A well-known criminal lawyer is found dead in a back alley in St. Thomas, and Cindy and Mattheus are called in to investigate by the grieving widow. The local police have pinned her for the murder, and Cindy and Mattheus are her last hope in vindication.
As Cindy and Mattheus dig deeper into the victim’s past, they learn that all was not as rosy as it seemed. They discover mistresses, gambling debts, vendettas, and a number of people who had motivation to want him dead. Most shocking of all, as they dig even deeper, they discover a whole secret life that he lead, one so lurid that the people who knew him best can hardly even conceive it.
As a hurricane closes in and the police are insistent, despite all evidence, to arrest the widow, Cindy and Mattheus find themselves in a race against time to find the killer. When another body turns up, all involved realize the stakes may be even higher than they seem. And as Cindy and Mattheus develop feelings for each other, each grieving from the death of their own spouse, Cindy comes to realize there is even more at stake than she thinks.
DEATH BY MARRIAGE is Book #3 in the Caribbean Murder series, following DEATH BY HONEYMOON (Book #1) and DEATH BY DIVORCE (Book #2).
Jaden Skye has always been fascinated with mystery, wrongful death, lies, deception and the power of the truth to prevail. Her romantic suspense/mystery novels feature strong female protagonists who must overcome insurmountable obstacles, and through them, she seeks to get to the very heart of the nature of justice and love.
Her first three novels, DEATH BY HONEYMOON (BOOK #1 IN THE CARIBBEAN MURDER SERIES), DEATH BY DIVORCE (BOOK #2 IN THE CARIBBEAN MURDER SERIES)and DEATH BY MARRIAGE (#3 IN THE CARIBBEAN MURDER SERIES) are now available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble elsewhere. Please feel free to visit her site, www.jadenskye.com to stay in touch.
Another quick, easy read in Jaden Skye's Caribbean Murder series. This book sees Cindy and Mattheus teaming up in their new fledged detective agency, this time on location in St Thomas. A distraught woman has contacted them after the murder of her husband, and our intrepid duo find the police are looking no further than her as their culprit. But did she do it? As Cindy and Mattheus delve further into the case they find no end to the secrets, lies, and betrayals.
I really do like this series, set in some stunning locations in the islands of the Caribbean. I'm enjoying the professional relationship between Cindy and Mattheus, wondering when it's going to tip over into something more. Though they're definately not at the gritty edge of mysteries, they have their appeal. A good beach read.
I was terribly disappointed in this book, as it was a disaster from beginning to end. It was so poorly written that I doubt any editing whatsoever was done.
Once, the primary murder suspect, Kendra, was called Wendy. A silver knife was called a silver life.
The writing was very choppy and boring and would benefit from a study in grammar and HOW to write. Sentence structure was monotone--simple subject-verb throughout most of the book---WHEN there were sentences. A good portion of the book was sentence fragment after sentence fragment, which can be effective if used sparingly, but they were grossly overused.
Old, worn-out cliches were in abundance. Metaphors were terrible, and much of the remainder of the book was trite. I think the author would have benefitted greatly from the use of a thesaurus. There were sentences that made me cringe from the lack of interesting vocabulary; other sentences sounded like something my first and 3rd grade grandchildren would write.
I finished the book, hoping that it would improve, but it was a waste of time.
Cindy has good strength of character and is prepared to stand her ground and argue against her more experienced partner, Matheus.
Matheus is a former policeman whose wife was killed, leaving him, with regret that he couldn’t do anything to save her. He met Cindy whilst she was on a case not long after she investigated her husband’s death and brought the perpetrators to justice. Matheus was one of the policemen on the force that her client felt weren’t doing their best to help her find her former school pal’s missing husband. Matheus admired her approach and tenacity and suggested that he should leave the police and they should set up an investigation business together. After giving it some thought Cindy decided to give it a go as she felt she had nothing to lose.
After news of her previous heroics and achievements was plastered across the news Matheus and Cindy were asked to investigate another missing husband on St Thomas.
The experience of Matheus really helps Cindy in some (but not all) of her decision making and whilst she believes her new client she doesn’t necessarily trust her or like her.
A web of deception is uncovered with yet more boring male police dismissing her as a female interfering irrelevance. Cindy shows them their shortcomings in this story which is a bit more gripping than the previous two books in the series. She has a skill of relating to people to gain information from them relevant to her case. There are a few twists and turns in the story, some are quite startling.
Meanwhile Matheus, further down the recovery process following his wife’s death than Cindy is following her husband’s death, is giving mixed messages of complimenting Cindy whilst telling her that he doesn’t envisage moving on from his wife’s death, preferring to stay solo so he doesn’t go through more heartbreak. Cindy thinks she is still very raw from her husband’s death but loves the compliments Matheus gives her but is adamant she won’t go there and doesn’t give any indication of encouraging Matheus. There’s a slow burn relationship there I’m sure, a very slow burn perhaps.
Both Cindy and Matheus are very likeable if headstrong characters and I’m drawn in to care about them both.
I’m glad I have a good number of books still to read in the series.
Review by Death by Marriage JADEN SKYE (2012) - THE CARIBBEAN MURDER SERIES #3. What you will notice straight away Maybe I’m getting old. Maybe I’m suffering that age old problem that rears its head when English authors read American works? Two English speaking nations separated by a common language. Moving on. What sort of stories get me hooked? Well they’re normally those that have me asking questions. However, it’s as often a question about the written work than the stories guile. This is particularly true of the Caribbean Murder series from Jaden Skye. Which is shame really because they are great little stories. Apparently Jaden Skye is author of the #1 Bestselling romantic suspense series but in almost review of her work (especially on Amazon) I hear and see complaints of her writing. I am not alone. How can she be #1? Are all her readers who stick by her totally screwed or is she #1 in a world of her own? A man is found in an alley less travelled. With you so far. Dipped in a pool of red blood. First question why red blood, why not blue or transparent? A shriek sounded fiercely, like the call of a bugle. Do bugles shriek. Maybe the author refers to a Bugle bird? Not sure where that one was going either. This story had two things going for it as soon as I’d read the prologue, well three really. One: it was written by Jaden Skye, the author of Book #1 in the ‘Death …’ series of Caribbean murders mysteries. Two: The prologue worked both in its content and abruptness, Three the observations shown above. In a recent review of Book #1 (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...) I noted a large number of inconsistencies in the story. I really hoped this won’t go the same way. Review I think all books should be considered worthy to stand alone. This includes those sequels or subsequent parts of a series that involve cast characters that appear in the original books. It makes no sense to me to assume that unless they are marketed together in the same bundle, a reader will pick up on names and characters just because they had read another title in a series. Characters The main cast: Kendra Robbins; Paul Robbins, Nell Robbins, Graham Kowan, Margot Kowan, Roomey Burke, Andrea Bell, Heather May, The investigators: Cindy Blaine; Mattheus King; Fred Brayton; Nojo. The others: Dalia; Maggie, Marshmallow, Silbert Hours, Perry the bartender, prison warder, casino dealer, Peggy, Mr. Jeffries, The victim(s): Paul Robbins, Gregg Kowan, Graham Kowan. Story Paul Robbins, law attorney on St. Thomas, has been killed on St. Thomas and his widow is asking for help to find his killer. She is also the no. 1 suspect. Cindy Blaine, a widow unsure of what the future holds for her, agrees to help. There is only two weeks until the hurricane season comes in. Kendra Robbins is keen to meet Cindy and Mattheus, and although she gives them lots of information she seems so detached from the situation. They decide to ask the police for help. Nojo is making a lot of convincing noises for Kendra to be the killer. Looking over the body dump before going to their hotel, there is not a lot to see. That evening they make plans. The story now splits as each investigator does their own thing. Mattheus follows some leads on the island of St. Croix. Cindy stays on St. Thomas. Her investigations take her to a bar where Paul Robbins used to hang out and to Heather May, with whom he had an affair. Heather May points her to Margot Rowan, and to her son Graham. Meanwhile Mattheus is following up on Roomey Burke’s alibi and reputation. Arriving at Margot Rowan’s Cindy is unsure why Heather May sent her there, until she sees the photograph of Margot Rowan’s husband! When Cindy realises that Paul Robbins has been leading a double life as Gregg Kowan she calls Mattheus and the police. Back with Kendra, Cindy finds her out in a lie. Margot’s helping the police who still think Kendra is the murderer. Meanwhile Mattheus is looking at the cases Paul Robbins lost and the police have arranged a meeting between Margot and Kendra, with Cindy refereeing! Matheus’s lead takes him to a man just out of prison, with a reason to hate Paul. Unfortunately, his alibi stacks up. As for Kendra she has fired the two investigators. Hurricane Lolo is about to hit the island and Mattheus is leaving. The police have had enough and arrested Kendra for the murder of her husband. Cindy is staying to clear Kendra’s name. She finds out Nell and Graham know each other from school. At the airport Mattheus leaves it to the last minute to return to help Cindy finish the case. Conclusion. It’s a natty little mystery that will keep you entertained and I for one would read it again at a later date. Cindy and Mattheus are a great team. The PIs get their man; the case is solved hurrah! Now but the authoress a decent proofreader! So is it a good read? Yes, it is. I took a couple of days to read it and a couple more to do the review. I still enjoyed reading it. 4.5 out of 5 stars for the story, 1.5 stars for the research and nil points for proof reading.
Observations A man is found in an alley less travelled. With you so far. Dipped in a pool of red blood. First question why red blood, why not blue or transparent? A shriek sounded fiercely, like the call of a bugle. Do bugles shriek. Maybe the author refers to a Bugle bird? Not sure where that one was going either. Names. I like to introduce people by their full names. After that the surname may only return to remind characters and / the reader. Cindy and Mattheus go into the police office, then Fred Brayton invites them in.???? Mattheus was supposed to be at the police station doing research when Cindy calls from Margot’s. Why does he then say he’ll call the police when she calls. Big error. On the last page of Chapter 15 Margot is told Gregg Kowan has a second family where he is known as Paul Kowan. He is not, he is known as Paul Robbins. When Cindy tells Kendra about second wife she freaks out. Then Mattheus tells Cindy did the same when he told Roomey. When did Mattheus tell Roomey about the second family? Kendra has met Margot over lunch. Margot recognises her lost ruby necklace around Margot’s neck. One odd statement “Who knows what else he stole it from?” Why is Cindy going home from Nell, she is staying in the hotel, therefore the story should say she is returning to the hotel? Why approach St. Thomas in a seaplane? It has 7000 feet of modern runway. There’s been a runway there since the war. Either rename the island or bring it up to date. The text states St, Croix is a neighbouring island. Hmmm, maybe on Google Earth but it is over fifty miles away. St. John, Puerto Rico and the British Virgin Islands are a lot closer. Chapter 7. I think it would be better if the first two paragraphs wee swapped. That way there is grounding to the storyline. One moment Mattheus is coming back that evening, the next she is getting up and showering. The planning is all wrong. Chapter 9. “The kids have off from school …” should probably read “The kids have time off from school …” …… and so it goes on and on and on etc.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I felt that this book dragged a little. If I wasn't the type of person to not finish a book I probably would have stopped reading this somewhere in the middle. It's not that I can't handle a longer story, I just felt that this one didn't need to be as long as it was. It did provide an interesting look at life on the islands (if what was written is actually true) and it did keep me guessing as to the murderer. It just wasn't a book I loved, nor was it was that leads me to read others in the series.
Death by marriage third in the series Jaden Skye’s Caribbean Murder Series are interesting and quick reads. While I prefer Audio over E-books I don’t have the same grammar problems that the actual readers seem to have with them.
These stores are a new premise. After solving the murder of her husband in book one and the murder of a friend’s husband in book two Cindy takes on a third murder in book three. She and her partner Mattheus are hired by a woman accused of killing her husband. There are a lot of secret twists to finding the real killer.
Storyline was good. Good detectives, lazy "We have our killer" cops & a little mystery to the plot. However, there were enough errors in the book to turn me off to any more books by this author - editing errors, using incorrect names for the deceased and main suspect, & the incorrect version of a word all complied to keep me aggravated. Hence my lower rating.
Actually it was pretty interesting, although the editing could have been better to get rid of some typos. I no longer have any desire to visit an island any time soon now. It came down to the very end before the truth was revealed. Good mystery.
Very interesting and intriguing story of crime in the islands and the inability of the local police to solve the crime. It takes the investigating skills of a private detective to find the killer.
I am reading this entire series over the summer of 2018. Started June 1. I find that's books are quick reads. I am enjoying the characters in each story. There were unexpected twists in this book that kept me turning the page.
I liked how the author developed the characters. How can you clear a woman accused of murder when there’s no “evidence”. Cindy, female detective, used her skills but also intuition to help her solve the case.
A man is murdered, and two P.I.'s are hatred to solve the case. Slow starting book, but an unusual twist makes it interesting. More twists makes it worth reading.
The story line is okay, but my goodness, this author needs a better editor! So many errors that could have been avoided had someone taken the time to proofread!
I am amazed by all the high ratings: must have been friends/relatives of the author. While the story line itself was fairly good, not much else was even remotely good.
You people should just read this book yourselves and write your own review on this novel yourself and I really enjoyed reading this book very much so. Shelley MA
This is the 3rd book in the Caribbean Murder Series by Jaden Skye. I enjoyed this story for the little twists that it had. It is not a favorite in the series but it has merit.
Awful. Page 48 of 333. I’m not wasting anymore time. I’m not putting myself through anymore cringing painfulness. It’s just awful. Who published this? and why???
I enjoyed this mystery and I want to go back to the first book and read it so that I can get a little more insight into the main characters. They are private investigators that work together and seem to be attracted to each other, but each has a spouse that died and unresolved issues around those deaths.
This story centers on the murder of a rich business man. As the story unfolds, each of the suspects had secrets they were hiding, but the murdered man had the biggest secrets of all.