Customer Reviews

Dead and Berried (Gray Whale Inn Mysteries, No. 2)

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Natalie Barnes is facing the beginnings of the off season. With few bookings at her bed and breakfast over the winter months, she's hoping to make ends meet. But that soon becomes the least of her worries. A stranger noise is waking her up in the middle of the night. Is her inn haunted? Her ex-fiancee has shown up as a guest, wanting another chance at making their relationship work.

But more troubling is the death of Polly Sarkes. Polly had lived on the island her entire life and helped with the laundry at the Gray Whale Inn. When she appears to vanish, Natalie goes to her house and finds her dead, an apparent suicide. At least that's what the sheriff quickly rules it, but Natalie isn't so sure. Her friend had too much life. Beside, she was in the middle of packing a suitcase. Natalie quickly learns that Polly was the only hold out in a deal to sell some land for a new development. Was that the motive for her murder?

I enjoyed the first in this series, so I was looking forward to this one. I was glad to join these characters again. After two books, they already feel like old friends. And the recipes at the back sound wonderful again.

On the whole, the plot was great with plenty of twists that kept me turning pages. I do have a couple complaints about it, however. Murder related to development on the island was the plot of book number one. I was disappointed to see that play such a prominent part of this book. Additionally, the ending, while satisfying, was rushed.

These complaints weren't enough to keep me from enjoying the book, however. I'm already booking my next stay at the Gray Whale Inn.

When Natalie Barnes' laundress doesn't show up for work, the island innkeeper goes to Polly's house to investigate ... and finds the woman lying in the nearby cranberry bog. And that's just the beginning of a busy time for Natalie, who spends the next few days trying to prove that Polly's death was murder, not suicide. When the new Episcopalian priest is killed as well, Natalie not only tries to figure out the connection but also winds up being a prime suspect. A series of follow-up mishaps have Natalie believing the local rumors about her home being haunted by the ghost of a previously-murdered woman. And in the midst of it all, her ex-fiance from Texas shows up with a new marriage proposal, even as he outwardly flirts with a blonde and buxom bed-and-breakfast guest. How will it all end? Who knew life on a small island off the coast of Maine could be so hectic and fraught with danger?

Ms. MacInerney has given us an excellent sequel to the first Gray Whale Inn mystery. We hope for many more!

Murder on the Rocks (Gray Whale Inn Mysteries, No. 1), Dead and Berried (Gray Whale Inn Mysteries, No. 2),Murder Most Maine (Gray Whale Inn Mysteries, No. 3) AND Berried to the Hilt (The Gray Whale Inn Mysteries) are the titles in this terrific cozy series.
Start at the beginning.

On the one hand, what I liked a lot: character sketches, cats and dogs,
lobstermen, and relatves remembered.

MacInerney loves her characters and develops them with humor and
compassion. Some of the major players in this story are:

(1)NATALIE BARNES: Thirty-nine-year-old former resident of Austin,
Texas, now proud owner/operator of The Gray Whale Inn, a bed and breakfast
housed in a 150-year-old building on Maine's Cranberry Island, accessible only
by boat!

(2)JOHN QUINTON: The island's deputy, a gifted sculptor, Natalie's
tenant and neighbor, and her significant other.

(3)CHARLENE KEAN: Gossip queen, post mistress, proprietor of the only
grocery store and Natalie's best female friend. A murder suspect.

(4)POLLY SARKES: 40-something, sweet natured, island native, care
taker of ten cats, house-cleaning gem, and great help to Natalie

(5)CANDY PERKINS: Guest at the inn who quickly becomes a pest at the
inn and possible business competitor for Natalie.

(6)RICHARD MC LAUGHLIN: Late of Boston, now rector at Saint James
Episcopal Church, special friend to Charlene, some questions about his past.

(7)BENJAMIN PORTLOCK: Guest at the inn who quickly becomes a pest
at the inn (yes, another one), who happens to be Natalie's ex-intended, who
has intentions of winning her back.

All good cozies should include cared-for pets and this story has
both cats and dogs. Natalie owns a cat, inn guests, the HAHNS, have two dogs,
one of them with paralyzed back legs, and POLLY SARKES is devoted to her ten
cats. All are special to the people they own.

Learning something new is always a plus, and in this series we find
out about the lives of lobstermen, why they celebrate the DAY OF THE DEAD (or
ALL SAINTS DAY), Why there are many different colored buoys, the importance of
co-ops and lobstermen wars.

MacInerney remembers relatives in a special way in this series.
In the ACKNOWLEDGMENTS as one might expect, she thanks her husband and
children. However, she also shows great appreciation and love for her
"wonderful" grandmother MARIAN QUINTON. She dedicated her first book to
the QUINTON grandparents. Natalie's boy friend is JOHN QUINTON and her
boat is named "THE LITTLE MARIAN."

What needs improvement? Two things:

The publisher's blurb should set the scene, should make the
reader want to read more. This blurb, as in the first book, is blah
and flimsy, a great disappointment to both the reader and the author,
I'm certain of that. It won't help sales.

Of course there are recipes. They look great. But there
should be more of them. A stew is mentioned. No recipe. A Mexican
egg dish, MIGAS, is noted. No recipe. And, finally, cranberry bread
is tasted over and over. No cranberry recipe of any kind. There should
be at least ONE cranberry concoction in every book. On CRANBERRY ISLAND.
Please. Thank you.

Great series. Don't miss it. It's not just another food thing. Oops, I should
have balanced the review by saying "on the other hand," but if I start over it
will be a mess.

I enjoyed the first book in this series (Murder on the Rocks) very much. This second offering does a great job of giving more background on the Cranberry Island residents and Natalie herself but the mystery itself falls flat. While the author throws around a lot of suspicion, the outcome itself seems quite random.

Its hard to say more without giving too much away (I hate reviews that do that) so I'll finish by saying I would recommend this if you really liked the first one and that I would read a third one if the author chooses to keep the series going.

I read the first book in this series and couldn't wait for the second. I was not disappointed at all. I love the setting and all the vivid descriptions, and the recipes are also great. In this book, we learn a little bit more about Natalie's past. This only "flaw" would have to be the mystery. It was great throughout the book, and the suspense kept building well. However, when I finally found out who the culprit was, I was a little disappointed. It was a character that was rarely mentioned in the book, so I didn't care. I was wishing it was a character that we all knew and loved, so it would be a huge shock.

All in all, I really didn't care who did it because the book was so enjoyable to read along the way. The author also keeps you guessing about some side plots, particularly the return of Natalie's ex-fiance. I really didn't know until the end how it all panned out.

I stumbled across the previous (and first) book in the "Gray Whale Inn" series -- "Murder on the Rocks" -- when looking at my Amazon recommendations. It looked so incredibly good, that I immediately picked up that book as well as this one (the second in the series). What a hit !!! Amazon didn't steer me wrong.

If you love cozy mysteries, you'll love this one ! I think it is one of the most well-done series I have read in awhile and I compare it to Cleo Coyle's Coffeehouse mysteries. The location of Cranberry Island, Maine is what really makes the book. The writing is so descriptive that I expected to see the coast of Maine outside my window when a stopped reading for a moment. The descriptions of the setting are so intriging that I actually spent some time looking on Google for information on the Cranberry Islands --- I was that fascinated!

If you love a good mystery --- If you love the coast of Maine ---- If you love B&B's ----- this series is for you !!!!

Natalie Barnes is trying to make ends meet in her first year running the Gray Whale Inn bed and breakfast on Cranberry Island in Maine. When things start going bump in the night, she isn't sure what is going on. Candy is staying at the Inn and driving Natalie crazy following her around to learn all she can about running a bed and breakfast so she can start one on the mainland. Then her former fiancé shows up and makes like very confusing.

Add to that murders and developers that seem to stop at nothing, and you have Natalie's life on Cranberry Island. Then when her best friend becomes a murder suspect, Natalie knows she has to do something. She has no faith in the local police. Can she solve the murders, keep her best friend out of jail, and save the island without putting herself in harm's way?

I love this series. I wish I could go stay at the Gray Whale Inn. The descriptions of the island and the Inn are so wonderful. It sounds like a place you could go to get away from everything. Natalie is a great character as well. She's well-rounded and naturally inquisitive. The recipes and food descriptions will make you hungry!

The author has created plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader guessing. I highly recommend this book and Murder On The Rocks, the first in this series.

This book falls into the category of comforting read. I first found Karen MacInerney through her book Murder on the Rocks, the first book in the Gray Whale Inn Mysteries; but I have found myself coming back for more because of the enjoyable feel it left me with. There is just something about island living and the formed friendships and irritating acts of others that bring me back to see what they are up to next.

Just when life is starting to get back to normal on Cranberry Island, developers have decided that a section of the land would make a perfect location for a new subdivision. The Gray Whale Inn's proprietor, Natalie Barnes does not like the idea, but what can she do; that is until her friend is found dead, the sheriff calls it suicide, but Natalie knows there is more to it. Does the subdivision have something to do with it, or are there more goings on that Natalie has to get to the bottom of.

Being a cozy mystery, the actual killing of named characters is not what drives this book. It is the location, the community and the inhabitants of Cranberry Island; each part takes on its own personality. You still have to pay close attention as to why each person does what they do, but for the most part, the story has a comforting flow that takes you down a path to a somewhat obvious conclusion but still satisfying at the same time.

I really enjoyed this "cozy" with recipes.

I just have a few small nitpicks...things that may be enough to make readers put this down. I see the book is no longer discounted, so I would advise people to get a sample before buying.

The thing about the "underdog" -giving a character many challenges that influence the reader to "side with" them- it's tricky. An author has to walk a very fine line and not let things go too far. This author lets them go too far at one point about midway through the novel.

Creating a character that is sympathetic and likable is really wonderful, and this main character is both of those things.

But when that character has something irrational that the reader can't sympathize with (in this case, considering marriage to a complete slime) , the character begins to lose the reader's sympathies.

It is true that readers will side with a character who is the "underdog" for a while, but an author must be *very* careful to balance that. In this case, too many awful things happen, and it takes on the energy of "dumping" as it it not balanced with anything positive. If NO one is nice to the character, if EVERYONE seems to be irrationally disposed to being mean to her, the reader inevitably starts to wonder if we have an unreliable narrator here, and if there truly is something wrong with the main character that we are not seeing, since we're seeing things from her eyes.

It's a tricky, delicate thing to navigate. The author eventually digs the character out of things, but she left it too long, in my eyes.

The thing that is frustrating about this character is that she takes it all. She doesn't fight back for a while, she just shuts up and takes it. it gave me stomach cramps...not joking. It's a bit passive-agressive and weak, and I had to put the book down for a break.

BUT it's worth it. it really is a lovely little cozy if you get through that rough patch in the middle.

I DO hope the author achieves a better balance in other books, as I like her style.

(though if I ate as much as this character does, I'd be shaped like a beach ball. she's always eating! it's a little weird, and endearing once one gets past the initial shock...and having other characters comment on it made her more endearing, because then it makes it clear that it is the character's specific trait, not just the author's view of "normal" consumption.)

Just don't have the time to be detailed and specific. Wanted to thank Karen MacInerney, for such a place as "The Gray Whale Inn" and everything in between. I'm sad to say, I'm half way through the last book.