Captain Dead Man
by Wendy Meadows
Series: Sweetfern Harbor Mystery #3
Series Rating:
Published by Majestic Owl Publishing LLC on September 20, 2017
Genres: Mystery
Pages: 154
Format: Kindle
Goodreads
Get Your Copy at: Amazon
Also in this series: Ghostly Tours , Posies and Poison , Dead in Bed, Turkey, Pies and Alibis
Sweetfern Harbor Bed and Breakfast Cozy Mysteries can be read in one to two hours. It is perfect for those moments when you are waiting at an appointment or want to enjoy a quick read. Excitement races through Sweetfern Harbor as the famous July boat races near. Brenda Sheffield finds herself busier than ever at Sheffield Bed and Breakfast. Her place is booked solid and calls come daily from potential and hopeful customers that have to be turned down. Brenda has never been as happy as she is now. Detective Mac Rivers asks her to marry him and she accepts. Her disappointment comes when he wants her to wait to announce the news until after the long weekend is over. She reluctantly agrees.
In the meantime, he suggests they go to Morning Sun Coffee Shop where the famous three Captains are hanging out. They are close friends and fierce competitors and the stars of the race. Scully proves to be boisterous and reigns with bragging rights of winning this race. He jabs his friends in friendly banter and Captain Pratt joins in. They entertain the crowd that moves closer to their table. Captain Eddy joins in but speaks less words than the other two. He is affable and draws a group of fans, too, but he allows the other two to have their good fun. Brenda and Mac are invited to tour the new boats crafted by local boat builder Wally Doyle before the races the next day. Brenda is excited to see the inside of a racing boat for the first time in her life.
The next morning when the Captains tell them to go on and take tours by themselves, Mac and Brenda first enter Captain Eddy’s boat. They presume he is inside since he wasn’t with the other two down on Main Street. Shock sets in when they discover Captain Eddy is dead in his cabin. After calling for back-up, they discover signs around the boat that indicate this was not a natural death.
A visiting Detective and long-time friend of Mac’s suddenly becomes the Captain of Eddy’s boat. A Judge deems the races go forward as planned. It isn’t long into the race when all evidence left on the boat sinks to the bottom of the ocean with the vessel. Bryce Jones barely escapes with his life intact. With all evidence now gone, Mac enlists Brenda’s help and together they must find out who had a reason to not only kill Captain Eddy but also make sure the crime would not be solved. Plenty of suspects come to their minds. Wally, the boat builder, Detective Bryce Jones, now Captain of the dead man’s boat and the two other Captains. It won’t be easy to prove who committed the crime, but Brenda delves into the matter on the side and has her suspicions found to be true when the suspects are called together.
Who would kill such a nice man?
Captain Dead Man by Wendy Meadows is the third book in the Sweetfern Harbor Mystery series. I continue to fancy this series. The characters are delightful, and the mysteries are superb.
Our sleuth
Brenda is an amateur sleuth that has assisted the police force previously to solve murders in town. Since Sweetfern Harbor has been blooming with tourist, the crimes have risen. Brenda helps Detective Mac to find the killer.
Brenda is slightly off her game at the beginning of this book as Mac is acting different and Brenda isn’t sure how to handle it. This drama doesn’t stop the two of them from solving the murder of Captain Eddy.
The three Captains
We have three hometown Captains racing in the coveted Sweetfern Harbor Boat Races this weekend. The three are the best of friends and do everything together. Their sailboats were built by a local boat maker and are identical, except interior design selections.
We have Captain Eddy of the sailboat ‘Eddy,’ Captain Scully of the sailboat ‘Scully’ and Captain Pratt of the sailboat ‘Pratt.’ The three men have been friends since childhood, they fish together and take their boats all over the place together. The Captains are inseparable until Captain Eddy is found dead in his cabin aboard his ship the morning of the race by…you guessed it Brenda and Mac of course.
Don’t worry, Brenda forces the murderer to confess with the assistance of Mac and the others. As a bonus, there is a party at the end of the story to announce a newly engaged couple to the townsfolk of Sweetfern Harbor.
I found the mystery is perplexing and the characters are delightful. The town always seems to pull together and make each event fabulous.
5 Stars for Captain Dead Man by Wendy Meadows
My rating for Captain Dead Man by Wendy Meadows is five stars. I adore the wit of the characters and the short mysteries. I recommend the book to all cozy mystery readers.
This Guest Review is for Baroness’ Book Trove. Thank you for the opportunity to review this book on your site.
About Wendy Meadows
Wendy Meadows is a USA Today best-selling author whose meticulously crafted stories showcase witty women sleuths and engaging plots. Her primary influences include but are not limited to mystery genre greats Joanne Fluke, Ellery Adams, and James Patterson. To date, she has published dozens of books, which include her popular Sweetfern Harbor Series, Maple Hill Series, and Alaska Cozy Series, to name a few.
In a previous life, Wendy worked as a Graphic Designer, earning her Graphic Design Certification at the prestigious New York based Sessions School of Design. With this valuable artistic background, she designs her own book covers. In fact, she began writing fiction soon after designing numerous book covers for other fiction authors.
When she isn’t writing about female detectives and their tactful crime solving, you can find Wendy either tending to her hobby farm, playing video games, relaxing on her back porch, or coloring in her growing collection of adult coloring books. She also loves spending quality time with her husband, two sons, two cats, and one adorable Labradoodle. Together, they call “The Granite State” home sweet home.
The bio above and picture were taken from the author’s website.
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