Fifty-three years ago, Francine Kettleman was found dead in a cemetery fifty miles from Gull Island. Her body was found in a graveyard and most believe she was the fourth victim of the Silk Stalking Strangler, a mass murderer credited with killing thirteen women over a ten-month period from 1964 to 1965.During the course of the remodel on one of the cabins at the retreat, the contractor finds a … contractor finds a box hidden in a wall. The box contained letters written to Frannie before her death casting doubt on the identity of her killer. The Strangler was never caught and his victims never verified so the Mystery Mastermind group decide to investigate this very complex cold case on their own.
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The Fourth Victim by Kathi Daley is part of her new writers’ retreat series and I love it. In a beautiful island location, Jill, with a little help from her friends, sets out to unravel a cold case mystery involving the death of a beautiful, young girl. Was she just another victim of a serial killer? Or not?
Great characters and a tight plot, as well as some delightful subplots, made this a great read.
Very good! The gang looks into a 50 year old mystery after a box containing love letters and a locket is found during the remodeling of the resort’s cabins. Jill is intrigued by this latest mystery. The letters and locket belonged to a woman who was a guest at the resort and was said to have been the fourth victim of the Silk Stalking serial killer. Jack and Jill along with the others set out to investigate if Frannie really was killed by the serial killer or a copycat. Jill also gets an offer to return to her New York lifestyle and she tries to uncover the identity of the Secret Santa. Very intriguing and the characters are delightful. I really enjoy this series and seeing the writers come together to solve cold cases.
I loved this book, I love the whole idea of checking into old stories/cold cases.
When Jill finds a box of love letters written to Francine during the 60’s, whose husband was away at war, they are shocked to find that they weren’t written by her husband. Add her body was found in a graveyard with all the signs of being a victim of the Silk Stalking Strangler, the gang is again looking into facts.
This story takes you on a very interesting tale of twists and turns as they discover more and more about Francine. I will be moving on to the next of the series.
Fourth Victim is the fourth book in the Writers Retreat Southern Seashore Mystery series. The writers group has found a new mystery to look into. While construction is happening in some of the cabins, a hidden box opens a 53-year-old case that they want to shed light on and see if there are any clues that can break the old mystery. This was another great story, and I definitely recommend it!
Love this book the story is great and moves along at a great pace. Kathi is one of my favorite authors
“Fourth Victim” earns 5+/5 Boxes of Suspicious Letters…Delightfully Devious!
It is an intriguing premise that writers of different ages known to write in different genres would live, work, and collaborate together on several cold cases from a few years old to decades past bringing to justice the killers and providing closure to family and friends. Contributing additional facts, perspectives, and maybe a ‘red herring’ or two, we have a quirky set of support characters: townsfolk from shop owners to law enforcement to a squawking parrot and a ghost (well, that’s what Gertie says). The group’s investigative projects have popped up accidentally with a curious murder linked to a past unsolved crime, discovery of a body thought to have been the killer in another cold case, or just a writer’s interest in a suspicious overdose. All of this works well as each member of the group uses their individual talents with input from a variety of sources, even putting someone in jeopardy, to uncover the truth behind the mystery ‘du jour.’ And this new project literally came up by accident.
Introduced in “Third Strike,” Jill Hanford, investigative reporter turned proprietor of the Turtle Cove Resort, is given a box construction crews found hidden in the wall during renovations of one of the resort’s cabins. Inside the box she finds a bunch of love letters penned fifty years ago, a photograph of a young couple, and a locket. Basic information had already been discovered in the previous story—Francine K. had spent time at the resort in 1963 to 1964 while her husband was serving in Vietnam, but the letters were not from her husband. The mystery turns into a murder investigation when it is discovered in 1964 Francine Kettleman was found strangled not far from the resort, her body found in a cemetery. The FBI at the time determined she was the fourth victim of the Silk Stalking Stranger, a serial killer in the 1960s that had never been caught. Jill and the Mastermind Mystery Group aren’t convinced of the FBI’s conclusions because of anomalies not matching the killer’s signature behaviors, and decide to investigate on their own.
Quickly having become a favorite Kathi Daley series the mystery is always fun to follow and I enjoy the manner in which the clues are revealed through conversations and research, including a few squawks and messages from beyond, and although my inner detective was greatly entertained, it was challenged, too. Beyond the mystery, I love the camaraderie between the writers, plans for the Christmas holidays, the continuing relationship between “Jack and Jill,” and Jill’s interest in unmasking the local Secret Santa. Life changing decisions loom and revisiting old wounds of her distant mother plague Jill who has been showing signs that a small community and close circle of friends may be more enjoyable and rewarding, but the lure of the big city still looms.
In this fourth book of the series Jill has brought a fifty-three year old murder to the writers group to hopefully solve. Francine “Frannie” Kettleman was killed and it was thought to be by the hand of a serial killer known as The Silk Stocking Strangler. With several discrepancies between her death and the others Jill thinks that it had to be someone else. While asking questions of people still alive and around that new Frannie the group learns that there was quite more to the story than they previously thought. Frannie might have seemed like a sweet girl but she didn’t take her marriage vows seriously, is this what got her killed. Did her husband find out about her cheating ways and do her in? Can the group come up with the killer when the suspect list keeps getting larger? Follow along as they try to separate fact from fiction to find out just who killed Frannie and why? Meanwhile Jill has an offer she has to deal with, is it something she wants to move forward with or is the life she is living now the way for her? I truly enjoy this series, I’ve come to take away something from each of the group and look forward to seeing what they have to add. I can’t wait to see what they investigate next!!!
Fourth Victim is the fourth book book in Kathi Daley’s Writer’s Retreat Southern Mystery series. Whether you have read the first 3 books in this series or not, it is easy to keep all the characters in place in this exciting series. Kathi Daley writes of all the characters in this book in the beginning. Trust me it really helps to keep to know who is who! I think this series gets better with every book. Jill Handford has come to Gull Island South Carolina to help restore a resort for her older brother Garrett. She is a single newspaper reporter that is currently without a job. She fills the resort with a varied assortment of writers. They have solved several murders and embark on a new venture to solve the murder of a lady that lived at the resort and was murdered but her killer never found. And oh my it is close to Christmas and lots of romance in the air among the writers and some local folks! This book is a wonderful mix of romance and mystery. You will enjoy this series. Kathi Daley turns out another success!