Customer Reviews

Murder Most Maine (Gray Whale Inn Mysteries)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
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I was delighted that my copy of Karen MacInerney's "Murder Most Maine" was delivered to my house the day before my annual excursion to coastal Maine for the long Columbus Day weekend! It was the perfect place to catch up on innkeeper Natalie Barnes and the folks on Cranberry Island. As with Ms. MacInerney's first two books in the Gray Whale Inn Mysteries, I was immediately drawn into the lives and surroundings of this wonderful series. Mysteries abound in the inn, and a much anticipated romance weathers the storm. The recipes included reflect the health-conscious story line, and I am anxious to sample them all! Congratulations to the author for another job well done! Can't wait to visit the Gray Whale Inn again!

The Gray Whale Inn is hosting a weight loss retreat. Owner Natalie Barns is hoping that, if things go well, this might become an annual event. True, she has to cook three meals a day instead of just breakfast. Heck, with all the health food around, maybe she will loose a few pounds.

But when the group arrives, things start to go south quickly. While all the women on Cranberry Island start lusting over trainer Dirk DeLeon, it's the female leader who has Natalie seeing green. Turns out that Vanessa visited the island for a couple summers and had some romantic flings with the men there, including Natalie's boyfriend John. While he insists they are just friends now, they sure do seem awfully chummy.

The dieters have been on the island for less than a day when, out for a jog, they find a body. Rumors quickly start flying that John is a suspect. But he couldn't have done it, could he? And if not, who did?

It's been too long since I got to visit Cranberry Island, but I quickly fell back into the setting and the series characters. They are as charming and friendly as ever. The new characters could have been a bit better developed, but with some diligent work, I was able to keep them all straight.

The main plot and a sub-plot trade off the spot light and keep the pace moving pretty quickly. I did figure out the culprit in the second half of the story, but it was because of a lucky guess. Even so, I was entertained until the thrilling climax.

As always, there are some recipes at the end. Most of them are lighter calorie in nature, although the one that sounds the best is not on the dieter's menu. Isn't that the way it always is?

This book continues with the charm of the first two. I hope we get another visit to Cranberry Island soon.

There are four titles in this terrific cozy series:
(1)Murder on the Rocks (Gray Whale Inn Mysteries, No. 1), (2)Dead and Berried (Gray Whale Inn Mysteries, No. 2), (3)Murder Most Maine (Gray Whale Inn Mysteries, No. 3) and (4)Berried to the Hilt (The Gray Whale Inn Mysteries). This latesttitle is due to be released in Large Print(hooray) in March.

Whereas in the previous books, the publisher's blurb was thin and could not possibly help sales, this time it does set the scene: "When a weight-loss retreat descends on the Gray Whale Inn,the women of Cranberry Island get a little body-conscious. Mainly they're conscious of hard-bodied trainer Dirk De Leon, whose hunky phsyique keeps hearts racing long after his exercise sessions end. But when Dirk turns up dead, lust-fueled rivalries lead to criminal accusations, and innkeeper Natalie Barnes watches in disbelief as her boyfriend John becomes the lead suspect. Can Natalie cut through the fat to find the real killer and clear her boyfriend's name."

MacInerney tells a good story peopled with believable characters as she carefully provides background information for the old and new fan. Here are a few of Cranberry Island's major players this time around: (1)NATALIE BARNES: forty-ish, former resident of Austin, Texas, owner/operator of a Bed and Breakfast housed in a 150-year-old building which might be haunted.
(2)JOHN QUINTON: the island's lone deputy, sculptor, tenant and neighbor of Natalie, though she explains: "More than just a neighbor actually. We had been dating for some months, and although we hadn't officially spelled it out, we were slipping into comfortable couplehood." (3)CHARLENE KEAN: Natalie's best friend, owner/operator of The Cranberry Island Store, postmistress and gossip queen. (4)GWEN BARNES: Natalie's niece and employee, gifted artist and student, currently on sabbatical from her mother and UCLA.
(5)TOM LOCKHART: president of the island's lobster co-op and chair of the board of selectmen.

MacInerney's prose provides touches of humor. Examples: (1)" 'Now, Natalie, Vanessa said, . . . "How do we get to your wonderful inn?'
'We thought it might be a nice change for the guests to arrive at the inn by boat,' I announced, pointing to the three skiffs bobbing in the waves. They say it's all in the marketing, and it sure sounded better than, 'The van broke, so we're taking dinghies.'" (2)"She was dressed in formfitting jeans and an Aran sweater that somehow managed to accentuate her curvy figure. I loved my own Aran sweater, but was only too aware that it made my silhouette look rather like that of a sheep with an overgrazing problem. If following the Lose-It-All plan could make me look like that even under four pounds of wool, I decided - it might be worth paying attention. John certainly was. His eyes were trained on Vanessa like he was on the TITANIC and she was showing him how to operate the lifeboats." (3)"It was a beautiful morning to be out attempting to jog. (By the time we got half way up the hill, most of us were purple, so Vanessa bowed to the inevitable and slowed to a brisk walk.) The pine trees filled the air with their fresh scent, which I got ample lungfuls of, since I was gasping for breath." (4)" 'I'm telling you, those were the ugliest bridesmaid's dresses you ever saw - poor things looked like a row of eggplants in a garden.'"

The food-related theme is seen as well in the following: (1)the sea is "Italian meringue" (2)One woman's head sports a "Brillo pad of hair," (3)Another character's curs are "caramel-colored." (4)Someone's "dark eyes are bright as currants in a bun-like face," and (5)Natalie's cat is the color of ginger and answers to "Biscuit."

Of course, there are wonderful recipes. Not all in the text are in the recipe section however. My favorite: GRAY WHALE INN TURKEY CHILI.

One final note, I am a retired librarian and thank the author for the following words describing Natalie's opinion: "I hung up the phone, thinking wonderful thoughts about librarians in general."

Murder most Maine, by Karen MacInerney was my introduction to this neat little series and I can assure you that by not reading the books in order takes nothing from the charm of this work. I have a weakness for the cozy mystery genre and read a lot of them. They are my mind cleaners to a certain extent and allow a bit reading relaxation not found in every book you pick up. This series, "A Gray Whale Inn Mystery" certainly fit the bill and certainly met all of my expectations.

The Gray Whale Inn, located on Cranberry Island off the coast of Maine is owned and operated by a displaced Texan, Natalie Barnes. The Island is inhabited by a very eclectic conglomeration of quirky local characters, all for the most part quite likeable. The author has a wonderful talent in being able to describe landscape, physical location, buildings, dress and local color. This adds so much to the story. You actually feel you are there.

In this story, Natalie is hosting a group of people who are on a retreat to loose weight. The sponsor of the trip, Vanessa who, it turn happens to be a past "summer girl," who also happens to have had a "summer thing" with Natalie's boy friend, John...not a comfortable thing being around your boy friend's old flame. Along with Vanessa is her partner in the weight loss business, Dirk who is quite a hunk as far as the ladies are concerned. It does not take long for the author to kick start her story as right at first, Dirk, the mysterious trainer and heart throb, is found dead on a jogging trail. There is no doubt it is murder!

Suspects abound in this work, from several members of the weight loss group to inhabitants of the island...including boy friend John! And by the way; did I mention that there is a further mystery involved, one that is around 150 years old due to the fact that a skeleton of a man is found in the hidden basement of the nearby lighthouse as it is being restored! Natalie, being the nosey little inn keeper she is, and insecure as to the status of her boyfriend John, is drawn right into the middle of all this drama. To top everything off, it is found that the hunk, Dirk, may have been poisoned and the police immediately shut down Natalie's kitchen and rumors abound and we start wondering if this will be the end of the Gray Whale Inn, whose financial foundations are apparently not all that stable to begin with.

They mysteries, and there are two of them running parallel throughout the work, are interesting enough to hold your interest. Recipes abound and the author has been nice enough to give them all in a supplement in the back of the book. Now these particular recipes happen to all be of the healthy weight loss kind which held little interest to me, but they did sound good and would most certainly be helpful for those interested in dieting.

The book has been well written by a natural story teller who happens to have a gift for writing. The writing style is precise and easy to follow without a lot of bothersome clutter, yet is detailed enough to pull you into the story and keep you there. While there is of course a bit of romance involved, it is rather low keyed and does not get in the way of the story line what so ever; in this case it is necessary. For those that are interested in a steamy story filled with gratuitous sex, then they need to look elsewhere. A few kisses and hugs are as about as wild as it gets. I find this rather refreshing.

For a nice mellow read, a satisfying read that goes much too quickly, this is an excellent choice to curl up with on a rainy Saturday and Sunday. I will most certainly be reading the rest of the books in this series; catching up so to speak and will be hoping the author is turning more of them out.

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks

This is one of my favorite cozy murder mystery series'. As you may know, cozies, like other genre, are quite variable in quality. This one is well written, with well developed characters and a good mystery. And I love the setting of a bed & breakfast on a small island in Maine. That in addition to the mouth watering cooking the author weaves seamlessly into the story (recipes at the end) make me want to be there. I've read the first 2 in the series, and I will certainly read the rest.

This was my first time reading the Gray Whale Mysteries and I plan to go back and read the first two. Loved the characters and the area. Kept me guessing and the ending was a surprise. If you like a fast, fun mystery this series is for you.

I read the first two books in the series and was eagerly awaiting the third. After reading this book in about two days, I have to say I continue to be very pleased with the Gray Whale Inn books.

I do admit that I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as the others because one of my favorite aspects of the books have been the description of life on Cranberry Island. That part wasn't quite as strong in this book but it was still very enjoyable. The mystery aspect is good, the writing is good and I can't wait for the fourth book to be published.

The book stood by itself and you wouldn't necessarily have to go back and read the first two in the series, but I think you would enjoy it more if you did. Anyone who likes cozy mysteries should definitely give this series a try.

Happy reading !

Added on 6/17/09: I just saw on the author's website that there will be a fourth book in the series -- yea!

I have really enjoyed this series and am looking towards the fourth, but was honestly very shocked at how many editing errors are in the third book! Missing letters, random "/" by names, and so forth. It's distracting and this author deserves better! :)

Really fun series - great characters - I would love to visit the Gray Whale Inn!

I am now enjoying the last book in the series. If you want to curl up with a nice, cozy read, this is for you. Seldom have I felt so comfortable with a character and, since I love bed and breakfast places, I felt right at home in this one. Hats off to Miss Karen for a great,comfortable, read !! Give us more!!!

This is the third book in the Gray Whale Inn Mystery series. I love the main character of the book. This book isn't quite as exciting as the first two books in the series, but it doesn't lack for excitement of it's own. This is a great book for those who love cozy mysteries, just make sure to read the first two in the series beforehand.