Genre: Mystery
Trade Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #:9781516105236
Lyrical Underground Publishing
200 Pages
$15.00; $0.99 Amazon
April 3, 2018
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The Indialantic by the Sea hotel has a hundred-year-old history on beautiful Melbourne Beach, Florida, and more than a few guests seem to have been there from the start. When Liz Holt returns home an an intense decade in New York, she's happy to be surrounded by the eccentric clientele and loving relatives that populate her family-run inn, and doubly pleased to see the business is staying afloat thanks to its vibrant shopping emporium and a few very wealthy patrons.
But that patronage decreased by one when a filthy rich guest is discovered dead in her oceanfront suite. Maybe this is simply a jewel theft gone wrong, but maybe someone - or many people - wanted the hotel's prosperous guest dead. Only one thing is sure: there's a killer at the Indialantic, and if Liz lets herself be distracted - by her troubled past or the tempting man who seems eager to dredge it back up - the next reservation she'll book could be at the cemetery...
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Liz Holt is a successful author who returned to her childhood home in Florida because of a scandal in New York, one that left her face scarred and her person ostracized from literary circles. But all is not well at the Indialantic Hotel by the Sea; first she is introduced to Ryan Stone - a New York firefighter who apparently detests her at first glance and is there to help his grandfather with his delicatessen inside the Indialantic Emporium.
Then a guest of the hotel, Regina Harrington-Worth, is found dead in her hotel room. Luckily Liz, her father, aunt, Ryan and a few others were together at the time of death and can vouch for each other; but it's apparent that someone at the hotel or one of it's shops is the guilty party. While Liz detested the woman, she didn't wish her dead, but there are enough people around who did. So which one killed her? She knows it has to be someone at the hotel, so decides to do a little investigating of her own before the hotel's reputation is ruined forever...
While this book was an okay read, there were things that bothered me. Let's be honest, shall we? Liz states she was ostracized by the literary community for something that occurred between her and her ex-boyfriend, also a writer, that left her with a permanent scar on her face. We have no idea what this is, since the author didn't see fit to tell us. Oh, please. If the literary community didn't ostracize many other authors for scandals (including murder) then what did she do to have this happen? There have been plenty of literary scandals dating back decades ago; plus she was acquitted of any wrongdoing - and it's unfair to the reader not to give the details so we can judge for ourselves if we think it was ostracize-worthy.
Which brings us to Ryan, who has nothing but disdain for Liz for the "supposed scandal" he knows nothing about (welcome to the club, Ryan!) He rushes to take the side of the man involved without actually having been at the trial or knowing the details but merely accepts it because of the other person being a man whose book he read (then tries to get out of it later by using the bro-code, which just doesn't fly). He just assumes she's guilty and starts calling her Princess (which is what her ex called her) to make digs at her; this tells me he's a louse at heart. He doesn't even want to know the truth or he would have taken the time to learn it. A good man wouldn't have made assumptions and we're supposed to believe he 'reforms' after spending time with her?
Then we have an eighty-year-old woman (Great Aunt Amelia) who practically gambols around a hotel merrily (not to mention allowing a guest to verbally attack her niece without saying a word in defense). Amelia comes off as practically having dementia. She's living in the past of her youth, watching old television shows she was on, talking about them constantly. She just can't move on to the present. I seriously doubt if retired actors sit around and talk about their old films/TV shows or even watch them. I doubt if they spew the content to anyone who will listen. And hasn't everyone who knows Amelia already heard every single story? She seems to have been a prolific actress but not a very good one if she couldn't land a permanent role. She needs to get a grip. I think she's supposed to be eccentric, but just comes off as pathetic. I didn't find her interesting, merely the type of person who sits and rambles about their past. Sad, actually.
There's also an eighty-year-old chef who falls asleep, forgets ingredients (that Liz has to add) and makes a mess of the kitchen (that Liz has to clean up). Who did it while she was living in Manhattan? Who made sure the meals were correct? Or did people just eat the food without realizing key ingredients weren't there?
Why are all the shops named "by the Sea?" Can the tourist not figure out these places are by the sea and need to be informed before they enter every one? Overkill. Wordy. Not necessary. There was also too much talk of 1960's television and it felt as if it were just filler. Yes, there are people who have never seen these shows and/or don't know the characters; but then again we don't really need to know the plot of every single show Amelia was on. It also seems like everyone is living at the hotel for free except for the Worths, so how are they making any money to keep it going? Everyone (except Liz and Ryan) has a 'suite of rooms' at the hotel.
I didn't really understand why Liz was investigating; she didn't have a reason to do so, it seems Charlotte was doing a decent job. But is it Detective or Agent Pearson? At first she's introduced as Agent Pearson, then later on it's noted she's a homicide detective. Do they call her Agent Detective Pearson (or Detective Agent Pearson)? One or the other, please, but not both.
The murder was solved nicely although I think the pieces fit together a little too conveniently. It seemed as if the author just couldn't bear to hurt anyone in the book regardless of their level of guilt. I also didn't much care for Ryan, Liz, or Amelia, and you need to care about the characters. Hopefully this series will improve with the second book, and also hopefully we'll find out what exactly happened to Liz that sent her scurrying home to Papa and Aunt Amelia; but if I have to listen to many more of Auntie's stories, I don't know if I'll continue on to book three.
https://www.amazon.com/Death-Sea-Mystery-Kathleen-Bridge-ebook/dp/B073PBH358/ref
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2512095994
More on Kathleen Bridge's Books: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/b/kathleen-bridge/
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