Here comes book two. Yes, I read this right after book 1 (Chirp No More) and finished this about an hour. Just like the first book it was easy to read and their is another murder here. And again, the Carrier ladies are in the middle of it.
Same with the first book, the cast is introduced before the story starts. Here are another set of interesting characters. This time, they are not the locals of Shearwater but tourists who happen to book the only B&B in town--The Bird's Nest which is owned by the Carrier sisters--Abigail and Evalynn. Along with the guests, is a famous critic who will give their B&B another review, which this time they will make sure that it will be a good one, unlike the last one. This time, Abigail and Evalynn will make sure that The Bird's Nest will reach the outside confines of Shearwater and be known in the whole state of Maryland and in the East Coast, or the whole US in particular, to draw more guests and money in. That's the plan. Until, the plan got derailed and there might not be a B&B at all and they may have to finally close it because of an incident.
And of course, the said incident in this story is no other than a murder. Yes, a murder, again. This time, right in the heart of the sisters' inn. One of their guests was murdered. What would this mean to The Bird's Nest, or the sisters? In the midst of the chaos, Kitty, the sisters' mother, had a vision of a white knight coming for Abigail. Kitty's visions were always on the target. They never fail even if her knees fail her nowadays. Who is this white knight? A lot of interesting things happened in this book and adding in more outside characters is even more going to make this story a riot.
So, so far we have, a murder, a new face in town, and not to mention a storm that isolated the island-town from the rest of the state of Maryland. No cell signals or outside help could intervene. It's up to the Carrier ladies and their men, the sheriff and his not so reliable assistant to figure out who had committed the deed right in the sanctum of the Carriers. Honestly, here my guess as to who the culprit is, was wrong, though at some point, it started to get obvious who it was and I then started to change my hypothesis. The mix of characters surely threw me out and knowing they were tourists, not residents of town added to that. Even our esteemed ladies were unsure how to go about their investigations realizing again, just like the last time, that each guest staying at the inn has it in for the victim also. Everyone, again, had known the victim and each had his/her own motives for killing.
Aside from the new set of characters involved in this story, the difference from the previous one is the arrival of a new face who will likely end up as a permanent resident of Shearwater. That is Lance, the son of Henk the curator of the local museum. A Dutch who is according to Kitty is Abigail's white knight. And he sure did turn out to be, in more ways than one could ever imagine.
There is no way I could choose which of the two stories so far is better than the other. I think they bought entertain me and the mystery was totally puzzling but I think the killer was more obvious in the first story than the first. Saying that, does not mean that Chirp No more is less. And I don't have to decide which one is better because these two have both served their purpose well--to entertain, rouse my curiosity and interest, and of course, to affirm my love for mysteries. The two books did good on all counts.
I give this book 5/5 bottles of prescription pills. I can't wait to read the next installment in this series. It seemed like the Carrier ladies will always find a use for their special abilities. Thanks, Martha Carrier! I can't wait to find out what is the next incident that they will find themselves in the center of.
For those who are not yet into mysteries and are looking into testing the waters, The Shearwater mysteries is a good start. It is not so taxing that will have you confused and overwhelmed, but a light read. A light read that will almost make it seem like reading about a murder is fun.
Oh, get ahead of yourselves--I am not getting any younger while I wait around for more grandbabies!
- Anna B. Madrise, Ruffled Feathers -
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