Init by Karen Truesdell Riehl.