by Frances Devine
My Rating: 3.75 of 5.0
Format: Paperback
- Number of Pages: 256
- Vendor: Barbour Publishing
- Publication Date: 2011
- ISBN: 1602603979
- ISBN-13: 9781602603974
- Availability: In Stock
- Series: Hometown Mysteries
My Rating: 3.75 of 5.0
Product Description
In Cedar Chapel, Where Victoria Storm runs a senior boardinghouse, things are quiet. That is, until she enters the local pet store and finds Clyde Foster, the owner, dead, and his parrot, Watzit, frantically screeching. What clues will this bird reveal regarding a murder most foul? Unable to resist a mystery, Victoria, her fiance' Benjamin, and her senior cohorts begin their own investigation, landing them headfirst in a dangerous adventure. When their friend, Miss Aggie disappears, leaving a blood-stained trail, no one seems safe. Will Victoria live long enough to unravel the clues and tie the knot?
Review:
Victoria Storm runs a senior boardinghouse where she helps care for a group of characters who were her grandmother’s friends. Victoria goes to the pet store and discovers the body of Clyde Foster. Victoria takes the squawking parrot, Watzit, home to Miss Aggie who is one of the few who people who can calm the bird. Although it appears that Clyde’s death is an accident, Victoria, Miss Aggie and their senior friends do a little investigation on their own and they begin to find clues.
No sooner does the local sheriff declare the death a murder than Miss Aggie packs up in a fluster and races away from the house. Victoria is concerned when Aggie doesn’t call in and doesn’t get to her proclaimed destination. So now the search is on for Aggie as well as the murderer.
Miss Aggie had already been kidnapped in a prior book and there is an outstanding mystery involving missing jewels at her family estate. Victoria jumps to conclusions about possible suspects and tries, unsuccessfully, not to be jealous of the deceased’s attractive granddaughter who is very “catty” and has her claws out for Victoria’s fiancé, Ben. The antics of the seniors as they try to help in the investigation is endearing.
Unfortunately this story seemed contrived. I got the impression that the author was trying to pull in the events from a prior book, fit them into a new, but continuing mystery and tie them up. Actually the author succeeded in doing that but instead of feeling like an easy flow to move the story forward there was a great deal of ‘fill in’ material. There was a lot of making coffee and tea, checking bedrooms, waxing floors and furniture. Even the relationship between Victoria and Ben did not feel relaxed although that could have been due to her jealous nature popping up.
I did like the mystery surrounding Jack’s efforts to help protect and smuggle property out of Germany after World War II. The Book club ladies and I agreed that we didn’t feel warmed up by the characters or message. Although there were some moral and faith lessons shared, the faith and commitment of the characters seemed shallow. And we all wondered what happened to Watzit who disappeared from the story the same time Aggie went missing! This was an easy read and perhaps would have had a better response if we had read the prior books.
This was a book picked up for our Ladies' Book Club.
1> US Winner - Two Books: (used) copy of Miss Aggie's Gone Missing and new print of Rest in Peace.
2> Two winners US or Canada get new print of Rest in Peace.
* This contest is open US and Canada Only.
* This contest will close 10 PM (Central) on May 3, 2013.
The winner will be randomly selected from all entries.
WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED on May 4, 2013.
Winners will have 72 hours to respond by email or the winners form linked in the announcement.
Good review
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