Book Review: A FAIRWAY TO ARMS IN HEMINGWAY HILLS - A Seaview Cottages Cozy Mystery #4 by Anna Celeste Burke

About the Book  (from Amazon)

There's been a serious mishap on the golf course at the exclusive Hemingway Hills Country Club at the Blue Haven Resort & Spa. During a brazen heist, a cache of arms is stolen from the guards who patrol the private enclave. 

A man is found dead on the fairway, but it's not clear if he was in on the heist or not. The Grand Old Lady Detectives (G.O.L.D.) and Charly's Angels are on the case with help from Homicide Detective Hank Miller. 

Review 

It all starts with a frantic call, sirens, firetrucks, and smoke at Hemingway Hills golf course. Marty, one of the residents, ask the GOLD ladies as she's sure the fire was to cover up a theft and perhaps more.

As the GOLD ladies head in the direction of the fairway, Miriam comes across an 8-year-old, her nanny, and a dead man. The 8-year old has a letter the victim asked to be delivered to his friend. She and the dead man have been interacting on and off. Unfortunately for Miriam's friend, the 8-year-old isn't the only one with connections to the victim.

As the GOLD ladies try to clear the husband, they discover secrets about their neighbors and friends. While some may not appreciate a group of "women of a certain age" playing detective, the women show themselves to be quite capable.

Burke has combined good plotting and characters with good dialogue, banter, and Hemingway quotes. The pace is steady and the characters likable. A solid cozy mystery. This is the fourth in the series, but my first. Burke provides enough background, it can easily be read as a stand-alone. 

  

AMAZON

Seaview Cottages Cozy Mysteries

About the Author

To get a free eBook: https://www.desertcitiesmystery.com 

Life is an extravaganza! figuring out how to hang tough and make the most of the wild ride is the challenge. On my way to Oahu to join the rock musician and high school drop-out I had met in San Diego and married in Tijuana, I was nabbed by the police as a runaway. When the police let me go and the rock band broke up, my husband and I had to find another way to survive. Our next stop: Disney World where we trained to be chefs, courtesy of the Walt Disney World University. A GED for my husband and many more years of education landed us in academia at The Ohio State University. 

Retired now from my role as a professor in social work and behavioral science, I have picked up a long-time interest in writing fiction. I'm still married to the same sweet guy and live with him in the Palm Springs area. In addition to reading and writing fiction, I enjoy painting, hiking, hanging out with my handsome husband and tending to my Siamese kitties. 

An award-winning and bestselling author I enjoy snooping into life's mysteries with fun, fiction, & food—California style! I write books in five series: The Jessica Huntington Desert Cities Mystery series set in the Coachella Valley near Palm Springs, the Corsario Cove Cozy Mystery series set on California’s Central Coast, The Georgie Shaw Cozy Mystery series set in Orange County, California, The Seaview Cottages Cozy Mystery Series set on the American Riviera, just north of Santa Barbara, and The Calla Lily Mystery series set in Northern California's wine country.

Book Review: GRAVE EXPECTATIONS ON DICKENS DUNE - A Seaview Cottages Cozy Mystery #3 by Anna Celeste Burke

Synopsis

Miriam, the Grand Old Lady Detectives, & Charly's Angels take on a cold case that will have you wondering what the dickens is going on until the very end! 

A cold case doesn't stay cold for long when Miriam and her Grand Old Lady Detective [G.O.L.D.] pals take on a new mystery to solve. Charly's old friend, Judith Rogow, asks for her help in locating her ex-husband's grave. 

A Vietnam War veteran, Allen Rogow survived the war and returned home only to disappear several years later. Although evidence pointed to foul play, the police never found his body and Allen Rogow's disappearance remained an unsolved mystery. That all changes when an ex-convict makes a deathbed confession claiming someone murdered Allen Rogow and buried his body on Dickens' Dune. 

As the cold case warms up, it becomes clear that Allen Rogow had lots of secrets. Was he killed to make sure he'd take them to his grave? What Miriam soon discovers is that it's the secrets you don't know you're keeping that can sometimes be the most dangerous.   

Recipes Included

Review

The GOLD women are back in business. Only this time, the cold case they’re working on his for a friend, . She needs to know what happened to her husband when he disappeared. There’s a death bed confession by a convict that Allen Rogow was murdered by one of his friends and is buried somewhere on Dickens Dune. A bookie who says he works for the mob tries to get money from Miriam and ends up dead. Now, she has a little better idea of all the things Pete was involved in, but she’s worried the mob may be after her to pay his debts. And when the well-known and handsome mob lawyer sends her flowers and chocolates, what does he have in mind. 

As with other books in this series, Burke creates older characters with energy and intellect. With all their connections it’s easy for Miriam, Neely, Midge, and Marty to get to the bottom of things. Especially with the help of Charly’s angels. The story is well-paced with subplots, twists and turns, and lots of secrets revealed. 

If you enjoy cozy mysteries and older, competent protagonists, this one is for you. Although it is the third in the Seaview Cottage series, Grave Expectations on Dickens Dune can be read as a stand-alone or out of order. I always suggest you start at the beginning to experience how relationships grow over time.

AMAZON