With temperatures in the nineties, Ashley Wilkes, historic preservationist, heads for Wrightsville Beach where sister Melanie has rented an oceanfront sleeps-14 "cottage." But murder never takes a vacation and as the body count escalates, Ashley realizes there is more to beach life than sunblock and fried fish platters. With houseguests and neighbors all behaving suspiciously, Ashley's tempted to retreat back to town where she's restoring a 1920s Georgian Revival house, yet even the restoration site is fraught with danger. And nothing prepares Ashley for a moonlight stroll out on the pier with a crazed killer.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Fictional Mystery that takes place in a historical town,
By
This review is from: Murder at Wrightsville Beach (Magnolia Mysteries) (Paperback)
I live in the Wilmington, NC area and this book is filled with
- knowledged and interesting facts about present day Wilmington - history of the Wilmington during WW2 - a great selection of characters - and a mysterious death with a questionable motive Ashley Wilkes world right now is upside down. Her friend Val was shot and robbed in her own art gallery, she is staying at a beach cottage with two or more questionable characters, and her husband (away on business) is not returning her phone calls. Ashley finds out in the worst way possible who the murderer is and later pieces together their motive by learning some history about the house she is restoring. What a great mystery, I could not put it down, had to finish it in one day. I can't wait to read more. I recommend it for any one who likes mysteries and learning about the southeastern coast of nc!
3.0 out of 5 stars
Love the concept, but not the writing,
By Kai Roberts "mysterymaven" (Alexandria, VA) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Murder at Wrightsville Beach (Magnolia Mysteries) (Kindle Edition)
The Magnolia Mysteries is a series of cozy mysteries that are set in the Wilmington, North Carolina area. I'm a native North Carolinian who used to live in Wilmington, which is a lovely old Southern town full of character and interest. As you might imagine, then, the setting and subjects of these books appealed to me greatly. Murder at Wrightsville Beach seemed a most promising title, indeed. The idea of setting a mystery among the grand "cottages" that preside over the oceanfront is compelling -- so many disparate folks are brought together for a week, with all their rivalries, jealousies, and so forth, just churning up like so much ocean foam. Surely, murder and mayhem could ensue. Think of this book as a Southern spin on the classic, English country house murder. I was particularly taken with the twist of having a historic preservationist as the book's main protagonist and amateur sleuth -- what an inspired concept! Such a career gives the heroine plausible reasons to be in and around the most fascinating homes and settings in Wilmington and its environs. It gives her access to the most interesting people in these communities. The innovative premise, mixed with a setting so rich-with-possibilities, should have worked like the proverbial charm. I wish it had. I truly wanted to love this book completely but, unfortunately, the writing style simply did not live up to the rest of the book's promise for me. One reviewer called it "amateurish." That may seem a bit harsh, but I agree that the writing style is not as polished as one might expect. The author seems to be trying too hard to effect a breezy and cute style. And, speaking of "cute," the main character is a young woman named Ashley Wilkes. Now, I'm as much a fan of Gone With the Wind as any other self-respecting Southern woman, but that is too twee, even for me. Further, much of the dialog just didn't ring true to me. For instance, who is likely to address an esteemed business and community leader as "Hey, girlfriend!" -- particularly in her place of business? Once the murder is discovered, the scene that develops is almost cringe-worthy. Take the exchange between Ms. Wilkes and the first responding police officer: The officer (and the reader can just about imagine him stroking his chin in perplexed thought)asks,"'Jeez, why would anyone want to shoot Val Russo?" Her reaction was not to offer any helpful insight, or exhibit any emotional distress at a violent death, or even convey a shocked expression of disbelief (I mean, this young woman had just discovered the dead body of a friend, for crying out loud!!!!) Instead, she thinks to herself, hmmm, that officer looks as if "he'd like to get into shorts and a tank top himself." (What???!!!) As if that aside isn't sufficiently disconcerting to the reader, the next one should be. Apparently the presence of a dead body isn't enough to command the policeman's professional attention; instead, he quickly becomes diverted by a model who happens to be on the premises -- "his eyes darted back and forth between the victim and the super model." I'm afraid it lost me at this point. Yes, there are some good things to be said about this book (as I've mentioned at the start) and I'm sure those who want a light-hearted beach read may thoroughly enjoy it. It's a fun sort of confection. But if you prefer a more nuanced writing style, with a more sophisticated and realistic treatment, then I'm afraid you may be disappointed.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The real center of this mystery is the location: Wrightsville Beach in North Carolina and the nearby town of Wilmington.,
By
This review is from: Murder at Wrightsville Beach (Magnolia Mysteries) (Paperback)
I read this book quickly -- it was engaging and well-plotted. I like the beach so I particularly enjoyed the setting. The main character, Ashley Wilkes (it gets worse, her sister's name is Melanie), is a likeable character. She's staying at her sister's beach house, sharing space with Melanie's unlikeable bad-boy boyfriend and an old friend of the sisters (now a well-known model). Ashley is desperately trying to reach her incommunicado husband, who works for Homeland Security and who isn't answering his cell phone. The book begins with the discovery of a murder victim in an art gallery; all the paintings have been stolen. The victim apparently knew her killer, which limits the search. Ashley is not looking for the killer, as in so many of these cozy mysteries. She's simply staying on the beach and knew the victim. She also knows several people who might have done it, but is leaving the detective work to the police. She finds herself pulled into events and eventually in a climactic scene near the end of the book, discovers who the killer is.
I had mixed feelings about the book. The quality of the writing was OK but lacked a certain polish -- a bit amateurish. I imagine her books will continue to improve with experience, but based on this book, this isn't an author whose books I'll run out to get. It's an enjoyable way to spend a rainy day, or better yet, read on the beach. Although I had a hunch early on who the killer was (which turned out to be correct), that hunch couldn't be blamed on the plotting but just my experience as a reader of many, many mysteries. I think most readers of the book who AREN'T readers of many, many mysteries will be surprised by the conclusion.
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