The Mystery Mastermind Group who live and write at the Gull Island Writer’s Retreat are tasked with proving that the husband of a young mother with four adopted children and another on the way, was murdered and had not committed suicide as the insurance company is claiming. Jack, Jill, and the other writers know their task will be difficult since all the evidence found at the scene leads to a … verdict they simply cannot accept.
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“Fifth Night” earns 5/5 Fiery Fun…A Signature Engaging Mystery by Kathi Daley!
Once again, in the fifth book of her Writers Retreat Mystery series, Kathi Daley has penned an intriguing mystery for her bunch of amateur sleuths to unravel. Jillian Hanford, who manages a writer’s retreat, and the eight writers, of various ages and genres, have band together as the Mystery Mastermind Group. Any one of them can bring up for consideration a cold case of personal or professional interest. From murder to accidents, and now, it is Brit Baxter, the youngest of the group, who introduces Abby Boston, a pregnant and recently widowed mother of four, whose husband she does not believe committed suicide. Bobby Boston had been found asphyxiated in his car, a typed note next to him taking responsibility for a series of arsons and a fatality. The insurance company will not pay out for suicide, her house payments are in the rears, and her family’s future is bleak. She asks the group to prove it was murder, and the group answers her plea.
A clever case of “appearances can be deceiving” sends Jillian and the group around the island to revisit five recent cases of arson that left one dead and one suicide. Using meticulous techniques including research through official reports and newspaper archives along with informal interviews with key witnesses and suspect, it seems not to have been as open and shut as law enforcement had determined. Definitely something is amiss, but the fires seem unrelated, each handsomely reimbursed by different insurance companies, the property owners were out of town when their boat, barn, or businesses were destroyed, and Bobby was a firefighter with the requisite skills to do the job. The “arson and suicide” seems a clear cut focus, one that includes several revelations the original investigation should have seen, but as safe as this may seem, someone always ends up in jeopardy when their “snooping” gets too close.
Kathi Daley has a signature character-driven style to her writing. Along with the engaging gathering of clues, she entertains by weaving in several of the ongoing personal relationships: Gertie and Quentin, Vicki and Rick, Garrett and his parrot, and of course, Jillian and Jackson. Jillian seems to have found a way to dismiss the “Jack and Jill” references, but she is questioning the future of their relationship when Jack’s mother enters. We continue to enjoy the ins and outs of the small community visiting several businesses, enjoying a meal, and planning for the upcoming Spring Fling. Several pets get into the mix, to the delight of animal lovers, with Blackbeard the parrot, Agatha the cat, and the new golden retriever puppy, Kizmet.
There’s a lot to digest, but a lot to enjoy. I highly recommend the series, and newbies need not shy away from this fifth book. It is a good standalone revisiting background and connections including brief bios at the beginning of the book for the Writers Retreat Residents, Townsfolk, Victim, and Suspects and Witnesses. It all works well!
The Mystery Mastermind writer’s group looks into the case of a young firefighter, Bobby Boston, who supposedly committed suicide and left behind a wife and four kids with another on the way. After a series of arson fires set at properties where no one was home, the last fire claimed a life and Bobby was thought to have set the fires and couldn’t live with his guilt over a man dying. Bobby’s widow, Abby, asks the group for help in proving her husband was murdered and didn’t commit suicide. An intriguing case for the group. Jack’s mother also comes to town and things get a little tense between Jack and Jill. I really enjoyed this book and trying to figure out the truth behind Bobby’s death. The characters are all interesting and I enjoy how well they
I enjoyed this book very much. When a young woman shows up before the group to ask them to check into her husband’s death, the gang is drawn between this woman being pregnant plus having her adopted nieces and nephews and not being able to receive the insurance money, into helping her find answers.
This story keeps you guessing and wraps it all up to a satisfying conclusion. Between the mystery and the side story, this book kept me turning the pages. I will definitely continue on with this series.
“…I’ve found that in life as in writing, it’s the unexpected side trip that makes all the difference”
Jill Hanaford is now completely settled on Gull Island, helping run her brother’s resort. She has a good job at the Gull Island News, a budding romance with Jack Hanaford, and a small cadre of friends, neighbors and “clients” at The Writers’ Retreat. However…
Her Island was rocked with a series of arsons earlier and the widow has come to the group in hopes of setting the record straight before the bank forecloses on her house where she’s raising her 4 nephews and nieces and is close to delivering her baby. Although her husband’s death has been ruled a suicide, Abby Boston is sure someone killed him, and with the help of “The Mystery Mastermind Group, Jill will find out the real truth.
I am constantly amazed at the breadth and scope of Kathi Daley’s imagination. I can only assume it gets very crowded in there sometimes. As an avid fan of her Zoe Donovan series, I have come to expect fresh new takes on mysteries from this author, and Fifth Night is no exception. Recommended 4/5
[disclaimer: I won this book from a rafflecopter giveaway and voluntarily reviewed it. The way I received it in no way affected this honest review]
I love all her books she is a great storyteller
Great fifth book in this fun series!
In attempting to help a pregnant young widow, who is already raising her dead sister’s four children, Jill and the other “Masterminds”, a group of authors who mostly live in a writers’ retreat owned by Jill’s brother, Garrett, find themselves embroiled in a challenging mystery.
Was the dead man a criminal whose guilty conscience forced him to commit suicide or was there something a lot more sinister at play, such as murder?
Highly recommended!
Wonderful characters and a terrific mystery make Fifth Night a winner!
In this fifth book of the series Brit asks the group to help out an expectant mother whose husband, a young fireman, committed suicide. Abby thinks that her husband was murdered and wants to prove it so that she can collect on his insurance. See not only does she have a baby on the way but her sister passed leaving her in charge of her four kids and the bank is getting ready to foreclose on their house. The young man in question left a suicide note saying he was responsible for some recent fires but also the death of a man in the last fire. Follow along as Jack, Jill and the writers group looks into this compelling mystery. Did he set the fires? Did he kill a man? Was there more at play that what’s on the surface? I love this series because the mysteries are always different but each is challenging in it’s own right. I look forward to trying to figure out who the culprit or culprits are and what caused them to do what they did. At the end of this book the author gave us a taste of the next mystery and I can’t wait to see where it leads this unique and fun group of characters.
5.0 out of 5 starsAnother murder in Gull Island
By Kathi Detamore on January 28, 2018
Format: Kindle Edition
Fifth Night is the fifth book in Kathi Daley’s Writers’ Retreat Southern Seashore Mystery is as exciting as the first four books. Please read the other books in this series- you will not be sorry! The main character is Jill Hanford a newspaper reporter that has come to help her older brother run a resort on Gull Island. Garrett is her her older brother that owns the resort but is recovering from a stroke but now back living at the resort will Jill. Jill is helping her boyfriend Jack run the local newspaper. She runs the resort as a writer’s retreat. Their are writers living in restored cabins as well as some that live in the main resort along with a cat and a Parrot.
Kathi does a short bio in the front of each book on all the writers, the local townsfolk, and the characters from the current mystery. So helpful since there are lots of characters in each book. The writers come together to solve murders from the past that were never solved.
In book 5, a young pregnant widow comes to tell her story to the group. She is expecting and is raising her sisters children . Her husband died of a rues suicide 6 months ago. His insurance will not pay up because it was a suicide. His death occurred after a run of arson fires in the town. And her husband was a fire man. Do I have your attention now? And I leave you now to solve the mystery. I did not guess this one.. Kathi Daley has over done herself again!
Fifth Night is the fifth book in Kathi Daley’s Writer’s Retreat Southern Mystery series and it’s an awesome and delightful book. Ms. Daley’s writing style flows smoothly, the characters are well rounded and affable, and the mystery is well plotted. Ms. Daley has provided readers with a clean read, filled with caring and compassionate characters and an intriguing mystery to solve. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading a well-crafted cozy mystery.
Jill Hanford is thrilled that her brother, Garrett Hanford, has been released from the assisted living facility where he’d been staying while recovering from a stroke, is adjusting well, and settling in. Brit Baxter, one of the residents at Gull Island Writer’s Retreat, invited Abby Boston to tell her story to the Mystery Mastermind Group and ask for their help. Abby starts by explaining that she was awarded custody of her four young nieces and nephews when her sister and brother-in-law were killed in an auto accident. She also explained that she gave up her job as a preschool teacher to stay home and take care of the children and her husband, Bobby, who was a fireman, took on a second job, working on a fishing boat on his days off. Seven months ago, she found out she was pregnant with their first biological child. Six months ago, Abby found Bobby in his car in their garage and his death was ruled a suicide. She doesn’t believe he killed himself and asks the group to look into it and prove he was murdered so she can collect his life insurance and stay in their home. The entire group agrees to look into Abby’s case. Jack Jones isn’t able to dedicate as much time as he would have liked to the case because his mother, who is also his literary agent, comes for a visit and is trying to convince him to continue one of his series. Jill and Jack ask Deputy Rick Savage, who conducted the original investigation, to look into it Jill works closely with him to find the truth about what happened to Bobby.