Genre: Mystery, Suspense
Hardcover; Trade Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #: 9781635112993; 9781635112962
Henery Press Publishing
268 Pages
$31.93; $15.95; $4.99 Amazon
February 6, 2018
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After surviving a brazen attack at one of her favorite local cafes, Penelope Sutherland is ready to escape the big city and head to her next film set. She and her Red Carpet Catering Crew set up their kitchen on location in the tranquil mountains of Vermont. But peace and quiet aren't on the menu. It starts to get hot when a series of accidents befall the celebrity tennis pro consulting on the film. Then mix in an uptight director, an isolated location, and a quirky bunch of locals with secrets of their own and that's a recipe for disaster. Penelope soon suspects a connection between the cafe attack and the incidents on set, and you know what comes next. She must uncover the truth before her goose gets cooked.
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When Penelope Sutherland and her actress friend Arlena decide to have a quiet breakfast at a favorite outdoor cafe, they are joined by Penelope's friend Nadia, a tennis star. Nadia is going to be a consultant on a new film Arlena is doing, and they think this is the perfect opportunity for the two to get to know each other. But while everything at first seems to be fine, Penelope notices someone watching them from across the street. And then suddenly things turn violent - a couple of teenagers in hockey gear start attacking the customers, in an obvious attempt to rob them. Shaken by the attack and the fact that while she and Arlena are safe, Nadia has been slightly injured, and a friend is dead.
But there's no time to dwell on it - they need to be in Vermont to start filming. When Penelope arrives, she's not expecting what's to come: the director Jeremiah (and owner of the place where they're staying) is a somewhat New Age Eco-nightmare. He's also expecting everyone to begin their day with meditation, not one of Penelope's strong points.
But then she sees the same man she saw outside the cafe, and she begins to think that someone on the crew might have a stalker; she's not dealing well with panic attacks since the incident occurred, and there's no way to reach the outside world except by driving halfway to town - which gives her the one link to her homicide detective boyfriend, Joey.
Penelope soon realizes that things aren't always what they seem, and with trying to keep Jeremiah happy and deal with her own problems, she discovers that something isn't right and someone close to her might be in more danger than she knows...
I really enjoyed reading this book, so much so that I read it in one setting. I suppose I should explain what I meant about Jeremiah being an "Eco-nightmare". It's all well and good to want to save the planet, we should all strive for that. But to expect a hundred people to re-use dishes just isn't practical, especially when a crew of four are the ones who seem to be doing all the cleanup. I didn't read of anyone else helping out, even though he mentioned 'many hands make quick work'. Um, not his hands, for sure. I felt Jeremiah should have hired his own dishwashers to do that much work - and the trade off with how many times you'd have to run a dishwasher to clean that many items just wouldn't be worth it. It would take hours every night to clean that much. (Let's face it, you can't put hundreds of items in one or two loads). They'd have those two dishwashers - not commercial ones, by the way - running constantly, and there are Eco-friendly disposable tableware on the market. (Sorry - I notice details).
But back to the story - there was plenty of suspense going on, with Penny for the most part cut off from the world and having to figure things out without the ready use of a computer or cell phone. Her natural curiosity kept her involved in everything around her, from her friends to someone she recently met in town; and watching how she dealt with them, along with her own new found insecurities about what happened was definitely worth the read.
While Joey is trying to find out who's behind the robberies, he discovers another big problem at the police station that needs to be sorted out; and Penelope is trying to figure out who the man is who keeps showing up. When she finally starts to realize what's going on, it's nearly too late, but Penny has always been able to think fast, which is probably her strongest suit.
This series has always been quite entertaining, and this latest installment is no different. The characters are fully dimensional, the plot is always believable, and the story is always realistic. True to previous books, this one is a suspenseful journey to the truth, and a glimpse into Penny's mindset as she tries to deal with her own trauma. It is done so well that one cannot help but feel sorry for her personally, and root for her as she handles sudden complications to her standard catering routine while she tries to please her host and get through the shoot.
When the ending comes, it is all convincing and well done; all our questions are answered admirable. This was indeed a book worth reading, and Ms. Simmons has equaled any of the others she's written. Highly recommended.
https://www.amazon.com/Murder-Rocks-Carpet-Catering-Mystery/dp/1635112966/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2280738158
More on Shawn Reilly Simmons's Books: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/s/shawn-reilly-simmons/
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