Shéa MacLeod

Book 83 - Shea MacLeod - The Corpse in the Cabana

Well that was fun…Miss Marple meets Jessica Fletcher meets Death in Paradise

Described as a ‘Cozy Mystery’ and that is exactly what it was. Cheesy and corny…flimsy and simple but wonderful. Viola Roberts, writer of romantic fiction is at a writers’ conference when she literally stumbles across a body…stabbed in the back.

What ensues is a great little mystery with wonderfully eccentric characters…many many red herrings and a show more denouement that Dame Agatha Christie would have been proud of…including an inept police officer who is not exactly Florida’s finest.

Viola is as fully rounded a character as I have come across in these free eBooks…loved her inner monologue…her life put in danger by many cliches….but you know what ? It made the story even more heart warming.

Like pulling on a comfy pair of slippers…grabbing a mug of cocoa or whatever your beverage of taste is…and closing the curtains and snuggling down to read while the wind blows outside…charming. show less

I was excited to read this book, and I was not disappointed at the non stop action! After Morgan was attacked by a Vampire's bite it was strange that she survived the attack because of something in her genes. I was glad that Morgan trained with her savior, and all she wanted was to kill the Vampire who attack her. This book had me on the edge of my seat AND I CAN'T WAIT TO READ THE REST!

Dragons. So that's what the Mayans were talking about. 2012 is the year of the fire-breathing, human-killing dragon. It's true. The Chinese came to the same conclusion.

Previously thought to be mythological beings will rise up and decimate the human population. The best of the best of the military, the Marines -the epitome of "Protect and Serve" decide it's survival of the fittest and seem to believe the marauding Vikings had it right: rape, pillage and plunder, and occasionally slay a show more dragon.

25 years on and their actions have wiped out many a surviving community. There are rumours about: a) the Marines stealing not only resources and women but dead bodies too, and b) the existence of Dragon Warriors, men who wield heavy swords made of diamonds -the only weapon that can pierce their tough hides, supposedly used by the Marines. This puzzles and upsets Rain, our protagonist, of the survival camp, Sanctuary, when it appears disturbing and sinister things are being done she stumbles onto startling information as she attempts to follow through on a promise to a loved one.

The cover dragons post-apocalypic dystopia = must read for me. I loved the concept, the history and the world-building, but the Dragon Warrior's personal revelation and his response to it was too fast as was his love-at-first-sight which as a result was a little cliched and over-the-top. However, considering the shortish length of the book it's understandable. I liked Rain, she's tough and hard to fool. Give her a challenge and she will succeed. She's no wallflower, she won't wilt in the face of overwhelming odds or a troop of Marines planning on gang raping her. Eek.

The end...I can only assume who...and how...and hope there's a sequel.

3.5 stars. show less

I am honest, i read this book because it was free on the Kindle Prime Library. I have also to add that i love Urban Fantasy and i have read or started to read and consequently stopped other, better known series. I stopped some series about 15% into the book because a promising story line never developed enough to catch my interest. Since i had jet attempted a few books that turned out to be boring, i had really low expectations with this one and i was very pleasantly surprised. Yes, it is show more the typical urban fantasy alpha female and a male hottie she is attracted to. This book dives into a lot of UF cliches but is still captivating and interesting. Like some other reviewers have noted, the main character is not so unique, but the supporting characters are really interesting. I want to know more about bastet the cat, and her keeper the clairvoyant. Also the history and origin of Kabita and Inigo. Give me more information on MI8 and the sun walkers and the knights templar.
For a debut it is a very good start and i am already reading her second book in this series and hope that the characters develop a bit more depth.
All i can say, is give the book a try. show less