Pelican Bay (Harlequin Next Tall) [Mass Market Paperback]

Charlotte Douglas (Author)

Book Description

Series: Harlequin Next Tall | Publication Date: September 1, 2005

Witty and irreverent homicide detective Maggie Skerritt likes her quiet, sleepy workdays. Violence in Pelican Bay, Florida, was rarely an issue, and Maggie certainly wasn't itching for the tide to change. Maintaining a professional distance had always been Maggie's M.O., but the more she learned about the homicide victims, the less sleep she got. Each woman had started to get her life back on track--something Maggie had been meaning to do for years. It was a wake-up call--and Maggie was more determined, once she solved the case, to reevaluate her own life. Especially her relationship with a certain former police detective...

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

In Douglas' witty Florida cozy, smart-mouthed police detective Maggie Skerritt, 48, maintains her fighting weight and no-nonsense attitude. But she is starting to wonder about spending the rest of her life alone, especially after the quiet beach enclave of Pelican Bay is rocked by the inexplicable deaths of two sweet-natured young women. It turns out that Edith, whose only reliable friend was her cat, and Sophia, the wealthy heir to a restaurant empire, were members of a recently formed weight-loss support group. Were they murdered by a killer with a pathological hatred of fat people? Or by someone who can't stand to see people getting their lives under control? Perhaps their nervous doctor is actually a killer. Stressed, sleep--deprived, and frazzled, Maggie keeps breaking out in hives and does not appreciate it when her young partner reminds her that she could be his mother. And speaking of mothers, hers is a handful. Feisty, funny, and blunt, Maggie is good company, and Douglas not only delivers tasty one-liners, she tells a smart and diverting story. Donna Seaman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Harlequin (September 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0373230397
• ISBN-13: 978-0373230396
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 4.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,377,840 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Pelican Bay, October 10, 2005

By 

AK "Bro" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pelican Bay (Harlequin Next Tall) (Mass Market Paperback)

As a rash of mysterious deaths shake the habitual peace of Pelican Bay, police detective, Maggie Skerritt is determined to find out who is ending lives that were just beginning to come together. There is no apparent motive of gain in more than one of them, but they all do share a link. All of them were involved in the same diet program. As Maggie delves deeper, the case turns sicker and more sinister. If she's not careful, Maggie will never get a chance to get her own life on track.

** If you buy this book looking for romance, you're doomed to disappointment. It's very light on that aspect. However, this is a mystery with all the intricacy of a Columbo mystery, though the killer is not revealed until the end. **

Reviewed by Amanda Killgore, Freelance Reviewer.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars terrific police procedural, September 16, 2005

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pelican Bay (Harlequin Next Tall) (Mass Market Paperback)

Five years have passed since the Florida West Coast town of Pelican Bay has had a homicide until now. Police detective Maggie Skerritt investigates who murdered the twenty-two years old obese Edith Wainwright in her home while her boss wants her to fail because he hates female cops.

Clues at the crime scene lead to Karen Englewood, a counselor at the Pelican Bay Weight Management Clinic as it appears the victim died from cyanide laced chocolate apparently given as a reward by Karen. Maggie interviews Karen who insists she refuses to use Skinner's conditional behavior to help her clients lose weight; they must do it themselves with her assisting them. She also says that Edith was upbeat; this is confirmed by a co-worker. When a second victim Sophie Morelli dies from cyanide poisoning, the evidence again points towards her weight counselor Karen. Still nothing adds up as her retired former partner in Tampa and current lover Bill Malcolm tries to quietly help Maggie resolve what seems like a closed case in which a deranged weight counselor is killing her clients.

PELICAN BAY is a terrific police procedural with a touch of a romantic subplot that stars forty-eight years old dedicated cop trying to look at a bewildering case from different perspectives because the obvious culprit seems innocent in at least her mind. The story line is action-packed as Maggie works the clues that a serial killer leaves behind to either paint Karen as a crazed murderer or she is. Though the killer's motives take a strange twist that seems unnecessary, fans will appreciate this fine tale and look forward to the next appearance of Maggie once she finishes her sailing vacation with Bill.

Harriet Klausner