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A Jersey Shore Mystery #1
Dead Man's Float
HER OLD HIGH SCHOOL CRUSH HAS CLEANED UP HIS ACT. . .Annie Hardaway is a reluctant expert on house-cleaning, horticulture, and pet care, who specializes in making some of the country's most famous how-to writers look good in print. But when her long-ago high school crush is found dead in their New Jersey shore hometown, Anne has no idea "how-to" find out the truth.
BY WASHING UP ON SHORE. . .
When Tigger Mills returned home to archly conservative devoutly religious Oceanside Heights, no one was happy to see him. Tigger left twenty years ago after being accused of setting fire to an old hotel that killed the owner's little girl. Though the always maintained his innocence, no one believed him--except then teenager Anne Hardaway. After Tigger's lifeless body is pulled form the surf, everyone but Anne assumes it was suicide. Now this woman with a relentless knack for research makes it her mission to tackle the town's closed minds, curious suspicions and ancient lies, to dredge the past and uncover a twenty-year-old motive for present-day murder.
BY WASHING UP ON SHORE. . .
When Tigger Mills returned home to archly conservative devoutly religious Oceanside Heights, no one was happy to see him. Tigger left twenty years ago after being accused of setting fire to an old hotel that killed the owner's little girl. Though the always maintained his innocence, no one believed him--except then teenager Anne Hardaway. After Tigger's lifeless body is pulled form the surf, everyone but Anne assumes it was suicide. Now this woman with a relentless knack for research makes it her mission to tackle the town's closed minds, curious suspicions and ancient lies, to dredge the past and uncover a twenty-year-old motive for present-day murder.
280 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published July 1, 1998
3 people are currently reading
76 people want to read
About the author
Beth Sherman
9 books6 followersBeth Sherman is a writer and editor based in New York City. She writes a bi-weekly column, "Design and Decor," for Newsday that gives decorating tips and home-related advice. Her work has also appeared in The New York Times, The New York Post, Cosmopolitan, Ladies' Home Journal, Harper's Bazaar, Martha Stewart Living, Bride's, Fitness, Working Woman, House Beautiful, American Health, Parents, and many other publication. Dead Man's Float is her first mystery. She summers on the New Jersey shore.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
February 27, 2024
Fun to re-read now that I’m living at the Hersey shore, close to where this story is set.
May 18, 2018
It was a good mystery. I read it because I was going to the Shore and I like reading books that take place at my vacation spot.
November 26, 2019
I enjoyed this book. It had a number of suspects to keep it interesting and you guessing, as well as a number of reasons for the deaths. The characters were quirky making it an enjoyable listen and I hope the author has more books planned for the series.
When an old school friend returns back in town. Anne who had a major crush on him is pleasantly pleased to see he has finally noticed her. However Tigger left under a cloud, as he was accused of starting the fire at the hotel which killed a young girl and not everybody is pleased to see him, that includes his own father. But was someone really that unhappy that they killed him? or is it like the police believe he got drunk and then drowned while swimming? Tigger asked Anne for help as he was getting threatening notes and she brushed them off as harmless. Feeling guilty for letting him down she joins forces with Tigger's brother in order to solve his death and maybe once and for all find out who really set the fire at the hotel. Then another body is found and everybody she thought she knew well begins to look suspicious.
I liked the narrator, she had to do a number of voices and you could always tell who was speaking. The use of sound effects to make things like recorded messages was fun and it added to to enjoyment.
When an old school friend returns back in town. Anne who had a major crush on him is pleasantly pleased to see he has finally noticed her. However Tigger left under a cloud, as he was accused of starting the fire at the hotel which killed a young girl and not everybody is pleased to see him, that includes his own father. But was someone really that unhappy that they killed him? or is it like the police believe he got drunk and then drowned while swimming? Tigger asked Anne for help as he was getting threatening notes and she brushed them off as harmless. Feeling guilty for letting him down she joins forces with Tigger's brother in order to solve his death and maybe once and for all find out who really set the fire at the hotel. Then another body is found and everybody she thought she knew well begins to look suspicious.
I liked the narrator, she had to do a number of voices and you could always tell who was speaking. The use of sound effects to make things like recorded messages was fun and it added to to enjoyment.
June 20, 2020
Anne had a crush on a boy in high school has now return, because of a death threat he tells her. They still think he was involved in the accident twenty years ago. Next morning he is floating in the shores. She doesn’t believe it is suicide. The author added the setting of the town, which added to this cozy mystery. As well as good narration, I enjoyed. Well written and plot flowed. Given audio for my voluntary review.
September 5, 2021
This is an old fashioned mystery story that will appeal to readers who are familiar with the Jersey shore. I would not classify it as a "cozy". The protaganist runs a cleaning service and each chapter begins with a cleaning tidbit. This is an interesting read for someone who likes to compare contempary mystery writing with writing from back in 1998. I am not sure if I would read more in this series.
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August 27, 2023While it's not terrible, I am not going to keep this or try to read any more in this series. Setting, background, characters plot are all reasonably well done. The main thing that puts me off is the (second/main) romance part was so bad that every time it came up it broke any sense of a real person having real feelings. And while I'm not a guess-who-dun-it, the setup was too obvious.
August 28, 2022
This was a good book.I enjoyed it. Naration by Lauren Ritz was good.I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
June 2, 2024
Fun cozy mystery. The main character is likeable, and there are plenty of suspects to keep you guessing. I enjoyed the quick pace of the book, and the way Sherman is able to convey a scene.
October 5, 2016
Last December when I was just getting into cozy mysteries (I had never heard the term before) I found a site that listed these mysteries by themes. As I perused the site, I saw there were some that were set in New Jersey. I thought that might be nice to read. I've read many cozies this year and find that these aren't exactly up my alley as they seem to be written for women readers with their descriptions of clothes and food and men that don't really interest me. So, as a parting gift to myself, I thought I would read one of these New Jersey-themed books.
Yeah, lots of descriptions of clothes and men. There were some flaws that bothered me like the MC calling her friend at the bank to check out someone's personal account. Sure, just throw in a federal crime as a throwaway scene. There were some grammatical errors in the Kindle version of the book.
Early on Ms. Sherman wrote, "Better to mine religion than to wind up like Wildwood or Avalon, rowdy towns where drunken teenagers mobbed the beaches and every night was a carnival." Avalon, really? Hardly a rowdy town.
The story plodded for a while. The MC comes off as trampish to me. She falls for a guy who dies. Then she falls for his brother two days late. Meh!
As the story progressed, the suspects became better defined. I will say I had the dude early, although it sure looked like it was going in another direction before we came back to him.
I thought there were loose ends at the end of the story. Billy, P.J., and Teri all had their lives ripped apart, but not mended. I liked the backdrop of a 20-year ago fire to this story. There were some good things to the story, but nothing grabbed me as, "Oh, I must read another one of these!"
Yeah, lots of descriptions of clothes and men. There were some flaws that bothered me like the MC calling her friend at the bank to check out someone's personal account. Sure, just throw in a federal crime as a throwaway scene. There were some grammatical errors in the Kindle version of the book.
Early on Ms. Sherman wrote, "Better to mine religion than to wind up like Wildwood or Avalon, rowdy towns where drunken teenagers mobbed the beaches and every night was a carnival." Avalon, really? Hardly a rowdy town.
The story plodded for a while. The MC comes off as trampish to me. She falls for a guy who dies. Then she falls for his brother two days late. Meh!
As the story progressed, the suspects became better defined. I will say I had the dude early, although it sure looked like it was going in another direction before we came back to him.
I thought there were loose ends at the end of the story. Billy, P.J., and Teri all had their lives ripped apart, but not mended. I liked the backdrop of a 20-year ago fire to this story. There were some good things to the story, but nothing grabbed me as, "Oh, I must read another one of these!"
August 9, 2015
Cozy mystery series are tricky. If they are not well written they are formulaic & predictable. I purchased an used paper copy of Beth Sherman's Dead Man's Float because of the location. Her series takes place in a Jersey Shore town, but not Long Beach Island. Sherman wrote several books in the series in the late 90s/early 2000s, then discontinued it. None of them are on Kindle. Despite this disappointment, I could tell right away I would enjoy the series. The lead character Anne Hardaway is appealing & flawed. She makes her living as a ghost writer for self-help books. She has lots of tidbits of knowledge from her book research that help her w the 1st mystery. There is a hint of spicy romance. Finally in this book a font-type is a clue to the mystery! Geek love alert. I have the 2nd book arriving from amazon soon & imagine I can polish off this delightful, short series before year's end. Check for it at your local library if it is a well stocked one.
August 26, 2008
It seems like all my favorite mystery writers somehow stop writing mysteries or move on to other things, but I really enjoy this series by Beth Sherman, set in an imaginary New Jersey shore beach resort that bears a strong resemblance in everything but name to Ocean Grove, New Jersey. Beth's a good writer, the plots are solid, and the atmosphere (having spent a few summers in Ocean Grove myself) is spot on. A lot of fun.
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December 29, 2018H bookcase
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews