Member Reviews
Enjoyable light easy to read book. a reclusive author ends up dead. the heroine, a lawyer with an ability to solve cases gets involved in this small town mystery. Family relationships, hers and others in the town and romantic relationships are also a part of the puzzle and the daily ife
This is a fun read for mystery fans. A reclusive writer decides to write his memoir. Invited to a local book festival he is murdered. Estranged wife and family attend the festival and bring a will. His young assistant also has a new will.
All the pieces to find the person responsible for the writers death.
Recommend for public libraries
This was amazing! I loved the pace of this book. This series is so good. I love a good Irish setting cozy mystery that keeps me on my toes but still cozy enough to make me happy. And this is the perfect one. I love Ben's character and I can't wait to see what else she gets into.
I just reviewed Death Writes by Andrea Carter. #DeathWrites #NetGalley
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Really enjoyed this mystery novel set in a small town in Ireland. Strong sense of place, easy reading, characters who are kind and just without being annoying about it. The plots intertwined in a satisfying way- solicitor Ben O'Keefe is worried her parents are being taken advantage of by a con man, so she brings them to stay with her for a while. A literary festival is going on in her town, and her mother is a huge fan of the reclusive author who is making his first appearance in years. Lots of interesting, small town characters. This is a cozy - ish mystery with a bit more bite than some others. Read this is you like strong settings and well drawn plots.
Really great mystery, very intricately plotted. I have read the entire series and very much enjoy spending time with the complicated characters the author has created. The author does a fantastic job of creating a sense of place that is nicely at the forefront throughout the read. Excited for the next in the series!
This book was sent to me electronically by Netgalley for review. Thanks to the talented author and one of my favorite publishers. Mystery and intrigue keep the story moving quickly. Red herrings kept me guessing. This is a great story and would make a good movie. Enjoy this mystery. I can’t wait for more by this author.
Inishowen solicitor Ben O'Keeffe gets involved in the death of a local reclusive author when her firm holds Gavin Featherstone's will. But is it his final will or is there another more recent will which will cut off his estranged wife and their grown children? Ben is also worried about her parents being bullied by a scam artist who has taken over their home and is insisting that they hand over the deed. Add in other colorful local characters, a sometimes boyfriend who is in law enforcement, local gossip mongers and Ben finds herself not only handling the legal aspects of Featherstone's murder but also figuring out who murdered him and why.
Wonderful depictions of the land, the local people and places, This carries readers through with enough information to make solving the crime yourself seemingly easy, until you get the last pieces of the puzzle only to find that you were headed in the wrong direction! Enjoyable, Entertaining and not easy to put down.
I look forward to another Ben O'Keeffe adventure.
Dead writes is the first book I read in the Inishowen Mysteries series and it holds it own as a stand-alone. Storyline and characters are complex and engaging and the writing is excellent. I will definitely read the rest of this series.
This is the latest in Andrea Carter's Irish Inishowen series, full of charm and intrigue, and which makes great use of the beautiful, atmospheric coastal location, with the rich descriptions. It opens with Glendara solicitor Benedicta 'Ben' O'Keefe and her partner, Sergeant Tom Molloy, tensely making their way to her parents, Margaret and Des's home, after receiving a disturbing phone call from one of their concerned neighbours. For some time, they have let a stranger, Stuart Chambers, live in their home. On arrival, it is clear he has taken over their home, but when they wake up in the morning, he has cleared out, taking his belongings. Ben persuades her parents to return with her, they have never visited her, waving the carrot of GlenFest, a local literary festival being organised by bookshop owner, Phyllis Kettle, with Molloy promising to look into Chambers background.
The return journey is marred by what could have been a serious car incident, but fortunately Ben and Molloy escape without injuries. Ben has other pressing issues, her very capable office right hand woman, Leah, is pregnant, and she cannot face the prospect of having to train someone to cover her maternity leave. Phyllis is displaying contradictory behaviour, unhappy then accepting, when the festival manages to secure a headline act in the famous Booker Prize winning writer, Gavin Featherstone, a local recluse, not seen in public in the last 10 years. This snags the interest of national media, creating a real buzz around the event and there is a TV documentary being made. Featherstone is on stage when he suddenly keels over. It turns out he has been murdered, poisoned, and Ben, of course, cannot help but get involved in the investigation.
Both Ben and Molloy are workaholics, which is why their relationship works, though there are the odd bumps, as when Ben arrives at his place with a bottle, expecting and looking forward to a social evening, only to find he only has work on his mind. Carter draws attention to the vulnerabilities of the elderly, open to being taken advantage of by the unscrupulous, and who can be greedy relatives. Ben had become more distant from her parents, who plummeted into the deep despair of grief with the death of her sister, leaving them wide open to the likes of the predatory Chambers. This is a wonderful addition to this terrific crime series, I am looking forward to the next in the series, but I am wondering how Ben and Molloy's felationship will develop with him moving because of his promotion. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.
Death Writes is the 6th book in the Inishowen Mysteries.
Solicitor Benedicta "Ben" O'Keefe is informed by her parents' neighbor that something strange is
going on at her elderly parents home. When she arrives, she finds a man living with her parents and becomes concerned about the amount of control he seems to hold over them. She invites her parents to her home to attend Glenfest, the local literary festival. The draw is the appearance of reclusive author Gavin Featherstone who will be appearing along with two other authors.
When Featherstone dies on stage as he is about to read an excerpt from his soon to be published memoir, Ben is drawn into the case due to her having one of two wills of the deceased. As more is learned about the author, who from his past wanted him dead?
Sergeant Tom Malloy investigates the author's death along with investigating the
man staying at Ben's parents home.
First book I read in the series - missing the history between Ben and Malloy. I will be going back to
the first five books.
#DeathWrites #NetGalley
As always, I enjoyed traveling to Inishowen and spending time with Ben O'Keeffe, solicitor and amateur detective. The plot twists among local residents can at times feel a bit soap-opera-ish, but that didn't stop me from reading non-stop and wanting to know what will happen next in this small Irish town. A bit less than other series entries, I felt like readers will have wanted to read at least the previous book, "Body Falls". Recommended to readers who like atmospheric settings and interesting characters along with a pleasingly twisty mystery.
This great Irish mystery can be read as a standalone but is actually book 6 in the series.
Benedicta “ Ben” O’ Keeffe lives a small town life in Inishowen. The book begins when Ben hears from her hometown neighbor that a group of adults have moved in with her elderly parents. She and her police sergeant boyfriend visit and find a cult like group seems to be preying upon them. She rushes her parents back to Inishowen,and help her friends prepare for an upcoming literary festival.
But when the keynote speaker dies on stage, the town life is anything but quiet.
In Glendara, preparations are underway for Glenfest, Glendara’ s literary festival. Join Ben and the group as she tries to get to the bottom of it! Excellent Irish language and slang and a fun mystery all around.
#Oceanview #Oceanviewpublishing #Deathwrites #andreacarter
I thoroughly enjoyed this book- the first I have read in the series. I’ll definitely be picking up the others. The characters were compelling and the writing was smart and kept me turning the pages. Highly recommend. Thanks to Oceanview Publishing and Netgalley for the advance reader copy.
This is the first time I have come across Andrea as an author and really enjoyed her writing. The author pours out her story through the eyes of Ben, the small-town lawyer who for some reason her life is intertwined with most of her town mates. So much is going on in Donegal as well as in the life of her parents and her boyfriend, Malloy who is the local police sergeant.
We follow the story through the eyes of Ben, one of the two solicitors in town. Challenges in her life begin when she is called and informed that her parents could be in need of her help after so many years of her being estranged from them. The storyline gains momentum after the death of the long-awaited reclusive writer whom everyone was excited to meet once again after years of hiding away from society.
I enjoyed this book, as much as it is a stand-alone and the sixth book in the series, Inishowen Mysteries. I could not tell Andrea was far down in her books. The storyline is engaging and the mysteries keep coming. I could not tell what was going to happen next. The ending was quite unexpected. Had not seen it coming.
Will definitely try to get a hold of all the other books in the series.
I was beyond thrilled when I stumbled upon "Death Writes" by Andrea Carter—a book that evoked the same excitement I feel when diving into an Agatha Christie mystery. Agatha Christie was one of the authors I grew up reading and I could not ABSOLUTELY wait to read to have the same feeling all over again. As the sixth installment in the Inishowen Mysteries series, this novel expertly combines contemporary storytelling with the classic allure of a murder mystery.
The story unfolds as Benedicta "Ben" O'Keefe and Tom Molloy embark on a trip to Ben's parents' house, only to uncover a web of suspicious circumstances surrounding a boarder named Stuart Chambers. As Ben becomes entangled in the investigation, a local literary festival takes a dark turn when a reclusive author is murdered, introducing a multitude of viable suspects.
The Pacing vs Plot: It is a fast and addictive read once you get down to it. There are actually two storylines running parallel—the main one being Gavin the author's suspicious death, and a subplot involving Ben's parents' dodgy lodger in Dublin. As Ben's boyfriend, Sergeant Tom Molloy, provides updates on the investigation, the shocking depths people will go for money come to light. The main plot itself is a tangled web of secrets and lies, with every character seemingly hiding something. It kept me hooked until the final reveal, which, to be honest, had me a bit confused 'cause, for me, it all came out of nowhere. It may be a bit clever but not exactly something you'd encounter in real life.
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Characters and the Story: The characters in "Death Writes" are a bit relatable and down-to-earth, making it easy to connect with them. They are how people I know in life would react to it. Ben, in particular, stands out as a character who relies more on her instincts than on conventional detective skills. (I will NOT lie, for 70% of the book I was guessing Ben's gender like OH GOD I FELT LIKE I JUST H A D TO READ THE PREQUELS TO KNOW MORE IN DEPTH ABOUT THE CHARACTERS) The fact that she is not a magical sleuth who stumbles upon every damned clue added a refreshing touch of realism to the story, making her journey all the more engaging. And then there's Tom Molloy, her boyfriend who also happens to be a workaholic police/detective/guard. We see their relationship getting strained as the plot progresses. No bad blood, but not so close as to establish a proper rich romantic relationship, but that may be just due to the nature of their jobs.
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In conclusion, "Death Writes" is a captivating and expertly crafted addition to the Inishowen Mysteries series. If you appreciate a leisurely-paced mystery with okayishly-developed characters, who you find extremely understandable but not very lovable per se, and a touch of the macabre, this book is definitely worth your time.
This is the first book i have read by this author and it was a nice surprise. Great story that I couldnt guess what happened. I had the wrong person in mind the whole way through and was shocked.. Thanks to Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read.
Benedicta (Ben) O'Keeffe is upset about her parents. They aren't answering any of her call, there is a strange man living in with them, and now the neighbor says there are more people staying there and have keys. Just who is this 'house guest' that has taken over for them? Is he who he says he is or a con artist? That's not the only thing going on. A famous writer lives in their little town and is murdered. Can Ben and Molloy sort all this out? I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.
I enjoyed this book. The author was quite good at setting visuals for the reader to feel they actually there. What I didn’t like was the way she seemed to skip around from one crime to another with one character and another in ways that at times made me feel lost.
Ben O'Keefe is a small town solicitor in Donegal, her boyfriend Malloy is the local police sergeant. Her friend runs the local bookshop and organises a literary festival and has got a well known reclusive writer to do the star turn. On the night, during his performance he becomes unwell and collapses - and is found after the PM to have been poisoned. Ben and Molloy are on the case and it seems there are no shortage of suspects partly due to his dissolute youth. Intricately plotted and well written, its cosy crime at a high level.
small-town, small-business, gossip, poisons, amateur-sleuth, famous-author, Ireland, local-law-enforcement, murder, murder-investigation, lawyers, relationship-issues, relationships, family-dynamics, family-drama, cosy-mystery, friendship, rural*****
The unofficial mystery is whatever is going on with Ben's parents who live four hours away.
Ben or Benedicta is a solicitor in Ireland and has a rather romantic relationship with Garda Police Sergeant Tom Molloy.
The official one comes at home with the poisoning murder of a prominent author in front of an assemblage of fans.
The stories are effectively wound around each other and filled with red herrings and interesting plot twists. Well written with realistic characters and their sensibilities. Of course I loved it, but I have enjoyed the previous books in series so don't think that this is an unbiased review!
I requested and received an EARC from Oceanview Publishing via NetGalley. Thank you!