Hunter Murphy

I just didn’t like this story. I didn’t care about the murder victim or if it was ever solved and the characters are what I like to call “running around like chickens with their heads cut off” – sorry for the visual but that is the best way to describe it. The problem with this is the author purposefully has two characters with all the information who don’t reveal any of it until the end. So 70% of the book is the antics of the other characters that have no impact on the mystery or lead to any resolution and the reader will not be able to figure out the motive because of this. Notice I wrote “motive” and not bad guy because the bad guy is quite obvious due to his lack of continual interaction or reasoning for his actions. Which is odd considering the main male characters accuse just about everyone else of the crime in this book with barely any reasoning.

As someone from Texas, I learned through this narrator that someone with a strong Southern accent can still be monotone. The narrator’s voice did not change or have any inflection for any of the characters whether they were screaming or angry or happy. Even I know someone from Alabama does not sound like someone from New Orleans yet the characters all sound the same except for Lena.
… (mehr)

When Imogene and her sister Agnes are taken on a vacation to Florida by the boys (Jackson and Billy) you never know what is going to happen, well actually you do. Shortly after arriving at the Clear Springs Park for the mermaid convention, a dead body is found. When Billy is arrested for the murder, the rest of the family will do whatever it takes to prove his innocence. The problem I had with this book is the rudeness, yelling, anger etc. that occurs during this investigation. It seems that when I read books with characters of a certain age, that they are feisty but with a bit of an edge, a little too much in this case. The mystery was okay with the amateur sleuths eventually solving the case, but I could not connect with these characters. They were not very nice and often ending up in physical altercations. I did not expect this in a book that I thought was a cozy mystery. This was just not my cup of tea.… (mehr)

This mystery starts with a mermaid reunion and a dead body floating in the water. It leads to crazy golf cart and boat chases, exposes mid-twentieth century racial segregation, and disputed parentage. There's plenty of juicy material. Unfortunately the plot is long and meandering, over-long, in fact. The bigger problem, however, is that most of this book operates in the realm of absurdity. Things are exaggerated for effect, but the effect is so extreme that the tone and prose are cringe-worthy. Everything is overdone. The dialogue is stilted. It feels like it is trying to sound 'southern,' but over-compensating. Every emotion is presented as overwhelming, there's a keystone cop level of physical comedy, and it is just not well done.… (mehr)

I thoroughly enjoyed The Curse of the Bridal Chamber. It revolves around this mysterious Florida spring called “The Bridal Chamber.”

When Billy decides to take his partner, Jackson, his mother, and his aunt on a trip to see the mermaids at a convention, they are expecting adventure- and an adventure is precisely what they get! The convention pulls in mermaids from previous generations who starred in shows around the park. Although I did not read the first book in the series, the second book reads well as a stand-alone novel, and I could gather a gist of what I needed to know from this story.

When Billy is taken into police custody after a body surfaces in the water, Jackson, Imogene, and Agnes spend a plethora of time trying to find out who the real murderer is to gain Billy’s release. Finding out that the mermaid convention holds truths far greater than they can imagine, the three struggle to decipher who they can trust anyone. The threesome begins to see all the park employees’ secrets while trying to find clues that could lead to the truth.

It’s rare that I can say a novel like this captured and held my attention, but The Curse of the Bridal Chamber did exactly so. The world surrounding the mermaids is carefully crafted and the story takes complex turns. I spent time focusing on each character, claiming to myself that I knew the killer, only to discover that someone else seemed guiltier than another. This tale is like a classic case of “Clue,” which I am certain would keep readers interested. And did I mention mermaids? MERMAIDS! I was completely smitten from the beginning.

I would recommend this book to readers of mystery novels and humorous stories. I would easily recommend this book to readers of all ages, despite a bit of explicit language usage.… (mehr)