Heaven Maine Mysteries, Book One
YA Mystery; Coming of age; YA fiction
Date Published: August 21, 2021
Showing posts with label Maine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Maine. Show all posts
Thursday, June 1, 2023
Tuesday, September 24, 2019
13 Steps to the Cellar
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| Mystery |
See below to sign up for the GIVEAWAY
There were thirteen steps to the cellar. They were steep and they were narrow—but was a fall down them enough to have caused the twenty-seven deep lacerations to her aunt’s head?
Callie Harris travels from her home in Alabama to her aunt’s former mansion in Maine to unravel the haunting forty-year-old mystery of Dr. Laverne Harris Doss’ brutal death.
Why wasn’t a murder weapon found? Was her uncle justly convicted of the killing? Was his mistress involved? Or was the murderer the bearded stranger rumored to have arrived by train that night?
In the charming town of Richmond, located on the banks of Maine’s historic Kennebec River, Callie uncovers the community’s darkest secrets—a botched police investigation, a betrayed widow’s lie, a dead woman’s blackmail, and a wealthy philanthropist’s shame. The web of intrigue extends far beyond Callie's suspicions and its connection to her personal story pierces her to the core.
My Review...
Well, this was a good book, hard to put down, easy to read
BUT...the ending didn’t end. Well, it did end but then, it didn’t, at least not
to me. I think it was because I wanted to know more about the characters and
their lives. I am in great hopes there will be a sequel. I bet some people
would tell you exactly the opposite and they thought it ended just fine.
The setting is in a small town in Maine, obviously not too
far from Ogunquit or Kennebunkport from the descriptions. It is, in fact, on
the Kennebunk river. The book’s main characters involve Matt, a builder and
architect and his mother Rachel. Also there is Callie who is visiting Maine to try and find what really
happened to her aunt who was murdered long ago. I say this about “main
characters" and yet there were a lot of characters in this story. Sometimes
this can be very confusing, but Teresa Mathews handled all of these characters
so well, they were never confusing to me. Actually this is the first time in a
long time where a “village” of people has been involved and yet I never seemed
to mix up who was married to whom; not even which ones were best friends. I
have a soft spot or two in my heart for a few other characters but won’t
confuse you by mentioning them all here.
The setting and scenes are so well described I was almost
sitting looking out at the river from Rachel’s house. In fact, I even had my
feet up on the front porch rail reading this book. Well, maybe all of this is a
little exaggerated, but I felt like it and I think that’s a pretty fine description
of a good book.
read an excerpt...
A man hovered over the crumpled body of the woman at the bottom of the cellar stairs. An awful, guttural sound forced its way up from deep in her lungs. A
cavernous head gash bled profusely, the blood pooling, forming a red halo around her auburn hair. Her glassy, fixed eyes looked up at Callie, pleading for help. I must
stop the bleeding, Callie cried. She hurried down the stairs, her feet heavy, her heart pounding. Why can’t I breathe? Why can’t I reach her? Why won’t my feet move
faster? She was only steps from her aunt when the grimacing man turned toward her, then looked back to Laverne and raised his hand for a final blow.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Teresa Mathews is a graduate of The University of South Alabama. She’s a member of the Mobile Writers Guild and serves on the Board of Directors for the Alabama Nursery and Landscape Association.
An avid gardener and artist, she has multiple book covers to her credit. Several years ago after visiting the site of her real-life aunt’s murder, Teresa discovered another passion–storytelling. Although inspired by an actual tragedy, Thirteen Steps to the Cellar is fiction.
Raised on the Gulf Coast, Teresa, her husband, and son now live on a farm with a second home on the sparkling white sands of Fort Morgan, Alabama.
facebook – TeresaMathewsauthor
THE BOOK IS $0.99 DURING THE TOUR
Wednesday, June 27, 2018
Death and a Pot of Chowder
Death and a Pot of Chowder by Cornelia Kidd
published by Crooked Lane Books
MY REVIEW
This is a really fun read set right in Maine. Not just in
Maine but right on the docks with all of the lobster boats. The setting is
Quarry Island Maine and if you aren’t from the Island you are “from away” and
are very unlikely to ever become what is referred to as a local. This is a
story about everyday people, living close to one another, trying to make a
living, and knowing each other’s business. Just like in every other small town.
One thing I absolutely love about this book is that each
chapter begins with a paragraph of a helpful hint each from a truly existing
book or letter or newspaper column although maybe from 100+ years ago. A hint
for cooking or a hint to cure an illness, or curing a pig, or how to save meat
through the hot summer, or how to set the table, or even to keep your husband
happy. Well you get my drift. Do not skip a one of them; they are hilarious.
Even more so since people thought they were all true at one time. They just add
to the scene and sense of place she writes about so well.
Cornelia Kidd does such a great job at descriptive writing
that you almost live on Quarry Island yourself or at least you sure want to.
Her characters are down home and yet sophisticated in their own way all at the
same time and her writing makes you a part of all of them. Don’t for a minute
think you’ll figure the bad guy out at the beginning. There are plenty of
twists and turns in this fun book.
This is Book 1 of a series titled “Maine Murder Mystery”. I
may be assuming this is going to be a series but I am really hoping Book 2 will
pop up soon.
***This book was provided to me free of charge in exchange for
an honest review.
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