I won a load of books from the author last summer through an Instagram Author Hop. I got six books from the author. Yes! Six paperbacks. Seemed like I hit the jackpot. Thank you again, Anna B. Madrise for the books. I have two down and four more to go. So far, I have enjoyed The Shearwater Mysteries. Looking forward to reading the rest of your books.
This is my first time to read a book by the author and I do not know what to expect. She seems to be into different genres. I decided to venture into the Shearwater mysteries first as a lot of people commented that this series is really good. And I love mysteries. Here it comes.
This is a mystery with a sprinkling of comedy and supernatural with also a little romance on the side. Yes, this seemed liked a neat little book with almost everything in it. It was so easy to read. I think I finished this within an hour while minding the small fashion store of my sister. I was not surprised to find that I liked the book. I love the characters. The Carrier ladies are really adorable, especially Kitty, the mother. She's an eccentric yet very lovable character. She puts a lot of life and hilarity in this story. I think she brought the word comedy to this story. No, she's not a comedian but her witty retorts are just so hilarious. Right on the mark.
The town itself, Shearwater is a quaint little town. A very perfect setting for very quaint characters with quirky personalities. What I love about the author is she listed all the characters in the story before the first chapter starts. It was like introducing each character to the reader formally. The introductions were done clearly without the possibility of anyone mistaking one character for the other. And of course, the town of Shearwater is introduced too. How it is such a fitting and special town that creates a perfect backdrop for this story.
The story starts with a dead body. Yes, someone died in the first chapter. What turned this peaceful tourist town in a fuss was the fact that the dead woman was not liked by everyone. It seemed like the people who were not in the town meeting, who were considered persons of interest in the murder had each a reason to push the victim to her death. And in the midst of this is Abigail Carrier. A clairtangence, just like her sister Evalynn, who can see a person's memories just by touch. Her abilities came in handy but it was not easy-peasy. Her visions were not straightforward or clear. They are just snatches and it is up to the Carriers to figure out what those visions all mean. Whether they'd lead to the murderer or not, Abigail and Evalynn, with the Kitty pitching in from time to time, would need to do a little sleuthing to piece together facts to identify the murderer.
If I were Abigail, my first suspect would have been Peter Bakerfield. I am a mystery fan and I have read lots of mysteries. As I have mentioned, it's my favorite genre and my bookshelf is filled with varying mystery authors. So, I sort of have this habit of guessing the murderer or the culprit whenever I read mysteries and crime thrillers. Here it was Peter. He sort of planted himself in to the thick of things. The fact that he went back to the crime scene, to scout or probably get some items left that may point to him, is one indication. It just so happened that Abigail was there also and bumped into him. Second thing that led me to believe it was him was that he mentioned someone who might have done it. Trying to misled Abigail's investigation by pointing his finger to someone else is definitely a sign of guilt. Third thing was, he sort of misdirected Abigail's attention from him by supposedly being interested in dating her so she would not be focused on her sleuthing. And a lot of other clues that more or less pointed to his direction. Good thing, the Carrier ladies talk a lot and they examine everything from all angles. Points for Abigail too for not totally believing everyone, including being misled by Peter's supposed to be affections for her.
I totally enjoyed this story. Yes, someone died but it was not gory or morbid at all. This is probably the lightest murder mystery I have ever read. Light because of how fun this quirky characters make the investigation sound. I can't wait to read the second book of this series. What else would the sisters get themselves into this time?
I give this book 5/5 historical plaques. I haven't been reading a lot of mystery stories lately. I try to diversify my reading and read all other genres. My readings have been a mixture of a lot of other genres but mysteries have not been included into the mix until this book came. This reminded me of my first love of the mystery genre. This is how I got addicted into reading, buying and spending sleepless nights with my head buried in a book. I just got this feeling that I never get reading other genres when reading a mystery. Especially mystery and suspense books by my favorite authors. I just get lost in the pages and be immersed in them for as long as it takes. Thank you, Anna B. Madrise for reminding me this great feeling of having unraveled and solved the mystery myself.
Did I mention that the book includes recipes too. Yes, for someone like me who is also interested or more of a frustrated chef, I find these recipes really helpful. I will try them one day and see how they taste.
Good job, honey; ya couldn't have done it without us.
- Anna B. Madrise, Chirp No More -
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