Reviews for Murder in Maris Cove:


by Annie Rivers http://www.writersunlimited.com

In this delightful sequel to The Bodies Out Back, Phillis Toner and her brother, Pat Montgomary, are on the trail of another murder – or murder-to-be. This time, their investigation takes them to the seashore, to a small, private compound known as Maris Cove.

Their adventure begins after Pat receives a frantic phone call from his old teacher and friend, Franklin York. As Franklin explained to Pat and Phillis, whenever someone wants to purchase a house in Maris Cove, new buyers are voted in by the other residents of the compound. During the night, he received a threatening telephone call telling him what would happen to a young couple named Alyce and Adam Reitman if they went through with their plans to purchase a vacant house in the Cove. Franklin was warned, "If the Reitmans are voted in, one of them won’t live long enough to enjoy the house. One of them will be dead within hours."

Not knowing who made the call and wondering if it was just a mean-spirited prank, Pat, Phillis and Franklin rejected the idea of calling in the police. During dinner at Franklin’s home that evening, nothing seemed suspicious. All the other residents were in attendance and, without any opposition, the Reitmans were voted in and welcomed as the newest residents of Maris Cove. However, before the party broke up for the evening, Alyce Reitman was found dead in her new home.

As Pat and Phillis work to piece together the puzzle, they find themselves sucked into a world of privilege, secrets, betrayal and mayhem. As the investigation progresses, Alyce Reitman’s mercenary personality is revealed. It isn’t a question of who wanted her dead. It was a question of how many people were actually involved with her murder! Complicating matters, in the middle of Pat and Phillis’s investigation, another murder occurs. Was the murderer covering his tracks or was this new death meant to throw Phillis and Pat off-guard? And did either murder have anything in common with the death of Vickie Grayson? At first, her death was ruled accidental but could it have been murder? It was her house the Reitmans were buying; how did they know it was "coming available"? Who told them and why?

Who is the murderer? Is there more than one? Could the murders have been committed by the insanely jealous Estelle Naimanor the man-hungry Gywnn Valentine? What about the burned-out teacher, Jessie Fenshaw? There’s also the mysterious butler, Orville and the sinister caretaker, Quarrels to add to the list of suspects. It makes for a lively investigation!

Once again, Joe Wright has written a top-notch mystery novel. He is a terrifically talented writer who can write a multi-character mystery novel and juggle them all like a master. He expertly creates full-bodied, extremely interesting characters and then weaves them in and out of the storyline like a master chess player.

Mr. Wright also has a knack for writing humorous dialogue. Just when the tension gets to be too much, Mr. Wright has one of the characters utter a line or a word that makes the reader laugh and breaks the tension…but only for a moment. The story is so good that no reader will want to put it down for very long.

The story grips you from the very first page and keeps you enraptured until the very last page. Mr. Wright never reveals enough about any character so that the reader can rule them out as a suspect, leaving the reader hooked until the mystery is solved (One of Mr. Wright’s other gifts is to solve the mystery well before the final page, so those of you who like to read the last page first will not be any closer to finding out whodunit!)

One final warning: don’t read this story before going to bed. You won’t be able to fall asleep. You will find yourself saying, “just one more page” over and over until the book is finished. It’s that captivating, it’s that entertaining, it’s that well-written.

Annie Rivers -- Writers Unlimited Reviewer

---

Phyllis Toner and Pat Montgomary are back in action in the second book of Joseph E. Wright’s mystery series. This time, Phyllis and her gay half-brother are called to a secluded spot on the New Jersey shore. Maris Cove, the huge former estate of Thurston Cairens, is lined with seven lovely houses, owned by group arrangement. Like a co-op, the residents own a "share" of the estate, and the sale of those shares require unanimous approval.

When Vickie Grayson dies, Alyce and Adam Reitman try to buy in. An anonymous call threatens the death of a Reitman if the Maris Cove residents approve the sale, prompting a call to the amateur sleuth protagonists. As promised, Alyce Reitman is found strangled.

MURDER IN MARIS COVE is a good follow-up to the first book in the series, "The Bodies Out Back." Author Wright has set up a classic cozy, with an isolated setting, quirky residents, an aloof servant, and a very deserving murder victim. While events unfold (and the author rolls out revelations at a pleasing clip), the reader is treated to odd details (the estate was originally financed by a fortune in the asparagus business), clever dialogue (". . .Phyllis wondered where Alyce, the adept physician, kept the scalpel she used to remove Adam’s testicles"), and an engaging, endearing relationship between the two lead characters.

The author has a superior grasp of charming, witty dialogue that also moves the plot. His sense of detail helps avoid cliché and caricature, difficult in a genre that focuses on death among the rich and silly. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Brian Kaufman -- Round Table Reviews

---

Maris Cove an exclusive tight-knit community and one filled with mystery and danger. His long time friend and former schoolteacher Franklin called Pat Montgomery and asked him to visit Maris Cove and to help prevent a possible murder. Franklin had received a call saying if the Reitmans were allowed to buy a recently vacated house one of the Reitman family members would be murdered. Pat and his sister Phillis, amateur sleuths, take off to Maris Cove to help his friend and stop a potential murder.

Once Pat and Phillis arrive in the cozy community of Maris Cove, they meet the wide mixture of residents that make up the small community. When the residents and the Reitmans hear of the threat they still decide to vote to allow the Reitmans to move in. Big mistake. Things go from a threat of a murder to an actual murder… or two...maybe three?

Can Pat and his sister Phillis solve the mystery and stop the deaths surrounding the small exclusive community of Maris Cove? A community where everyone is hiding a secret. Will Pat and Phillis find the clues that will lead them to the murderer before anyone else gets killed?

Murder In Maris Cove is a wonderful mystery. Author Joseph Wright takes us on a wonderful journey throughout the whole story showing the readers the clues as they are found, telling us the fact finding progress of the characters and the sorting out of clues; allowing the reader to become an amateur sleuth themselves. Author Joseph Wright is a very talented writer; he gives you the clues and the step-by-step progress of finding and sorting through the clues yet you still are kept in suspense until the very end. Murder In Maris Cove by Joseph Wright is a fast paced, detailed story with interesting characters that Mystery Lovers will greatly enjoy and one I gladly recommend.

In the Library Reviews www.inthelibraryreviews.net
Reviewed by: Lisa Lambrecht

---

At Books Unbound we encourage you to write feedback about our books.
We have created a "Reader Review Form" for you to use.
www.booksunbound.com/reviewform.html
If you'd like to leave a review or book specific comment, we encourage you to do so!