Poison

Haggerty Mystery #6

by Betsy Brannon Green

Paradise. Its the ideal place for a wedding-and a murder.

When Miss Eugenia and her friends from Haggerty arrive in Hawaii for the wedding of detective Mila Edwards and surfer Quin Drummond, the group of ladies is ecstatic. They will be staying at the exclusive estate of a celebrity. But things get uncomfortable when their host, fading TV star Raquel Simons, causes a scene at a posh party held at her mansion. Then Raquel's beautiful assistant ends up dead! But was she the intended victim, or was Raquel the one the killer wanted out of the way? More than one person, including her much younger husband, would benefit if Raquel were gone for good.

Now, feisty Miss Eugenia finds she can't keep herself from helping in the investigation. After all, Mila's wedding is next week, and she can't possibly have time to solve the case on her own. But soon Miss Eugenia finds her natural inclination for investigation could be dangerous — even deadly.

Genres: Mystery, Lds Fiction, Lds, Romance, Fiction, Christian Fiction, Mystery Thriller

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 15, 2005

About the author

"WELCOME!!!!!

If you're not familiar with my books, I write mystery-suspense novels. I am LDS (Mormon) and so are some of my characters, but I have loyal readers from many different faiths. My goal is to engage the reader in my books. I want to make them laugh and cry and worry and dread the end.

Most of my books are set in the fictional town of Haggerty, Georgia - which is loosely based on my grandparents' hometown of Headland, Alabama (the most wonderful place on earth). Each book has an ample supply of romance, suspense, Southern hospitality and even recipies!"

by Betsy Brannon Green on http://www.betsybrannongreen.net/

Reviews

[Ari · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was okay but my favorite book from her is still hearts in hiding.

[Kim Dennis · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

I think of all the Haggerty Mystery series, this has been my least favorite. I didn't like what she did with Miss Polly. Miss Polly has always had something of an issue with food, but in the last book she was starting to get healthier. Not only did she regress, but with the cake situation, she acted in a way that no well-bred person would act let alone a well-bred genteel Southern woman. And I never remember her being that emotional. It was kind of annoying. Then there was Miss George Ann and Miss Eugenia. I felt like she was trying to make Miss George Ann a Ouiser character and Miss Eugenia Clairee from Steel Magnolias, but it didn't work. I just found them both abrasive instead of endearing.

I did figure out "who dun it", but I didn't really have the whys figured out. There were several directions I think this could have gone that would have made it more intriguing than it was -- suspicions I had that never materialized. I also found the ending a little less than satisfactory.

All of that said, I didn't hate the book. In the end, I decided to round up to 3 stars in stead of down to 2, because I'm not sure if the faults I found with the books were really as big as I was making them, or if it was just my mood.

[Francesca · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

Another interesting quick read. I did guess the bad guy, though I was torn for a bit on who I thought it was near the beginning of the investigation 😂




Spoiler:

Something that bothered me though is that we never figured out what Raquel’s note said! I wanted to know that juicy gossip. Also, I wanted to see karma hit Raquel and Cade.

[Lesta Sims · Rating 4 out of 5]

I couldn't get into it at first, but when I did, it took only two days to finish it. In between when I started the book and when I finished it, we went to Oahu, Hawaii, where the story took place. That made it even better. I do love the ladies from Haggerty!

[Saralyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just not interested anymore. Goodbye, series.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

first time reading this author....liked it very much....she is command of the plot

[Sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love these characters. I think about them as though they were my friends and during CoVID. They are my only friends I can be close to.

[Kylie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intriguing mystery, fun new setting and the same characters we love.

[Angieluila Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite twisted. FBI would never let anyone interfere with an investigation. You would get arrested before you ever got to help. Hilarious but I can't put it down.

[Annie Foster · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good. Fun to have a change of scenery in Hawaii.

[Nathalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The next chapter for Detective Mila Edwards now affianced in Hawaii and the indomitable Miss Eugenia!

[mademoiselle:) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book! Here is a short summary of what happens:
Mila Edwards lives in Hawaii and works for the police. She is engage to her husband and their wedding is the following weekend. A nice, and very rich couple, is letting them stay in a bungalow on thier property. some of thier friends including Miss Polly, Miss Eugina,Kate and Mark, Miss George Ann, and Miss Annabell have come to visit them and come to the wedding. They all go to the couple's home for a dinner party. Everything is going fine until thier hostess' maid is found dead in her room after the party. She has been poisoned. Mila is very worried about the wedding and so are her guests. She tries to solve the case with the help of the police and Miss Eugina. It is very difficult, especially with her guests there in Hawaii. Will Mila catch the killer? Will her wedding really happen? Read the book to find out!

I would recomend this book to anyone who likes a good murder mystery and a clean love story. I would recomned it because it was really fun, exciting, intence, and very mysteriouse. I also liked it because it was clean and didn't use fould language. I really enjoyed reading this book! I gave it four stars because it was fun and was one of the best books I've ever read!!!

[Kristine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actually, I'm in the middle of this book but it's as good as "Silenced" and a continuation of the story. Again, I have to complain about the editing but if the reader can get past that, the author writes well and keeps the interest. Obviously these book are fast reads since I have read four in the last three days but I'm going to buy all of this author's books and spend the week reading them. Then I have a good friend that I pass them on to. She has already read one and enjoyed it as much as I did.

I finished reading this on the 17th and continued to enjoy it. I'm so busy in my life that this kind of easy read with happy endings is just what I need. I notice a couple of you have marked her books "to read." Hope you enjoy them as much as I am.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

This Haggerty mystery was a disappointment as the continuing story of Mila Edwards (from an earlier book) and as a story set in Hawaii that doesn't take advantage of the setting. It could have been set anywhere, except perhaps that the Haggerty characters needed a reason to all be together. Mark and Kate don't do much except take their children back to their lodging for naps. Most irritating, the older ladies from Haggerty are constantly bickering and complaining in a manner that is juvenile, unkind, and difficult to bear in women who should have more dignity, better manners, and more consideration for their hosts. The story also makes it seem that Honolulu homicide detectives are incompetent, which I doubt they are, in order to give Miss Eugenia a role in solving the case.

[Megan Swanson · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was probably the most predictable book that I've read of hers, which is pretty much all of them. I can't believe that nobody looked at the cheesecake and thought of a cook to be the murderer! Especially when they were focusing on Rachel-a girl who probably doesn't know a teaspoon from a tablespoon-for so long!! A couple pages after meeting the cook and finding out there was arsenic spread evenly throughout, I knew who it was-although I suspected her before they realized the arsenic was spread evenly-and thereby baked in.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book and it had a surprise ending, but it seemed a little slower than the rest of her books, and I got tired of the four Haggerty ladies putting each other down all of the time. It seems that if you're good enough friends with someone to go on vacation to Hawaii with them, then you should be able to get along with them. But, then again, they are all old and grouchy and have been friends forever.

[Jennifer Blaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like Betsy Brannon Green's books because she has a little of everything in her books. I like the humorous little tiff between the older southern women. I like the mystery aspect. I like that the books are not offensive and still entertaining. It's better than watching TV for some relaxation and endulgement.

[Mary Lou · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love her style of writing but just couldn't stand the Haggerty women. 4 old women constantly arguing and nit picking every second they are together uugh. It is also a bit like Murder She Wrote an older woman helping the police solve crimes and there is always a murder to solve - even when she travels, but I just didn't find her as likable as Angela Landsbury in "Murder She Wrote"

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listened to this while traveling back and forth to Maryland. Good mystery story, not a mushy romance like a lot of LDS fiction books are which was nice for a change. I got a little tired of hearing all the old ladies from the south talking, but it might've been ok if I had actually read the book instead of listened to the CD. All in all, a good one.

[Universitybabe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Typical LDS suspense but I sure enjoyed this one. Not quite sury why I like these kinds of things so much. Takes place in Hawaii where the heroine of the story juggles getting married with a police detective's work.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a Mormon author with a book with Mormon characters, but it's not a book about Mormons, per se. She never really focuses on their religion at all. I like how she integrated Mormons into mainstream fiction.

And the story itself was entertaining and kept your interest.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first Betsy Brannon Green book I've read. I enjoy her style of writing, and the Haggerty ladies. Some scenes involving the four women seem overdone, causing the pace of the book to suffer in places. I do, however, look forward to reading more works by this author.

[Brittney · Rating 3 out of 5]

For most of her books, I don't figure out "who-done-it" until right at the end but on this one, I knew the whole time it was one of 2 people but really suspected the one. It was an okay read but not my favorite of her books.

[Kalee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another quick and painless read. I haven't read any of the other Haggerty novels, but luckily that didn't really detract from the book, except that the Haggerty "characters" had little to no introduction (as the author assumed everyone is familiar with them at this point).

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book more than the last several. I thought the ending was a lot better so I'm hopeful for the books to come. I enjoy reading about the Haggerty people--that's why I keep reading. I thought this was a great cozy mystery.

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my first exposure to the "Haggerty" series. It made it a bit hard to follow. It took me a great deal longer to read this book them it normally does. It was interesting, but hard to follow and get in to. I will try reading another book from this author though.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't Drink

[Dawnetta · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy all of the Haggerty mysteries. I also enjoy her recipes at the end of the book. These are always a good mystery book.

[Allison Olsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great Haggerty book.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great book by Betsy Brannon Green. Loved it.