Tag: mysterious death

The Manor House by Gilly MacMillan

- Michelle Leave a comment

The Manor House by Gilly MacMillan transports the reader to a remote enclave in the English country side where two couples live vastly different lives in MacMillan’s latest psychological thriller.  Tom and Nicole have purchased land and built their dream house, courtesy of a lottery win.  Their closest neighbors, Sasha and Olly, live close by on an adjoining property in a stately manor, but all is not what it seems. When the ultimate tragedy occurs, the truth begins to trickle out slowly followed by a deluge.

After returning from a morning at the county fair, newly minted millionaire Nicole is shocked to find her husband floating in the couple’s pool.  In a panic she runs to the adjacent property of the Manor House for help.  Sasha and Olly, along with their housekeeper Kitty, assist Nicole by trying to help the situation.  Olly runs to the pool to help while Sasha and Kitty comfort Nicole.  The worst is confirmed when Olly returns with the grim news that Tom has died.  Nicole is left to mourn in the dream house they built and come to terms with Tom’s passing.  She is sure it is an accident but the police think he may have been murdered.  An unknown man has been spotted on the vast grounds over the last couple of weeks and Nicole starts to wonder if the stranger had anything to do with Tom’s death.

In the Manor House on the property, Olly and Sasha have an ideal life – Olly is working on his debut novel while Sasha teaches yoga on the grounds of the home.  The only other resident is their housekeeper, Kitty, who lives in the adjacent coach house.  At the same time as the police continue to investigate Tom’s death, questions arise about Olly and Sasha, their past, and how they came to live at the Manor House.   As detectives discover more about the couple they start to put the puzzle together – where is the current owner of the Manor House, Anna,  and how does Kitty fit in?

I really enjoyed The Manor House and how the author wove together parallel storylines along with alternating chapters highlighting the owner of the house’s intriguing history.  All of these combined elements make for a startling and troublesome backstory.  I found some of the plot twists and turns to be slightly far fetched and unbelievable. but overall, this was an another enjoyable roller coaster ride from Gilly MacMillan.  The Manor House has a final last twist right at the end that you won’t see coming!

Smile Beach Murder by Alicia Bessette

- Michelle Leave a comment

In this cozy mystery series kick off, author Alicia Bessette introduces us to the colorful cast of characters living on Cattail Island off the coast of North Carolina in Smile Beach Murder, the first book in the Outer Banks Bookshop Mystery series.  Callie Padget grew up on the island and has now returned from Charlotte after her job writing for a newspaper was eliminated.  As glad as she is to reconnect with her uncle and see long lost friends, the island holds bittersweet memories for her.  Years earlier, her mother fell off the lighthouse deck on Smile Beach and was killed.  It has never been clear to Callie what exactly happened the night her mother fell.  Was it an accident, murder or suicide?

Callie soon finds a job at the local bookstore where she spent many hours after her mother’s death reading everything she could get her hands on.  She also runs into long lost friend Eva Meeks, who runs Meeks Hardware, along with her sister.   Eva shares with Callie that she may have discovered a long lost secret of the island and is on the hunt for a buried treasure. During a late night phone call, Eva begs Callie to meet her at the lighthouse at Smile Beach to find out more about the treasure.  When Callie arrives, she discovers the worst possible scenario – Eva has fallen from the top of the light house in exactly the same way as her mother did 10 years ago!

As Callie begins her amateur investigation, she makes some of the residents angry along the way.  From the remaining family members who run Meeks Hardware to the richest family in town, Callie has a tendency to stir the pot when she uncovers clues that may indicate that Eva did not jump off the lighthouse and was pushed.

Simultaneously investigating her mother’s mysterious fall and the most recent event at the lighthouse, Callie learns the hard way how sticking her nose into the investigation can be risky as she is attacked by a masked perpetrator who she believes was trying to throw her off the trail.  Soon thereafter, she befriends the new martial arts teacher in town, Tony Dodge, and a budding romance ensues after he offers to give her private self defense courses.

As Callie gets nearer to uncovering what truly happened to her mother and to Eva years later, another victim is discovered.  Callie wonders if she will uncover the truth before she becomes the next victim.  Bessette not only has written an engaging mystery, she has also made the setting of the Outer Banks come alive to the reader.  The sand, breeze and salty air are vivid in this debut mystery.  If you are looking for a cozy mystery that has a spectacular setting and memorable characters, pick up Smile Beach Murder, the series launch of the Outer Banks Bookshop Mystery series.