Randy Overbeck
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- Dr. Randy Overbeck is a veteran educator who has served children for more than three decades as a teacher and school leader, winning national recognition for his work. Over that time, he has performed many of the roles depicted in his fiction, with responsibilities ranging from coach and yearbook advisor to principal and superintendent. An accomplished writer, he has been published in academia, the popular press and, more recently, in better bookstores. His first novel, Leave No Child Behind, won the 2011 Silver Award for Thriller of the Year from ReadersFavorite.com. His second novel, Blood on the Chesapeake, a ghost story/mystery released this year by the Wild Rose Press, has earned 5 STAR REVIEWS from RaeadersFavorite.com, Long and Short Reviews, Literary Titan and Chanticleer Book Reviews. It also garnered national awards, the GOLD AWARD from Literary Titan and Honorable Mention from Readers View. Blood is the first in a new series called the “Haunted Shores Mysteries.” Dr. Overbeck is a member of the Mystery Writers of America and an active member of the literary community.
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It might help to read the previous books to gain greater context. Darrell sees ghosts, and on this occasion they show up at his honeymoon. This is a slow story looking at the children's past.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Darrell Henshaw and his new wife Erin are flying to Florida to enjoy their honeymoon, and the last thing Darrell wants is for his “gift” to ruin their plans. But, of course, he can’t say no when the ghosts of two innocent children beg him for help. So with Erin and their new local friend Luis at his side, he digs up the past to find out what really happened to those missing, forgotten children.
What a wonderful book! This is the second mystery I’ve read from Mr. Overbeck and won’t be my last. He has such a unique way with words. I love reading his stories.
Darrell and Erin have a great relationship. They trust each other, and though Darrell does tend to keep secrets to protect her, he ultimately knows he’ll have to fess up. She’s his partner in all things.
I don’t often read books that focus heavily on social or political issues, but the issue in this book—the horrible treatment of migrant workers in the US—is something that’s important and needs to be addressed. Mr. Overbeck handled this hot-button issue with respect and care.
Anyway, Scarlet at Crystal River is a compelling mystery to dive into. You won’t regret it.
5 Stars… (mehr)
What a wonderful book! This is the second mystery I’ve read from Mr. Overbeck and won’t be my last. He has such a unique way with words. I love reading his stories.
Darrell and Erin have a great relationship. They trust each other, and though Darrell does tend to keep secrets to protect her, he ultimately knows he’ll have to fess up. She’s his partner in all things.
I don’t often read books that focus heavily on social or political issues, but the issue in this book—the horrible treatment of migrant workers in the US—is something that’s important and needs to be addressed. Mr. Overbeck handled this hot-button issue with respect and care.
Anyway, Scarlet at Crystal River is a compelling mystery to dive into. You won’t regret it.
5 Stars… (mehr)
In book two in The Haunted Shores Mysteries series, former high school football coach Darrell Henshaw wants to clean up his good name after the scandal in which he lost his job. His special gift, however—he can see ghosts—is drawing him into a murder mystery he wants no part of. Unfortunately for him, the Haunted Bride won’t take no for answer.
I don’t normally read mysteries, but this story grabbed my attention from chapter one. Darrell is an awesome character with a serious case of OCD. He’s kind, smart, and capable, and he feels as though he needs to help the ghosts in spite of the dangers to himself. Those dangers also affect the ones he’s close to—including Erin and Cassie, his girlfriend and a runaway teenager respectively.
I enjoyed Mr. Overbeck writing style, and I could easily visualize the scenes through his detailed descriptions. His characters are complex and three-dimensional. There are a few twists and turns, which I wasn’t expecting but thoroughly loved.
Crimson at Cape May takes place right after the events in book one, but it can be read as a standalone. (Enough back-story was given to bring me up to speed.) For anyone wanting to read a good mystery with a tad of romance and paranormal thrown in, I definitely recommend this book. I would love to read more from Mr. Overbeck.
5 Stars
… (mehr)
I don’t normally read mysteries, but this story grabbed my attention from chapter one. Darrell is an awesome character with a serious case of OCD. He’s kind, smart, and capable, and he feels as though he needs to help the ghosts in spite of the dangers to himself. Those dangers also affect the ones he’s close to—including Erin and Cassie, his girlfriend and a runaway teenager respectively.
I enjoyed Mr. Overbeck writing style, and I could easily visualize the scenes through his detailed descriptions. His characters are complex and three-dimensional. There are a few twists and turns, which I wasn’t expecting but thoroughly loved.
Crimson at Cape May takes place right after the events in book one, but it can be read as a standalone. (Enough back-story was given to bring me up to speed.) For anyone wanting to read a good mystery with a tad of romance and paranormal thrown in, I definitely recommend this book. I would love to read more from Mr. Overbeck.
5 Stars
… (mehr)
Auszeichnungen
Statistikseite
- Werke
- 4
- Mitglieder
- 19
- Beliebtheit
- #609,294
- Bewertung
- 4.6
- Rezensionen
- 11
- ISBNs
- 6
- Sprachen
- 1
For the most part, the characters were rather interesting and distinct. Things weren't going so well for Darrell at the beginning of this book as he had lost his job and his girlfriend and was in Cape May working at a football camp to earn some money. The stress was creating anxiety and affecting his OCD, so when he again starts seeing ghosts, he doesn't react very well to those sightings and it takes a lot of persuasion for him to help them. Considering the ghosts got him into a lot of trouble in the previous book, I understood his reluctance as I think it was consistent with his life at the moment. When things started to go better for him in his life, he was more receptive to the ghosts, and that made a lot of sense. I really enjoyed Cassie as a character and liked how realistically she was portrayed. Some of her life was definitely downplayed to keep the book clean, but you got enough to read between the lines and understand how difficult it is for kids on the street when their home lives are terrible.
The pacing was a bit slow at times, but the story essentially had three mysteries woven into it: first, there was the problem with Derrell and why he lost his job, events from the previous book; two, the ghost that kept appearing to Derrell, the mysterious bride, presented the next mystery; and three, the issue with one of Derrell's students whose older sister had gone missing which led into a sex trafficking scenario. I really appreciated the fact the author dove into more serious issues in this book as it's very relevant today. Sex trafficking is definitely not new and I liked how the author was pointing out that everyone who turns their head when noticing something is wrong is part of the problem, and allowing influential people to get away with criminal behaviour is problematic. It was done subtly, and in such a way that we should always be on the lookout for odd behaviours and talk to our children about being wary; you know if a thing sounds too good to be true, it probably is, and you should run as fast as you can. I find comments about sex trafficking in the nineties quite interesting, especially from those who say they had no idea because as a uni student in the late 80' and early 90's we knew to avoid those jobs where you went to a 'warehouse' for an interview as they were probably for porno and these types of things. So yes, it was definitely around. And those 'job advertisements' were everywhere.
Verdict
Crimson at Cape May was an enjoyable read, and if you love the paranormal as well as interesting characters, then this is for you. Personally, I prefer something a bit more gritty, but the themes running through this book were quite serious; they were also presented in a way that were not overly graphic or biased, but are definitely something that are relevant in today's world. I did find that Derrell's character development was a bit inconsistent, and I had a problem with the whole cellphone thing in this book, not his purchase of it, but his use as he would definitely not have been able to make a call in the backwoods in 1999 as cell reception during that time was terrible. I was also not impressed with who the villain was in this book as I tend to need legitimate motivations and reasons and that was lacking in my estimation. However, if you are looking for a book that is a mix of paranormal and mystery, and like deeper themes that aren't too explicit, then this book is definitely for you.… (mehr)