Genre: Mystery
Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #: 9781250077776
St. Martin's Publishing
305 Pages
$7.99; $7.99 Amazon
March 1, 2016
⭐⭐
Erica Bloom is in no rush to return to Otter Lake, the site of her mother’s spiritual retreat for women. Erica met her inner goddess years ago and she’s happy to have forged a new identity on her own, thank you very much. But her new-age-y, well-meaning mother is losing her grip on the business, and needs Erica’s help. So she heads back to her New Hampshire hometown, where nothing much has changed - except for maybe the body in the well.
When Erica was a teenager, she fell prey to a practical joke that left her near-naked in Otter Lake’s annual Raspberry Social. The incident was humiliating, but it wasn’t like anyone got killed - until now. Those who were behind that long-ago prank are starting to turn up dead, and Erica’s appearance in town makes her a prime suspect.To make matters worse, the town sheriff just happens to be Erica’s old nemesis, Grady Forrester - who also happens to be hotter than ever. Can Erica find a way to dig up the truth - before someone digs her grave?
✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽
Erica Bloom returns to Otter Lake, New Hampshire after eight years. She hasn't been back since she was a teenager, and wishes she wasn't now. The only reason she's come home is because her mother called and said she really needed her there.
But when she arrives, she waits on the dock for her mother and the first people she sees are a trio whom she wishes she hadn't - considering they're part of the reason she left in the first place. Tommy, Dickie, and Harry. (Seriously? I'm guessing this was supposed to be humorous.) Her mother runs a retreat for women on the island where she lives, and when Erica arrives, she discovers the 'emergency' is that the psychologist for her business departed suddenly and she needs Erica to fill in. Erica, who isn't a psychologist, but a court stenographer. But her mother figures since she took a class in psychology she can pass for one (I took a class in biology but that doesn't make me a doctor).
But then when she's needing a bit of a break from her mother, she comes across the body of Dickie, who'd been impaled with a skewer. Then Harry is attacked, and now everyone wonders if Erica's not a killer. Everyone, it seems, except her mother and her mother's friends. Fending off the sheriff, Grady Forrester, who wants to talk about the fateful night that sent her running, she decides to find a killer herself so she's not nailed for it. But it seems the killer may not be done yet, and they know what Erica's up to. Either she'll have to be careful or she'll never return to the mainland...
First off, her mother is a complete nutcase. (Summer Bloom? Really?) A woman's retreat is fine, but you'd like to feel that at least the woman you're talking to can carry on a rational conversation. This woman seems to hear only what she wants to hear, and acts like finding a killer is a big adventure. She runs around in caftans and I almost expected her to put her hand to her head dramatically and say how ungrateful a daughter Erica could be. She should be named Daffy because she's a Looney Tune. I sure hope in future books she turns it down a notch.
I also didn't much care for the fact that we were over halfway through the book before we learned what the humiliating episode was. It was alluded to, but we didn't find out until then. Unacceptable. This is the kind of thing you tell people right away so they know what's going on with the protagonist and why they didn't want to come home. (I do agree with the PR guy, though, that someone should have stepped up and helped her out. It really doesn't say much for the men in this town.)
Public humiliation is not funny. It's not the kind of thing someone would want happening to them. Then when she gets back, she finds nothing has changed. The trio of men who have never evolved into adults are still using her as a source of amusement. How is this supposed to be funny? Keeping her humiliation alive for everyone? Real hilarious, that.
Erica has some serious anger issues and might want to take a class to deal with that. It's immature, and you'd think she would have dealt with it by now. We get that Grady is hot, but I wasn't interested in Erica - and nearly every other woman - constantly lusting after him.
I felt that most of the book was spent on this incident that occurred eight years ago, and suspecting her of murder because of it seemed a bit of a stretch. It seemed she was the only one they were only asking questions. Actually, there weren't any other suspects except Candace - who was another person from out of town. It's as if Grady were thinking it was impossible that anyone who lived in Otter Lake could be a killer. Heavens! It must be either Erica or the newcomer! There were no other suspects to speak of, and when the killer was revealed everyone seemed completely thrown by it. Seriously?
Hopefully in the next book more time will be spent on the murder, people in this town will have moved on from continuing to bring up Erica's public humiliation, Erica will harness her anger, and her mother will have actually developed a few brain cells. I will read the next in the series in the hopes that it improves.
https://www.amazon.com/Skinny-Dipping-Murder-Otter-Mystery/dp/125007777X/ref
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2934545278
More on Auralee Wallace's Books: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/w/auralee-wallace/
But when she arrives, she waits on the dock for her mother and the first people she sees are a trio whom she wishes she hadn't - considering they're part of the reason she left in the first place. Tommy, Dickie, and Harry. (Seriously? I'm guessing this was supposed to be humorous.) Her mother runs a retreat for women on the island where she lives, and when Erica arrives, she discovers the 'emergency' is that the psychologist for her business departed suddenly and she needs Erica to fill in. Erica, who isn't a psychologist, but a court stenographer. But her mother figures since she took a class in psychology she can pass for one (I took a class in biology but that doesn't make me a doctor).
But then when she's needing a bit of a break from her mother, she comes across the body of Dickie, who'd been impaled with a skewer. Then Harry is attacked, and now everyone wonders if Erica's not a killer. Everyone, it seems, except her mother and her mother's friends. Fending off the sheriff, Grady Forrester, who wants to talk about the fateful night that sent her running, she decides to find a killer herself so she's not nailed for it. But it seems the killer may not be done yet, and they know what Erica's up to. Either she'll have to be careful or she'll never return to the mainland...
First off, her mother is a complete nutcase. (Summer Bloom? Really?) A woman's retreat is fine, but you'd like to feel that at least the woman you're talking to can carry on a rational conversation. This woman seems to hear only what she wants to hear, and acts like finding a killer is a big adventure. She runs around in caftans and I almost expected her to put her hand to her head dramatically and say how ungrateful a daughter Erica could be. She should be named Daffy because she's a Looney Tune. I sure hope in future books she turns it down a notch.
I also didn't much care for the fact that we were over halfway through the book before we learned what the humiliating episode was. It was alluded to, but we didn't find out until then. Unacceptable. This is the kind of thing you tell people right away so they know what's going on with the protagonist and why they didn't want to come home. (I do agree with the PR guy, though, that someone should have stepped up and helped her out. It really doesn't say much for the men in this town.)
Public humiliation is not funny. It's not the kind of thing someone would want happening to them. Then when she gets back, she finds nothing has changed. The trio of men who have never evolved into adults are still using her as a source of amusement. How is this supposed to be funny? Keeping her humiliation alive for everyone? Real hilarious, that.
Erica has some serious anger issues and might want to take a class to deal with that. It's immature, and you'd think she would have dealt with it by now. We get that Grady is hot, but I wasn't interested in Erica - and nearly every other woman - constantly lusting after him.
I felt that most of the book was spent on this incident that occurred eight years ago, and suspecting her of murder because of it seemed a bit of a stretch. It seemed she was the only one they were only asking questions. Actually, there weren't any other suspects except Candace - who was another person from out of town. It's as if Grady were thinking it was impossible that anyone who lived in Otter Lake could be a killer. Heavens! It must be either Erica or the newcomer! There were no other suspects to speak of, and when the killer was revealed everyone seemed completely thrown by it. Seriously?
Hopefully in the next book more time will be spent on the murder, people in this town will have moved on from continuing to bring up Erica's public humiliation, Erica will harness her anger, and her mother will have actually developed a few brain cells. I will read the next in the series in the hopes that it improves.
https://www.amazon.com/Skinny-Dipping-Murder-Otter-Mystery/dp/125007777X/ref
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2934545278
More on Auralee Wallace's Books: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/w/auralee-wallace/
No comments:
Post a Comment