The Seaside Cove rumor mill is buzzing about the captain of The Treasure King. He claims to know the location of the San Manuel, a four-hundred-year-old sunken Spanish galleon with a cargo worth millions. And now, he’s dead, the victim of a speargun attack.When the police ask B&B owner Rick Atwood to consult in the investigation, he has mixed feelings. Consulting for the police is not the … the problem. He’s done it before. The problem is his eleven-year-old daughter, Alex.
Alex is fearless, precocious, and fueled by a strong sense of girl power. She’s also convinced the cops will never find the killer without her help, so she launches her own investigation—and quickly becomes a candidate for Seaside Cove’s youngest felon.
Now, unless Rick can solve the case with the clues Alex found illegally, his daughter might face charges of breaking-and-entering, the treasure of the San Manuel will be lost to pirates, and a killer could get away with murder.
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*I received a free copy of this book which I voluntarily chose to write an honest review for.
Welcome to another fabulous adventure with Alex and Rick. The B&B is doing well and Rick is happy about that. Alex is looking forward to spring break especially when she hears about a big ship that has shown up in the harbor. She goes to look at it with her friends only be shooed away by the adults after an argument with the Captain. On previous visits he has caused lots of drama so the kids are forbidden from being near him or his crew. This spikes Alex ‘s investigative spirit making her look into things and then the Captain goes missing only to be found dead later. Rick is asked to help look into things while he tries to keep his daughter out of it. Well of course this does not stop her instead it gives her a challenge to overcome. Overall an adventurous mystery with two sides giving us something for everyone. Treasure hunting always brings out the best and worst in people making for a great layered story. Perfect for fans of cozies. I really liked it so I give it 4/5 stars.
The Treasure King pulls into the docks
of Seaside Cove. It is taking up many of
the dock spaces.
Captain Carroll is asked to move the ship.
After some convincing he has the crew
move it.
Captain Carroll claims to have a map of
the exact location of the San Manuel. This
ship sank in 1568. It is rumored to be worth
millions. The Captain brings with him few
passengers who paid to go on this expedition.
Captain Carroll has previously caused trouble
whenever he has been in Seaside Cove.
This time will be no different that is until he
ends up on the wrong end of a speargun…
Rick Atwood, proprietor of the Seaside Cove
B&B was a former journalist who has come
to aide of the police force on several occasions.
He is asked to consult with the police
department again. But there is a new deputy,
Deputy Baker on the force who does not think
civilians should be able to mix with murder
investigations.
Alex, the eleven-year-old daughter of Rick is
itching to get aboard the Treasure King to
look for clues to the murder. She plans her
adventure then sneaks aboard. When she
gets caught, Deputy Baker wants to arrest
Alex for breaking and entering. Will Alex do
jail time? Did Alex discover anything to help
the case?
What an exciting read, full of adventure,
suspense plus budding romance between two
B&B guest and Marquetta learns about her
past and future!!!
The writing is creative and full of such realism
with characters that have relatable qualities.
The smooth flowing style makes the story
easy to read while getting a better insight into
each individual characters in the cast.
A Highly Recommended Read!!
Secrets of the Treasure King earns 5/5 Treasure Maps…Engaging Fun!
I am excited about finally reading a Terry Ambrose’s book in his Seaside Cove Bed & Breakfast Mystery series, and starting with book four, “Secrets of the Treasure King,” didn’t have me at a disadvantage…as I feared. There’s so much to unpack in this well-written page turner, and Ambrose’s writing style kept me engaged with sensory-laden descriptions bringing the setting and characters alive and realistic dialogue that did well to set tone, emotions, and personalities. With greed and revenge, secrets and truths, surprises and revelations, the past always seems to come back to haunt. Newly docked at the marina, the Treasure King is too big to stay where it is, and the captain, whose been trouble before, is asked—demanded—to move his boat, requiring a follow-up visit from the local deputy to ensure it’s moved. The captain is also gaining interest as he publicizes the fact he has evidence showing the location of the San Manuel, a ship that sunk in 1568 sunk with a rumored treasure worth millions. So is it any surprise that the captain is found dead? Arguments and threats. Greed and murder. Rick Atwood, former journalist and proprietor of the Seaside Cove B&B, is asked to consult with the P.D., but it’s his eleven-year-old daughter, Alex, channeling her inner “Nancy Drew” who provides questionable, yet valuable, assistance. At the B&B, issues with the newly hired deputy, efforts to curb Alex’s eagerness, and the B&B’s chef Marquetta’s “missing at sea” father is a concern. Fifteen years ago her father went out searching himself for the San Manuel, and she is still seeking answers for closure. Rick’s journalist training gives him the confidence to find the information she craves. What he discovers creates more questions than answers and more secrets to consider.
I highly recommend this book along with the other three books in the series. It is uniquely organized with two distinct perspectives; each chapter, short in size, but not in entertainment, is titled “Alex,” with her first-person narrative, or “Rick,” with a third-person narrative. It’s different, but not at all confusing; readers can easily switch gears with whose perspective leads. I was reticent to read a story where a pre-teen takes a key role, is it realistic? However, her age is easily dismissed, and I liked Rick’s role as a “girl dad” and Marquetta’s surrogate mom offering positive support along with teaching her self-reliance, confidence, and right from wrongful trespassing. Alex is very much a “Nancy Drew” figure (a childhood favorite), and she may be young, but her curiosity/nosiness, meticulous nature, theories, and bit of luck make her seem more mature than most eleven-year-old girls…and she does turn up important information. I did enjoy her “Hey, Journal” entries and her matchmaking efforts for more than just her dad and Marquetta. Engaging! I highly recommend this book; newbies can easily start here. No recipes or bonus treats in the book, however, Terry Ambrose has an alphabet of easy-to-follow gluten-free recipes on his website.
Secrets of the Treasure King by Terry Ambrose is the 4th A Seaside Cove Bed & Breakfast Mystery. It can be read on its own, but I do recommend reading each book in this engaging series. This series contains delightful characters. Alex, Rick’s precocious eleven-year-old daughter is my favorite. She is one smart cookie with an active imagination and boundless amounts of energy. Alex’s journal entries are humorous and a delight to read. We get to see that Alex is gaining a new understanding of how certain action of consequences (important to think before leaping). Marquetta works at the bed and breakfast and conspires with Alex to do a little matchmaking. Marquetta and Rick are interested in each other romantically and they go out in public for the first time (which has the town gossips buzzing). No one ever said the path to happiness would be smooth. Marquetta needs answers regarding her father before she can commit to Rick. She also must deal with an old high school classmate who has returned to town. The mystery was nicely done. I especially liked the unique murder weapon. There are a variety of suspects with some of them hiding secrets and others with dubious alibis. You need to pay close attention to the details if you want to solve this whodunit. There is one point where I had to skip ahead to find out how a scene ended before going back to read the intervening chapters. I could not wait to find out what had happened to two key characters. The book has a great ending. Secrets of the Treasure King is a charming cozy mystery with a corrupt captain, shifty suspects, a talented tween, matchmaking merriment, and a frustrated father.
In this series, single dad Rick Atwood runs a seaside B&B along with his daughter Alex and close friend Marquita. Rick’s interest in police matters is shared by his daughter, and they are drawn into the drama of the big ship docked nearby, full of treasure hunters. Soon the captain is dead and the investigation is in full swing.
The treasure hunters are a gnarly, fractious bunch with secrets of their own. To his credit, Rick tries to divert Alex from the dangerous murder case to that of the missing treasure map, but Alex is locked in full-speed ahead mode.
Book 4 of the Seaside Cove B&B series is filled with small town charm, plot twists, and two amateur sleuths—a true delight for cozy fans!
Maggie Toussaint also reviewing as Muddy Rose Reviews
Secrets of the Treasure King by Terry Ambrose is a pretty cool father-daughter duo of crime-solving.
Will Rick figure out a way to use what Alex found out?
Rick and Alex Atwood
Rick Atwood is the father of Alex. While trying to run a B&B, they help solve murders, and try to keep his dating life on the down-low. Okay, so being the father of Alex is a fulltime job on top of his typical fulltime job of running bed and breakfast. See, Alex thinks of herself as a bit of a crime solver. She has been on the lucky side for the past three cases. The problem with this time is that the victim isn’t a nice person, and Alex does some things she’s not supposed to do. Rick is trying his hardest with parenting her, and who knows, maybe with luck, he will have a partner that can help in handling Alex and get her to be a kid again.
What I like about these two is that their father-daughter dynamic shows through the writing and how they interact with each other. I love the whole thing of having these two be sleuths together, and I like that the Chief of Police, who happens to be friends with Rick, calls Alex “Nancy Drew.” It is cute, and I loved every minute of reading this book. I fell for the red herrings, though, and I maybe had a suspicion but couldn’t figure out with why.
The Mystery
The mystery in this one is who could have killed the captain of the Treasure King. Well, this investigation leads to a whole lot of suspects and not a whole lot of concrete evidence. Put that with a deputy who isn’t thrilled about working with the father-daughter duo makes it hard for them all. Everything just isn’t going well for Rick.
Alex, because she wants to help and thinks she knows a way to do things without having to worry about police procedures despite idolizing the female deputy. To Rick wanting to keep Alex away from the ship and finding her with where she really shouldn’t be. Then to Deputy Baker may not be staying for long because she doesn’t think that Rick and Alex are using correct police procedural to working a case. And then finally to Chief of Police Adam Cunningham, who likes having Rick and Alex help but not at the cost of losing a great deputy. However, he isn’t left to much of choice really between some key players that I can’t say. Let’s just say that this mystery turned sideways real fast in terms of trying to get solved quickly.
Five Stars
My first book of Mr. Ambrose’s happens to be of Secrets of the Treasure King. Honestly, it was a great book to just jump right into without reading the first three books. Mr. Ambrose made it easy to do that, and he doesn’t divulge what happened in the previous books. One thing that I like when authors don’t do that, so it gives a new reader to them a chance to go back and read them without knowledge of what happened in the future installments. Rick and Alex are a cute father-daughter duo that is trying to get Alex to realize that all of her actions have consequences. I think this series shows a lot of promise, and I can’t wait to read more. So, I am giving Secrets of the Treasure King by Terry Ambrose five stars and recommending it.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Secrets of the Treasure King by Terry Ambrose.
Until the next time,
Karen the Baroness
If you would like to see other reviews like this one, check out BaronessBookTrove.com.
” Isn’t time we all stopped hiding from the past? Marquetta’s not hiding from it anymore and yet…it seems like the past is right there in our faces. ”
Alex, Rick, Marquetta and the regulars in Seaside Cove are back in the fourth book by Terry Ambrose. Things have changed some but it’s still “all hands on deck” as Rick divides his time between being a Dad, a business owner and a ” civilian assistant” to the police chief. Will be ever have time to look to the future? And, can be even have a future if the past keeps getting in the way…oh, and 11 year old Alex and her knack of being exactly in the wrong place at the least opportune moment isn’t helping…
When The Treasure King docks in the harbor, it seems to bring a whole lot of trouble with it And when the Captain is found dead in the water will Adam and Rick find out who murdered him…and why?
These books are great escapes. From the wonderful cover art to the great prose, it’s easy to see how Terry Ambrose for his reputation as a crack storyteller. Highly Recommended 5/5
[ Disclaimer : I received this book from the author and voluntarily read and reviewed it]