Holly Folly is approaching, and Sydney Riley is feeling far from festive. She hasn’t heard from her boyfriend in weeks, a mysterious stranger has crashed into her beloved “little green car,” and, in a moment of temporary insanity, she’s invited her parents for the holidays. She’s convinced things could not possibly get worse—until she stumbles over a body at the lighting of the lobster pot … Christmas tree.
As if this is not enough, when a gold coin and nameplate of a missing fishing boat are discovered, she’s asked to investigate the unsolved mystery of a murdered fisherman. While Provincetown is aglow with holiday lights and events, Sydney, Provincetown’s unofficial sleuth, is in the dark but determined to uncover the motive for both murders.
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Back to Provincetown we go, in the fifth book of the series. Sydney, a wedding and events planner for the Race Point Inn, is having difficulty getting into a festive mood for the holiday season. Business is always slow this time of year, her boyfriend Ali is away undercover somewhere, and without thinking, she has invited her parents to spend the Christmas holiday! What was she thinking!! Things go from bad to worse for Sydney when a visitor comes into P’Town and crashes into the “Little Green Car” bringing a mystery along with him. Fascinated by the appeal of sunken ships and pirate treasure, Sydney is caught up in his quest to salvage a ship, from the depths of Provincetown’s Harbor. When her emotions get the better of her at one of the many festivities, Sydney heads off to the pier for some alone time. When she stumbles over a dead body, alone time is the last thing she will get during the Holly Folly celebration.
I really appreciate all the attention to detail in the Provincetown Mystery Series. I enjoy a mystery where I can learn about the area and the traditions. Although the story and the characters are fictional, the description of the location and the activities are actual. Sydney is a likeable protagonist, one that you can easily relate to. The mystery is dispersed throughout the story keeping your attention, as well as adding to a secondary story line that is skillfully wrapped up in the end. Although I thought I knew who the killer was, the reveal caught me off guard. This is a well-crafted, enjoyable mystery. I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author, in exchange for an honest review.
This is the 5th and latest book in a series; I’ve only read no. 4 and this one, but they’ve both worked well as stand-alones. I find the protagonist likable, but strangely awkward and not that confident, especially for a smart, rather brave event and wedding planner. I enjoyed this book more than the last one, though, maybe because I’m in love with the descriptions of Provincetown and this author’s way with words. I found the historical aspects of this book regarding shipping, piracy, and slave trade fascinating, and the past and present-day ways of finding remnants of shipwrecks were educational in an interesting way too. I liked the Christmas aspects of the book, and like the previous book I read, I’d love to visit the real place on which this book is based. The mystery was fun to solve, and I’m even more eager now to go back and read the first books in this series and look forward to future ones. I was provided an ARC of this book, but these opinions are my own.
A Fatal Folly by Jeanette de Beauvior is a Provincetown Mystery and quite an entertaining book. Sydney is a wedding planner, during the season and in the winter she works that job part-time and anything she can get the rest of the time. Sadly, her sleuthing doens’t bring in any income. It’s nearing Christmas and P’town has special things planned, as always. Sydney was looking forward to Holly Folly which was a week of diversified entertainment, most holiday-oriented and she was looking forward to it, until her mother called her at 6 A.M. waking her out of a sleep. It served her right. She had been dodging her calls for days. Since she couldn’t go there for Christmas, her mother and father had decided to join her in P’town. She agreed to it. WHAT HAD SHE BEEN THINKING? Later that day while she was in the grocery store someone had hit her car and she’d been unceremoniously paged to the front. This day was not getting any better. Nice man that he was, Guy Husband not only took responsibility, but did all the work, too, calling her garage, arranging a rental car, and driving her home. He was an interesting “guy.” Shortly after that, she trips over a dead body. Great. Turns out he’d been dead for a while, but still, she found him. Then things started really happening, Guy Husband was a treasure hunter, here looking for the companion ship to the Whydah, the pirate ship they knew had gone down off their shore. Then someone found a piece of driftwood that had “Bessie G.” painted on it, the name of a fishing boat gone now for 5 or 6 years, whose owner had been found murdered under the pier. Things were getting complicated.
This is an interesting book with a good plot and a plethora of subplots. Sydney is a good character, layered and serious. She is curious and doesn’t always think things through before she acts, causing herself to be put in danger more often than is comfortable. P’town is a small town and everyone knows her which makes for some interesting situations. The setting is fabulous. This book is not as in-your-face about the oddities of the inhabitants and so it is much more comfortable to read. She has friends and they are different and complex as well as colorful. It is a worthwhile read. They mystery was complex and multi-faceted and was brought to a conclusion, as are most cozies. It is well worth the read. I recommend it.
I received a free ARC of A Fatal Folly from the Cozy Mystery Review Crew. All opinions and interpretations contained herein are solely my own.
A Fatal Folly earns 5/5 Sunken Ships…Engaging Entertainment!
It‘s November, it’s cold, and it’s “Ma” on the phone complaining that Sydney Riley won’t come home for the holidays. Feigning a busy schedule, which isn’t entirely true since it is the winter season, but there is her work at the Inn and the gallery she’ll not give up. Besides the upcoming annual Holly Folly encompasses the entire town. She should have just said…sorry, can’t come, but “Why don’t you come here?” popped out of her mouth. Things get worse when her “Little Green Car” is hit requiring immediate attention and introducing her to a “Guy.” Things perk up when one friend shows her an extraordinary beach find and another presents her with a mystery to take her mind off her boyfriend’s undercover danger and the impending arrival of her mother. This page turning drama accompanies stories about centuries-old pirate lore, sunken ships, Christmas festivities, and a cold case surrounding a long ago murder and missing family…mystery is once again afoot! Jeannette de Beauvoir has penned an entertaining fifth book with a plethora of references to connections and previous felonies to keep me engaged as a newbie (no spoilers, just teasers). The mystery was complex seemingly going one direction than another with greed, violence, and betrayal from centuries ago to the present. The actual crime and subsequent investigation took more time to get to than I prefer, but the drama incorporated so much from legends of pirates to a fascinating cold case, from family angst to Christmas excitement. Characters are realistic and varied with well-defined personalities, but I was taken aback by some of Sydney’s snippy sarcasm. I enjoyed “A Fatal Folly” tremendously and recommend it!
Another delightful visit to Provincetown. You can tell the author knows and loves this location. It’s like being there and really makes you want to visit. The characters are great too. I love the sub-plots and the addition of a pirate ship was wonderful. Can’t wait to read more of this series.
I received a free copy of this book and voluntarily chose to review it.
If you’re looking for a cozy that’s a little different from the typical ones, you’ve come to the right place! I really enjoyed reading about Provincetown, and all the unique residents and customs of the area. I thought the author wove some legitimate and serious issues into her story in a way that was interesting and informative. The mystery itself was good, and I did NOT guess the culprit, even though it made sense once everything was revealed. I also liked that there were multiple mysteries for Sydney to try to figure out: 1. Who killed the current victim? 2. Who killed the unsolved murder victim from years ago? 3. What’s going on with the too-smooth-to-be-trusted maritime salvage guy? The characters are also very interesting. Sydney is somebody I’d like to meet and hang out with, and her friends and family members are also well-drawn and unique. If you like more outside-of-the-box cozies, give this series a try!
I truly enjoyed reading “A Killer Carnival”, and was thrilled to get my hands on a copy of “A Fatal Folly”, the next book in the series. And I have it say that it was every bit as wonderful as I hoped it would be.
I connected with main character Sydney immediately. She is the perfect amateur sleuth to headline this series, with her winning personality and entertaining sense of humor! The book is set in Provincetown, a real place that the author obviously knows well. Her love of the area shines through during the entire book, and her descriptions of the town and its people/events made me want to visit. Who wouldn’t love a town so devoted to embracing diversity of all kinds?
This cozy gets bonus points for uniqueness in four key areas:
1. The murder doesn’t happen right at the beginning. Instead, Sydney is fascinated by the possibility of the raising of a nearby sunken pirate ship, as well as an unsolved murder that took place years ago, before she even moved to town.
2. There is character diversity! Unlike so many cozies, not everyone is young, beautiful, thin, white, and straight. I very much enjoyed reading about different types of people within the cozy mystery sub-genre.
3. This is NOT a romance! So many cozies focus as much (if not more) on the romantic life of the heroine as on the actual mystery. In this book, Sydney’s boyfriend is on the opposite coast somewhere, enmeshed in an undercover assignment. He is completely incommunicado, leaving Sydney (and the reader) worried about him, but unable to even reach him by phone.
4. Pirate treasure and shipwrecks! I think this is a first in the cozy genre; I know it was for me. The reader, along with Sydney, learns a few things about what goes on behind the scenes in terms of locating and salvaging shipwrecks. I found it fascinating and, like Sydney, hope to learn more about “boats” as the series goes on.
All in all, WELL DONE once again, Ms. de Beauvoir! Your book provides intriguing mystery, fabulous and unique characters, and some interesting information (about Provincetown and salvage).
Five out of five amazingly thin slices of provolone!