The long-awaited third book in Midnight Ink's bestselling series is finally here!
It's springtime on Cranberry Island — and love is in the air. It seems like every woman has the hots for buff trainer Dirk De Leon. He and his equally-gorgeous business partner, Vanessa Black, are leading a weight-loss retreat at the Gray Whale Inn — forcing innkeeper Natalie Barnes to lighten up her butter-laden breakfast menu.
The mood on the island darkens when two grisly discoveries are made. The first is a skeleton walled up at the island's lighthouse. The second is a corpse of the fresh variety — the handsome Dirk! Could the spirit that once embodied the skeletal remains — perhaps the lighthouse keeper who disappeared a century ago — be responsible for Dirk's death?
The police pin the blame on Natalie's boyfriend who — to her dismay — had a long-ago fling with Vanessa. To find the true killer and ease her own aching heart, Natalie must untangle the knot of jealous girlfriends and spurned admirers that once surrounded the hunky trainer.
Weight Loss Can Be MurderNovember 26, 2008 Mark Baker(Santa Clarita, CA United States) 4 out of 4 found this review helpful
The Gray Whale Inn is hosting a weight loss retreat. Owner Natalie Barns is hoping that, if things go well, this might become an annual event. True, she has to cook three meals a day instead of just breakfast. Heck, with all the health food around, maybe she will loose a few pounds.
But when the group arrives, things start to go south quickly. While all the women on Cranberry Island start lusting over trainer Dirk DeLeon, it's the female leader who has Natalie seeing green. Turns out that Vanessa visited the island for a couple summers and had some romantic flings with the men there, including Natalie's boyfriend John. While he insists they are just friends now, they sure do seem awfully chummy.
The dieters have been on the island for less than a day when, out for a jog, they find a body. Rumors quickly start flying that John is a suspect. But he couldn't have done it, could he? And if not, who did?
It's been too long since I got to visit Cranberry Island, but I quickly fell back into the setting and the series characters. They are as charming and friendly as ever. The new characters could have been a bit better developed, but with some diligent work, I was able to keep them all straight.
The main plot and a sub-plot trade off the spot light and keep the pace moving pretty quickly. I did figure out the culprit in the second half of the story, but it was because of a lucky guess. Even so, I was entertained until the thrilling climax.
As always, there are some recipes at the end. Most of them are lighter calorie in nature, although the one that sounds the best is not on the dieter's menu. Isn't that the way it always is?
This book continues with the charm of the first two. I hope we get another visit to Cranberry Island soon.
AN EXCELLENT, WELL WRITTEN COZY TAKING PLACE IN MAINE.January 3, 2010 D. Blankenship(The Ozarks) 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Murder most Maine, by Karen MacInerney was my introduction to this neat little series and I can assure you that by not reading the books in order takes nothing from the charm of this work. I have a weakness for the cozy mystery genre and read a lot of them. They are my mind cleaners to a certain extent and allow a bit reading relaxation not found in every book you pick up. This series, "A Gray Whale Inn Mystery" certainly fit the bill and certainly met all of my expectations.
The Gray Whale Inn, located on Cranberry Island off the coast of Maine is owned and operated by a displaced Texan, Natalie Barnes. The Island is inhabited by a very eclectic conglomeration of quirky local characters, all for the most part quite likeable. The author has a wonderful talent in being able to describe landscape, physical location, buildings, dress and local color. This adds so much to the story. You actually feel you are there.
In this story, Natalie is hosting a group of people who are on a retreat to loose weight. The sponsor of the trip, Vanessa who, it turn happens to be a past "summer girl," who also happens to have had a "summer thing" with Natalie's boy friend, John...not a comfortable thing being around your boy friend's old flame. Along with Vanessa is her partner in the weight loss business, Dirk who is quite a hunk as far as the ladies are concerned. It does not take long for the author to kick start her story as right at first, Dirk, the mysterious trainer and heart throb, is found dead on a jogging trail. There is no doubt it is murder!
Suspects abound in this work, from several members of the weight loss group to inhabitants of the island...including boy friend John! And by the way; did I mention that there is a further mystery involved, one that is around 150 years old due to the fact that a skeleton of a man is found in the hidden basement of the nearby lighthouse as it is being restored! Natalie, being the nosey little inn keeper she is, and insecure as to the status of her boyfriend John, is drawn right into the middle of all this drama. To top everything off, it is found that the hunk, Dirk, may have been poisoned and the police immediately shut down Natalie's kitchen and rumors abound and we start wondering if this will be the end of the Gray Whale Inn, whose financial foundations are apparently not all that stable to begin with.
They mysteries, and there are two of them running parallel throughout the work, are interesting enough to hold your interest. Recipes abound and the author has been nice enough to give them all in a supplement in the back of the book. Now these particular recipes happen to all be of the healthy weight loss kind which held little interest to me, but they did sound good and would most certainly be helpful for those interested in dieting.
The book has been well written by a natural story teller who happens to have a gift for writing. The writing style is precise and easy to follow without a lot of bothersome clutter, yet is detailed enough to pull you into the story and keep you there. While there is of course a bit of romance involved, it is rather low keyed and does not get in the way of the story line what so ever; in this case it is necessary. For those that are interested in a steamy story filled with gratuitous sex, then they need to look elsewhere. A few kisses and hugs are as about as wild as it gets. I find this rather refreshing.
For a nice mellow read, a satisfying read that goes much too quickly, this is an excellent choice to curl up with on a rainy Saturday and Sunday. I will most certainly be reading the rest of the books in this series; catching up so to speak and will be hoping the author is turning more of them out.
Don Blankenship
The Ozarks
Love this seriesJuly 24, 2009 Review(Columbus Ohio) This is one of my favorite cozy murder mystery series'. As you may know, cozies, like other genre, are quite variable in quality. This one is well written, with well developed characters and a good mystery. And I love the setting of a bed & breakfast on a small island in Maine. That in addition to the mouth watering cooking the author weaves seamlessly into the story (recipes at the end) make me want to be there. I've read the first 2 in the series, and I will certainly read the rest.
Very entertainingMarch 23, 2009 Linda L. Chewning(Jacksonville, Florida) 1 out of 2 found this review helpful
First time i had read this author and found her book a nice change of pace. A good beach read.
Another enjoyable visit to the Gray Whale Inn!October 18, 2008 Virginia M. Watrous(CT) 13 out of 13 found this review helpful
I was delighted that my copy of Karen MacInerney's "Murder Most Maine" was delivered to my house the day before my annual excursion to coastal Maine for the long Columbus Day weekend! It was the perfect place to catch up on innkeeper Natalie Barnes and the folks on Cranberry Island. As with Ms. MacInerney's first two books in the Gray Whale Inn Mysteries, I was immediately drawn into the lives and surroundings of this wonderful series. Mysteries abound in the inn, and a much anticipated romance weathers the storm. The recipes included reflect the health-conscious story line, and I am anxious to sample them all! Congratulations to the author for another job well done! Can't wait to visit the Gray Whale Inn again!
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