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theavidreaderandbibliophile's review against another edition
3.0
Death by the Sea by Kathleen Bridge is the first novel in A By the Sea Mystery series. Elizabeth “Liz” Holt has returned home to Melbourne Beach, Florida to The Indialantic by the Sea Hotel and Emporium which is owned by Amelia Eden Holt, her aunt. Aunt Amelia is an eccentric former actress who helped raise Liz along with Liz’s father, Fenton Holt. Liz is living in the beach house. She helps out in the hotel and is working on her next novel (well—she is supposed to be). Their latest guest is Regina Harrington-Worth and her husband David who will be staying with them while their historic home is being demolished and a modern monstrosity is built in its place. Regina considers The Indialantic beneath her, but it is the only hotel with a vacancy that will allow pets. After a successful Spring Fling event, they discover that Regina was found dead in her suite, her husband was stabbed, and some very expensive jewels have gone missing. Liz immediately dives in to find who committed the dastardly deed. Who disliked Regina enough to kill her (that is one long suspect list)? Join Liz at The Indialantic as she examines the clues and questions the suspects to catch the evildoer.
Death by the Sea is a slow starter. The murder does not happen until the forty-four percent mark. The beginning of the book is an introduction to the Liz, the hotel, the employees, Liz’s family, the guests, and the shops and their owners. The author overwhelms readers with the amount of information she is dishing out. Kathleen Bridge is a wordy writer. It creates a rich environment, but it also makes a slow-moving story. I do like the beautiful hotel and emporium that Ms. Bridge created in Death by the Sea. I did feel that the story jumps around making it disjointed. Liz has returned home after a disastrous relationship that ended in Liz being physically injured. Since Liz and her paramour are public figures, the whole debacle was fodder for the media. There are numerous quirky characters with the biggest one being Aunt Amelia. A popular actress during the 1960s who has passed her love of 60s sitcoms and movies along to Liz. The various shows and movies from that time-period are mentioned throughout the book (Dark Shadows, Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, Gilligan’s Island for example). I enjoyed the comments regarding the popular teen girl mystery novels which included Nancy Drew, Connie Blair, and Dana Girls (which I collect). There was an abundance of repetition (it is a common malady in books that I have read recently) along with a cliché nasty detective. The pace picks up slightly in the second half of the book as the investigation gets under way. I think the author tried to put too much into one book. The hotel, the numerous quirky characters, the unique shops, Liz’s nemesis, Liz and her issues, a love interest, Regina’s father and how he died, the treasure of the San Carlos, Spring Fling, Fenton Holt and his practice, the obnoxious bird with the foul mouth, the hairless cat, and Liz and her writing difficulties are just a few of the items in the book. The murder of Regina was not as complicated as it seemed, and it can be solved before the reveal. At the end of the book, readers are still left wondering how Liz was injured. We are told about her injuries, but not how they happened. There are also some contradictions (one example is the hotel is not doing well, but an employee has a large suite and some people seem to live there for free). My rating for Death by the Sea is 3 out of 5 stars. I am hoping the author will scale back in A Killing by the Sea.
Death by the Sea is a slow starter. The murder does not happen until the forty-four percent mark. The beginning of the book is an introduction to the Liz, the hotel, the employees, Liz’s family, the guests, and the shops and their owners. The author overwhelms readers with the amount of information she is dishing out. Kathleen Bridge is a wordy writer. It creates a rich environment, but it also makes a slow-moving story. I do like the beautiful hotel and emporium that Ms. Bridge created in Death by the Sea. I did feel that the story jumps around making it disjointed. Liz has returned home after a disastrous relationship that ended in Liz being physically injured. Since Liz and her paramour are public figures, the whole debacle was fodder for the media. There are numerous quirky characters with the biggest one being Aunt Amelia. A popular actress during the 1960s who has passed her love of 60s sitcoms and movies along to Liz. The various shows and movies from that time-period are mentioned throughout the book (Dark Shadows, Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, Gilligan’s Island for example). I enjoyed the comments regarding the popular teen girl mystery novels which included Nancy Drew, Connie Blair, and Dana Girls (which I collect). There was an abundance of repetition (it is a common malady in books that I have read recently) along with a cliché nasty detective. The pace picks up slightly in the second half of the book as the investigation gets under way. I think the author tried to put too much into one book. The hotel, the numerous quirky characters, the unique shops, Liz’s nemesis, Liz and her issues, a love interest, Regina’s father and how he died, the treasure of the San Carlos, Spring Fling, Fenton Holt and his practice, the obnoxious bird with the foul mouth, the hairless cat, and Liz and her writing difficulties are just a few of the items in the book. The murder of Regina was not as complicated as it seemed, and it can be solved before the reveal. At the end of the book, readers are still left wondering how Liz was injured. We are told about her injuries, but not how they happened. There are also some contradictions (one example is the hotel is not doing well, but an employee has a large suite and some people seem to live there for free). My rating for Death by the Sea is 3 out of 5 stars. I am hoping the author will scale back in A Killing by the Sea.
khoyt's review against another edition
4.0
A fun cozy mystery, which did have you guessing right up until the end.
peggyemi's review against another edition
4.0
This is the first in a new series by Kathleen Bridge. I am new to this author but this won't be the last book of hers that I read. I found this to be an entertaining start for Liz and the rest of the residents of the Indialantic Hotel in Florida. I was entertained from start to finish. The books is well written and the story just flows taking the reader along for the ride. I really liked the character of Liz Holt. While she has returned home after some tragic events in New York, she has spunk and doesn't let what happened define who she is. Ms. Bridges surrounds Liz, with a great cast of secondary characters that are diverse in age, background and personalities. Aunt Amelia was my favorite. She is quirky in a good way that will endear her to the reader. The mystery was solid and built to the murder which occurred about 1/2 way through the book. There were a good number of suspects to choose from and with the help of some residents of the Indialantic, Liz and the crew are able to solve the murder. There is even a touch of romance for Liz.
I enjoyed this book and will be continuing with the series. I am looking forward to see how Liz grows in her new life and what path her writing career takes. I voluntarily read an advanced reader copy provided to me by the publisher, Lyrical Underground, through Netgalley.
I enjoyed this book and will be continuing with the series. I am looking forward to see how Liz grows in her new life and what path her writing career takes. I voluntarily read an advanced reader copy provided to me by the publisher, Lyrical Underground, through Netgalley.
lindscodycats's review against another edition
4.0
Great new series! Interesting cast of characters.
annarella's review against another edition
5.0
I really enjoyed this book. It's full of humour, bizzarre characters and pop references to old tv series and mysteries.
It's very well written with an interesting plot that keep you guessing till the end. The heroine is complex, with a huge emotional baggage and the book is also about her path to healing. The other characters are funny without being grotesque.
Cannot wait to read the next instalment.
Many thanks to Kensington Books and Netgalley
It's very well written with an interesting plot that keep you guessing till the end. The heroine is complex, with a huge emotional baggage and the book is also about her path to healing. The other characters are funny without being grotesque.
Cannot wait to read the next instalment.
Many thanks to Kensington Books and Netgalley
melmo2610's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting start to a new cozy series. Fun characters and a good mystery with a few surprises along the way. Enjoyed my listen!
verityw's review against another edition
2.0
****Copy from NetGalley in return for an honest review********
I wanted to like this, but there's just too much going on and too many unanswered questions/plot holes. Liz has come back home after an incident that left her with a scar - but we don't ever find out the details of what happened - except that that the reports in the press were wrong and that she doesn't want to talk about it. The hotel is in trouble - but Liz's family gave her a fancy tricked out beach house and the staff have 3 or 4 bed suites to live in. There's a huge cast of characters and locations to get your head around and the murder is quite late on - but by that point I didn't really like anyone! Not for me. Never mind.
I wanted to like this, but there's just too much going on and too many unanswered questions/plot holes. Liz has come back home after an incident that left her with a scar - but we don't ever find out the details of what happened - except that that the reports in the press were wrong and that she doesn't want to talk about it. The hotel is in trouble - but Liz's family gave her a fancy tricked out beach house and the staff have 3 or 4 bed suites to live in. There's a huge cast of characters and locations to get your head around and the murder is quite late on - but by that point I didn't really like anyone! Not for me. Never mind.
triciadea's review
3.0
I really wanted to love this story. I really, truly did. I just couldn't. I did like it, but I just wasn't invested in it. I didn't love it. I spend more than half the book wishing it'd just end already.
It was extremely slow to get going. Seventeen or eighteen chapters of Liz walking around talking to everyone. I mean, I get building up the story and characters, but it was just too much. The "whodunit" at the end was more than a bit anticlimactic, as well. My final gripe has to do with the narrator. I listened to the audiobook on my daily commute. I have family in this area of Florida where the story is set. I was so aggravated by the pronunciations of some of the places. I have never heard anyone from that area pronounce Brevard the way the narrator chose to pronounce it. And at one point "Eau Gaulle" was mentioned. I can't really say for sure because I was not looking at the printed word, but I think the location was "Eau Gallie."
Overall, the story was pretty good... but it really took a while to get it going. Will I read (or listen) to other books in this series? Maybe. I won't abandon the series until after two or three books - unless the story was just horrible. This wasn't. It just also wasn't great.
It was extremely slow to get going. Seventeen or eighteen chapters of Liz walking around talking to everyone. I mean, I get building up the story and characters, but it was just too much. The "whodunit" at the end was more than a bit anticlimactic, as well. My final gripe has to do with the narrator. I listened to the audiobook on my daily commute. I have family in this area of Florida where the story is set. I was so aggravated by the pronunciations of some of the places. I have never heard anyone from that area pronounce Brevard the way the narrator chose to pronounce it. And at one point "Eau Gaulle" was mentioned. I can't really say for sure because I was not looking at the printed word, but I think the location was "Eau Gallie."
Overall, the story was pretty good... but it really took a while to get it going. Will I read (or listen) to other books in this series? Maybe. I won't abandon the series until after two or three books - unless the story was just horrible. This wasn't. It just also wasn't great.
annarella's review
5.0
I really enjoyed this book. It's full of humour, bizzarre characters and pop references to old tv series and mysteries.
It's very well written with an interesting plot that keep you guessing till the end. The heroine is complex, with a huge emotional baggage and the book is also about her path to healing. The other characters are funny without being grotesque.
Cannot wait to read the next instalment.
Many thanks to Kensington Books and Netgalley
It's very well written with an interesting plot that keep you guessing till the end. The heroine is complex, with a huge emotional baggage and the book is also about her path to healing. The other characters are funny without being grotesque.
Cannot wait to read the next instalment.
Many thanks to Kensington Books and Netgalley
lisaeliza's review against another edition
1.0
This was a very boring story with cookie cutter characters.