Living in a haunted lighthouse in the small town of Sea Breeze, California with her two elderly aunts, Agatha Bright has everything she wants. She owns and runs a bookstore / soup shop on the beach, and her soups are loved by everyone in town. Her life is regimented and organized.But Agatha has secrets that might get her in big trouble. Dark secrets.When a woman goes missing, the suspicion falls … missing, the suspicion falls on Agatha, turning her life upside down. The new detective in town, Remington Cumberbatch, has seen a lot of weird things as a detective in nearby Cannes, California, but he’s in for a surprise with Agatha, her family, and the quirky town of Sea Breeze. He begins to investigate Agatha as the number one suspect, but the attraction is immediate.
When the missing woman turns out to be murdered, the mystery deepens, and Agatha must help Remington find the killer before she winds up in prison…or worse.
The Fear Hunter is the first installment of the Agatha Bright Mysteries, a funny, romantic, small town cozy mystery series with a touch of magic. It is a spin-off series of the Matchmaker Mysteries and the Goodnight Mysteries with some characters from both.
Agatha Bright Mysteries…Agatha Bright has a delicious recipe for murder.
“Elise Sax will win your heart.”—New York Times bestselling author Jill Shalvis
“Sax will make you laugh. Her larger-than-life characters jump off the page and make crazy seem like a fun place to hang out.”—New York Times bestselling author Christie Craig
“With quirky characters reminiscent of Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series and a small-town heroine redolent of Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse” –RT Book Reviews
“Fans of laugh-out-loud romantic suspense will enjoy this new author as she joins the ranks of Janet Evanovich, Katie MacAllister, and Jennifer Crusie.”—Booklist, on An Affair to Dismember
“A lighthearted and amusing caper with a sexy side order of romance . . . Gladie is an endearing mess of a character, and the book is fast-paced and amusing, with a large cast of quirky, small-town characters.”—Kirkus Reviews, on Matchpoint
“There’s plenty for fans to enjoy in Sax’s third Matchmaker installment, complete with energetic narration, zany humor and a mystery that’s as engaging as the details of Gladie’s love life.”—RT Book Reviews, on Love Game
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Many unexpected and unusual facets of the characters and their lives. It was an enjoyable read.
You will laugh out loud! Love the quirky characters and antics…
different
Nice light mystery.
Elise Sax has created a unique mystery that is zany, whimsical, funny, romantic, and features the perfect blend of knitting, ghosts, and murder. Agatha Bright has her work cut out for her trying to calm down the knitting club, mediate between two bickering aunts, dealing with a complicated relationship with a ghost, and facing a strong attraction to a handsome cop.
Our Thoughts:
1.) Bickering Aunts
Agatha’s two aunts are constantly bickering and pulling Agatha into the middle of their squabbles yet their dynamic creates a comic relief throughout the mystery. They both clearly love Agatha and though they argue constantly, they’re both Agatha’s support system which helps ground her among these eccentric characters. We always love to see characters that have strong familial bonds and to see those connections so we were completely on board for this crazy dynamic.
2.) Love Triangle
The love triangle is subtly woven throughout the mystery with her complicated history with a ghost named John and the handsome cop Remington. She has a very complicated relationship with the ghost that gives us some mixed feelings. Agatha has been in love with him for quite a while and he’s chosen to disappear for ‘her own good’ while being old-fashioned, protective, and harboring quite the reveal. Remington is new and handsome, shaking things up for her with a teasing personality and a strong attraction with her that comes with the chemistry of something new. With the way this book ended, we’re curious to see what happens in book two.
3.) Power of the Bright Women
One of our favorite moments in the book is when Agatha goes to her aunts for help and together they draw upon the power of the Bright women. Female empowerment along with familial empowerment is one, among many, reason we enjoyed Sax’s “Fear Hunter.” We always navigate towards stories that are zany, eccentric, whimsical, funny, and women-powered.
We recommend “The Fear Hunter” for those that enjoy cozy mysteries, murder mysteries, and paranormal mysteries. It also makes for the perfect read for those that like zany stories and romantic plots.
A very enjoyable read!!
Agatha Bright lives in a haunted lighthouse with
her aunts. The lighthouse is located in Sea Breeze,
California. Agatha has always been in charge of
the lighthouse and never had to deal with the
public.
Then with the death of one of her aunts, Agatha
is assigned to step up and run her deceased aunts
soup & book shop. She needs to make four kinds
of soup every day.
When there is a murder in Sea Breeze, Agatha
decides to play detective to solve the murder.
Then another murder occurs. The handsome
Detective Remington Cumberbatch is a large
inspiration in Agatha to discover the culprit.
There are a lot of quirky, well created and
well meaning characters in this small town to
be viable suspects.
A quick, fun read.
I love all of Elise Sax’s books! They are so much fun!
I was in the mood for a light-hearted, entertaining mystery, and this book was a perfect fit. The humor was quirky, and the elements about the protagonist and her aunts being witches were clever and subtle. The mystery itself was solid. When I’m in the mood for a relaxing, fun read, I’m going to look for book 2 in this series!
Not believable, but fun. The actions throughout the book are exaggerated, but there is innovative yet subtle magic that is integral to the story. Characters are absurd, but the heroine is sweet. An entertaining read.
Very interesting and unusual
I always enjoy Elise Sax stories and this is no exception. The tie into the Goodnight series only added to the fun. I can’t wait to read another to see else can happen in Sea Breeze.
Couldn’t get into it. Hard to follow, just not my thing…
A whodunit with hilarious sub plots.
So poorly written and edited as to make reading it actively unpleasant.
I find her books a little too whimsical for my taste. THis is just not my style of book but it is well written and moves along.
fun read. delightful characters. caught the new mexico experience
Between 3 and 4 stars . Very different and unique.
What a fun read! Never too much information, just enough. Something you don’t see every day. I think most people would enjoy this book. Try it. You’ll like it.
An entertaining story. The characters are fun to follow as is the story. Easy to get absorbed in the story.
Agatha the ancient with the social experience of a teenager. She has lived at the sewage beach at Sea Breeze California. After her aunt died she “had” to take over the soup and book shop. After a customer is missing the merry mystery begins. Witty, mystery, romance, and paranormal with plenty of zany characters. A keeper.