On Flashback Fridays I will share with you
the books I was not able to review
when they were first released that have been screaming at me
from my To-Be-Read bookshelf.
Boats and Bad Guys (An Isle of Man Ghostly Cozy)
Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Setting – Isle of Man
Independently Published (February 15, 2017)
Paperback : 230 pages
ISBN-10 : 1540750159
ISBN-13 : 978-1540750150
Kindle ASIN : B01N53XBM9
Fenella Woods is excited to be taking the ferry across the Irish Sea to England so that she can begin her research. When she finds a dead body in her cabin, she has to change her plans.
The police seem convinced that the killer is one of the other passengers who had a cabin reserved for the journey. Fenella meets a group of suspects that includes a wealthy couple, an older man and his much younger wife, and a retired and incredibly nosy woman.
Finding herself caught up in the middle of another murder investigation isn’t pleasant for Fenella. This time Fenella is determined not to take any advice from her dead aunt who continues to occupy the luxury apartment that used to be her home. Her kitten, Katie, isn’t much help either, as she seems determined to cause as much mischief as she possibly can.
While Fenella wants to help Inspector Robinson find the killer before he or she strikes again, things certainly aren’t going the way she’d expected when she started her new life on the Isle of Man.
Dollycas’s Thoughts
I really enjoyed the first book in this series and have been looking forward to reading this book since I finished it.
This time Fenella Woods is ready to start her research and will be traveling by ferry across the Irish Sea to do so. She has reserved a cabin for the voyage in case she gets seasick and needs to lie down.
She checks in and hurries to her cabin already feeling a little ill but someone is already in the room. She finds a very dead man in her bunk. She backs out of the room and calls her new friend Daniel Robinson, a CID Inspector. The ferry is soon inundated with police and the ferry captain is livid. He feels he should have been told first and then he would decide if and when to alert the authorities. Now all his passengers need to make other arrangements and spend time being questioned.
The police believe the killer is a passenger and Fenella is forced to wait in a room with the other passengers that had booked cabins. They are an eclectic bunch. She is upset about being involved in another murder case. When she gets home her dead aunt wants to start investigating right away no matter much Fenella wants to leave it to Inspector Robinson.
When she moved into the apartment she inherited from her aunt she never expected to be caught up in one let alone two murder investigations. Then again, she never expected to be living with her dead aunt’s ghost either.
I love the Isle of Man setting for this series. Someplace I will never be able to physically visit but the author’s words take me there effortlessly.
Fenella has made some good friends in her neighbors, Peter and Shelly, and also in Inspector Robinson. There is definitely romantic tension between Fenella and the good inspector but she has her ex calling her all the time from the states begging for them to get back together. Then there is Mona, Fenella’s aunt in ghostly form. She is pushy and funny. She pops in at some inopportune moments and is never short on advice for her niece. All these characters sans the ex are delightful.
We are introduced to several ferry passengers. Charlotte Master who is quite a busybody, Justin Newmarket, a 24-year-old who was on his way to Liverpool to spend the weekend with his mates, Brenda Proper and her husband, Nick, both retired, they were on the way to visit their children, a stern Harry Hampton and his much younger wife Sherry also going to visit family, and Sarah Grasso who was set to go on holiday with her husband. We also meet Captain Matthew Howard who is very upset about his authority being overlooked. All are well crafted and easy to keep straight, especially because the captain keeps bringing them together trying to get the answers he wants which are totally different from what the police are looking for. All of them are the inspector’s suspect list.
The mystery is very well-plotted with several meetings and interviews in the quest for the truth. I was kept guessing right up to the end. Captain Howard was really pushing my buttons even though I knew he wasn’t the killer I wanted someone to throw him overboard.
This is an Alphabet Series so I have a long way to go and I am looking forward to reading them all. Boats and Bad Guys
Your Escape Into A Good Book Travel Agent
About the Author
Diana has lived in several US states, the north of England, and the Isle of Man. While she is currently in the US, she still misses the stunning scenery, wonderful people, and fascinating history that make the Isle of Man so unique.
Website – Twitter – Facebook – GoodReads
Find more books by Diana Xarissa here.
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*This book is part of my personal collection.
is a lighthearted mystery with an exciting climax. I enjoyed the way Ms. Xarissa told this story so I am looking forward to reading book two, 
to see what kind of mystery Fenella gets involved in next. This being an alphabet series it appears Fenella has all kinds of adventures ahead and I have a bunch of catching up to do.