Something’s fishy at the Ritz…and it doesn’t sit well on a cracker!
My Review
By Scarlett Rains
Murder in Half Moon
Bay, (Jillian
Bradley Mysteries, No. 1) is an entertaining, fast-paced, read. Nancy
Jill Thames’s clever protagonist, Jillian Bradley, doesn’t miss a beat. She, and her garden club friends, arrives at
the West Coast Garden Club Society’s Annual Conference in Half Moon Bay expecting
to relax, spend the weekend gleaning gardening tips, whiling away pleasant
hours surveying plant specimens, and sampling great food. Jillian quickly realizes there is something
fishy going on at the Ritz…and she’s not talking about fertilizer! The soil at
the Ritz-Carton doesn’t need enrichment.
Bodies are popping up over there faster than bean sprouts on steroids! Good thing Jillian is not only a gardening
expert, but a VERY good listener, a keen observer of detail…and a list-maker. Put all that together, stir in the ‘contributions’
of Teddy (Jillian’s little Yorkie –who may just be telepathic!) and you’ve got
yourself a great potting mix for a budding detective.
As
Nancy Jill Thames’s delightful story unfolds, a botanist might prove more useful
than the FBI or the local police department.
All sorts of cross-pollination seems to be going on, what with social
butterflies flitting around, landing in who knows whose room, and things taking
root where they never should have been planted!
I’m not one for spoilers, but
there are weeds that need pulling at the Ritz-Carlton and Jillian’s just the
gal for the job. She and her friends waste no time. They get to work, digging
in the dirt, to solve the mystery.
I
enjoyed Thames’s family-friendly mystery very much. This charming book earned 4/5 hearts. I would
have given it 5/5, but one of the plot points troubled me. As brilliant as Jillian clearly is, I couldn’t
see a police chief allowing her to question suspects, until later in the series
—after she establishes her stellar reputation as a sleuth. That trifle aside, Murder in Half Moon Bay is the sort of
book to enjoy on a rainy day, snuggled in a recliner with a nice cup of Jillian’s
favorite, Lady Earl Grey, tea. I
recommend it to anyone who enjoys a clever mystery that’s not soaked in blood
and gore. I look
forward to reading all of the Jillian
Bradley Mysteries.
Book Description (per Amazon)
Publication Date: April 10,
2012
When a shocking murder disrupts the West Coast Garden Club
Society's second annual conference, gardening columnist Jillian Bradley joins
with Chief Frank Viscuglia to help in the investigation. Could it be the mean
spirited conference director? Perhaps it's the wealthy widow on the make for
her next husband; or maybe the killer is the haughty business woman who shows
no regard for her brow beaten husband.
Set in beautiful Half Moon Bay at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Jillian moves through
the exclusive hotel property, local nurseries, colorful restaurants, and
private mansions searching for the truth, pausing with her friends for cups of
afternoon tea along the way. She uncovers a series of mysterious events that lead to solving several murders, both past and
present. With the help of her garden club friends and her Yorkshire terrier
'Teddy', Jillian discovers not only a killer, but a far greater menace that
could threaten us all.
Product Details
·
Paperback: 178 pages
·
Publisher: CreateSpace (April 10,
2012)
·
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1452882088
·
ISBN-13: 978-1452882086
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