Shadow Over Cedar Key: A Brandy O'Bannon Mystery [Paperback]

Ann Turner Cook (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 15, 2003

Florida reporter Brandy O'Bannon is intrigued by a classified ad that asks an unidentified woman, who has been missing for twenty years, to come forward. The young mother and her two-year old daughter disappeared as Hurricane Agnes swept into the historic Gulf coast village of Cedar Key, although no fatalities were reported. When Brandy learns that a woman's skeleton was found a year later in the basement of one of the state's oldest and Cedar Key's most charming hotel, she begins a search for answers. The grisly fate of the private detective who placed the ad is soon discovered by Brandy's golden retriever. While trying to resolve both mysteries, Brandy ferrets out a new friend's true identity and guides her to self-knowledge. In the process, Brandy becomes the victim of attack, kidnapping, and hurricane. She outwits both nature and assailants, helps solve two brutal murders-and gets her front page story.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In Cook's lackluster second novel featuring newspaper reporter Brandy O'Bannon (after 2001's Trace Their Shadows), Brandy and her husband, John, come to the proudly old-fashioned community of Cedar Key, Fla., for a long weekend. Intrigued by a classified ad asking the whereabouts of a woman and child who vanished in the area during a hurricane 20 years earlier, Brandy thinks there may be a story in it. John, hoping for a romantic weekend, is bored and irritable. Much of the action centers on the town's historic hotel: the private investigator who placed the ad is staying there, as are Brandy and John; the dining-room waitress may be the missing child; a skeleton found in a basement cistern may be the missing woman. Like many a plucky young heroine before her, Brandy plunges headlong into this multilayered mystery, ignoring police warnings and her increasingly resentful husband. An overly busy plot, alas, is weighed down with limp prose and repetition, including scenes of Brandy making endless lists of what she has learned and what she plans to do next. The tantalizing glimpses of the charming Cedar Key, deliberately turning its back on the tourist dollar, make readers wish for a stronger sense of place.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Ann Turner Cook began life as the model for the Gerber Products trademark, and her works emphasize the bond between mother and child. A member of Mystery Writers of America, the retired English teacher and her husband research her novels among the rivers, lakes, and small towns of west Central Florida. The couple lives in Tampa.

Product Details

• Paperback: 258 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse (May 15, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595278434
• ISBN-13: 978-0595278435
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,501,419 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent read, April 12, 2004

By 

Rodgman43 (New Hampshire, U.S.A.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shadow Over Cedar Key: A Brandy O'Bannon Mystery (Paperback)

A phenomenal effort by Mrs. Cook. I was intially drawn to this novel after a recent 3-day trip to Cedar Key and I'm so glad I came upon it. I'm an avid reader of Randy White, RBP, John D. MacDonald, Peter Matthiessen, Dennis Lehane, etc., and I'm sure that Mrs. Cook's books will lay next to theirs' in my bookcase for years to come. Brandy O'Bannon can hang with Doc Ford and Travis McGee any day of week. I almost wish I'd had Mrs. Cook as my High School English teacher, too, as maybe I would've turned into the writer I always wanted to be (instead of the 9-5 software professional I ended up being). Highly engrossing, highly suspenseful, highly characterized, highly rich in FLA history, and highly recommended.

5.0 out of 5 stars Lots of Fun, April 6, 2011

By 

Carol - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shadow Over Cedar Key: A Brandy O'Bannon Mystery (Paperback)

Knowing the city of Cedar Key, and loving it as I do, this book was a pleasure to read as I recognized so many of the places in the book.

1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An entertaining read from a talented and insightful author, February 3, 2004

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shadow Over Cedar Key: A Brandy O'Bannon Mystery (Paperback)

Ann Turner Cook is the individual behind the famous Gerber baby picture we all grew up with. She is a retired English teacher and member of the Mystery Writers of America. She resides in Tampa Florida with her husband, who assists her in her research.

Brandy O'Bannon is trying to make a name for herself in the newspaper business, and to do that she needs the elusive "big story." When her editor sends her out to investigate the story of a woman from New York who has been missing for twenty years, she springs into action. The woman had a two and a half year old daughter, and they simply vanished in the Cedar Key area. When O'Bannon arrives in Cedar Key, she quickly meets a woman named Cara Waters who may be the missing child, and learns of a skeleton found in the cistern in the basement of a local hotel which could be the mother. But what events transpired and how to track them down is the big challenge for Brandy. Her husband, John, is being actively pursued by his architectural intern, Tiffany Moore. The folk of Cedar Key are tight-lipped, and Brandy thinks they know much more than they admit. A fellow investigator is murdered, and Brandy begins to worry for her own safety:

"She had started across the narrow sidewalk toward a street lamp when she heard the scuffle of footsteps behind her. She whirled. A thick figure was rising from the basement entry, its face grotesque, a blur of mashed lips and flattened nose. Brandy dropped her suitcase. Her heart thudded and her fingers tightened around the straps of her bag. A stocking mask, of course."

Ann Turner Cook writes quite a colorful story for someone with such an angelic face. Her writing is of a high caliber, clear and full of action. She allows the reader to savor the story, yet become totally enmeshed in the action. Shadow Over Cedar Key is a high action, suspenseful, and yet tragic tale that is sure to pull at the reader's heartstrings. Brandy O'Bannon is a wonderful example of a young person trying to find her place in the world and yet keep her marriage from crumbling. Her own tale is a love story most haunting, as Poirot would say. An excellent and entertaining read from a talented and insightful author.

Shelley Glodowski
Reviewer