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Caribbean Murder #5
Death by Deceit
Cindy and Mattheus, finally together, prepare to take time off and live together—when a stunning upset in their relationship tears them apart. Cindy flies home to New York, resigned to never work as a detective—and never see Mattheus—again.
And then a shocking phone call comes out of the blue: it is Mattheus. A new body has turned up. Cindy at first refuses—until he tells her who it is: his wife. They finally found her, on the shores of Key West. Brutally murdered, they suspect, by an abusive boyfriend.
Mattheus’ world is upside down, and Cindy has no choice but to fly back down to the islands and help him uncover what really happened. Why did she turn up now, after so many years? How did she turn up in Key West, so far from where he’d last seen her? Why had she never contacted him? Who was she dating? And have the police caught the right man?
Their investigation takes them deep into the underworld of Key West, a gorgeous, idyllic place where the locals gather to watch the sunset every night with an evening drink. It is an enchanting place—but as Cindy learns, it is also a place with a dark underbelly. Cindy prods deeper into the murder and her investigation takes her into the world of an abused woman’s shelter. Soon, she is convinced the police have the wrong man. She and Mattheus, thrown together again, reconsider their feelings for one another. But there may not be time: Cindy finds out too much and comes in danger herself. As the murder hits too close to home, it may be too late for them both.
And then a shocking phone call comes out of the blue: it is Mattheus. A new body has turned up. Cindy at first refuses—until he tells her who it is: his wife. They finally found her, on the shores of Key West. Brutally murdered, they suspect, by an abusive boyfriend.
Mattheus’ world is upside down, and Cindy has no choice but to fly back down to the islands and help him uncover what really happened. Why did she turn up now, after so many years? How did she turn up in Key West, so far from where he’d last seen her? Why had she never contacted him? Who was she dating? And have the police caught the right man?
Their investigation takes them deep into the underworld of Key West, a gorgeous, idyllic place where the locals gather to watch the sunset every night with an evening drink. It is an enchanting place—but as Cindy learns, it is also a place with a dark underbelly. Cindy prods deeper into the murder and her investigation takes her into the world of an abused woman’s shelter. Soon, she is convinced the police have the wrong man. She and Mattheus, thrown together again, reconsider their feelings for one another. But there may not be time: Cindy finds out too much and comes in danger herself. As the murder hits too close to home, it may be too late for them both.
202 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 1, 2012
154 people are currently reading
918 people want to read
About the author
Jaden Skye
154 books139 followersJaden 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews
January 1, 2020
I really do enjoy this series, they are quick and easy to read, perfect for the holidays. In this book Mattheus gets a phone call from the police in Key West, his wife has been found recently murdered. Yet Shelly has been missing, believed dead for six years. Where has she been? How did she get to Key West from their home in New Orleans? Cindy and Matteus head to Florida to investigate, with their own relationship in turmoil. There the things they find will rock them both to the core.
I found this book to be one of the best in the series so far. It has good character development, and we get more insight to Cindy and Matteus' relationship. The mystery of Shelly is intriguing, with Mattheus having to face things he doesn't want to hear. All in all this novel is a fantastic beach read.
3.5 stars.
I found this book to be one of the best in the series so far. It has good character development, and we get more insight to Cindy and Matteus' relationship. The mystery of Shelly is intriguing, with Mattheus having to face things he doesn't want to hear. All in all this novel is a fantastic beach read.
3.5 stars.
August 25, 2016
It's hard to summarize my reactions to this book. I highlighted 26 passages as I read this book - they were all either striking grammatical errors, words used incorrectly, or passages that simply didn't make any sense. In spite of the ubiquitous revising/editing problems, the book was fairly interesting.
Why would a writer spend all the time it takes to write a book and not reread it to find ways to improve the story and remove errors? There are rules and conventions of writing that make it possible for a writer to convey ideas for readers. When those are totally ignored, little communication takes place.
Many of the problems in this book involved verb tenses (saw instead of had seen, for example), pronoun errors (who for whom, me for I, etc.), Using apostrophe and s to form plurals, using adjectives where an adverb is called for, and simple omission of words.
Here are a few (out of at least 100)of the ridiculously under-edited passages I marked: "...hard to get a beat (sic) on why..." "Police of Chief Rodney", "I was blind sighted (sic).", "...trying to soothing her...", "You haven't checked in with me hardly at all.", "Mostly of the time Mattheus seemed...", "...why the cops aren't sprawling all...", "It about her and Mattheus...", "They felt badly (sic) for her..." "...getting revenge with (sic) him...", "You isn't that true?", "Mattheus were in touch with...", "I know his stupid cousin Bella for years.", "For all we know you could be best.", "Mattheus had planned gone to Rancher's Bar...", "She couldn't make out what he silently for a while, their steps matching, down to the reef...","For years I never thought the day would never come."
In one scene the author actually used the wrong character name repeatedly throughout the scene!
Why would a writer spend all the time it takes to write a book and not reread it to find ways to improve the story and remove errors? There are rules and conventions of writing that make it possible for a writer to convey ideas for readers. When those are totally ignored, little communication takes place.
Many of the problems in this book involved verb tenses (saw instead of had seen, for example), pronoun errors (who for whom, me for I, etc.), Using apostrophe and s to form plurals, using adjectives where an adverb is called for, and simple omission of words.
Here are a few (out of at least 100)of the ridiculously under-edited passages I marked: "...hard to get a beat (sic) on why..." "Police of Chief Rodney", "I was blind sighted (sic).", "...trying to soothing her...", "You haven't checked in with me hardly at all.", "Mostly of the time Mattheus seemed...", "...why the cops aren't sprawling all...", "It about her and Mattheus...", "They felt badly (sic) for her..." "...getting revenge with (sic) him...", "You isn't that true?", "Mattheus were in touch with...", "I know his stupid cousin Bella for years.", "For all we know you could be best.", "Mattheus had planned gone to Rancher's Bar...", "She couldn't make out what he silently for a while, their steps matching, down to the reef...","For years I never thought the day would never come."
In one scene the author actually used the wrong character name repeatedly throughout the scene!
January 26, 2014
I keep hoping this series will improve with each book but, unfortunately it has not. The dialog is just exasperating. Long and uninteresting and half the time it doesn't even make sense. I don't think the author thinks the conversations through or reviews them out loud. Not to mention all the times you have reread because she mixes up the characters or forgets words.
December 20, 2014
This was an ebook, the story itself was no bad but the spelling, grammar and punctuation was atrocious! Made it very difficult to read, isn't that why they have editors?
December 31, 2015
This is book 5 in the Caribbean Murder Series but they do not have to be read in order as each book is stand-alone. We have the partnership of two private detectives called Cindy and Mattheus who respond to telephone calls to solve mysteries but this one is a little closer to home. Mattheus is married to Shelly who disappeared six years ago but now her body has been found. Can Cindy and Mattheus find the murderer and bring them to justice?
Death by Deceit is a cross-genre novel bridging crime, mystery and romance. The crime is the murder of Shelly. The mystery is why Shelly disappeared six years ago and what she did next. The romance is the relationship between private detectives Cindy and Mattheus.
Jaden tries to write a compelling novel by combining crime, mystery and romance. Sadly what Jaden produces is only an okay - 3 star read. The crime, mystery and romance parts are all only okay, nothing is noteworthy. Everything is low key and nowhere in her novel did I think “this is really good”. The closest she got was providing background to
domestic abuse from workers at a women’s refuge shelter. Nothing is special, strong or gritty, no special forensic science or involved police procedure. The plot does not have a gripping mystery and the romance does not have any steamy sex. This whole novel is low key and is like having a soap opera on television playing in the background. Death by Deceit is NOT a bad novel and it does capture two moods rather well. People walking away from their marriage while their partner is unaware of how unfulfilled and unhappy they are plus women who go back to their abusive husbands simply because of how much they love them.
Death by Deceit passes the time and is an okay read that I will vote the middle score of 3 stars. If you want a mixture of crime, mystery and romance together in the one book, then I can recommend Loreth Anne White and Jaden Skye is clearly NOT in the same league.
Death by Deceit is a cross-genre novel bridging crime, mystery and romance. The crime is the murder of Shelly. The mystery is why Shelly disappeared six years ago and what she did next. The romance is the relationship between private detectives Cindy and Mattheus.
Jaden tries to write a compelling novel by combining crime, mystery and romance. Sadly what Jaden produces is only an okay - 3 star read. The crime, mystery and romance parts are all only okay, nothing is noteworthy. Everything is low key and nowhere in her novel did I think “this is really good”. The closest she got was providing background to
domestic abuse from workers at a women’s refuge shelter. Nothing is special, strong or gritty, no special forensic science or involved police procedure. The plot does not have a gripping mystery and the romance does not have any steamy sex. This whole novel is low key and is like having a soap opera on television playing in the background. Death by Deceit is NOT a bad novel and it does capture two moods rather well. People walking away from their marriage while their partner is unaware of how unfulfilled and unhappy they are plus women who go back to their abusive husbands simply because of how much they love them.
Death by Deceit passes the time and is an okay read that I will vote the middle score of 3 stars. If you want a mixture of crime, mystery and romance together in the one book, then I can recommend Loreth Anne White and Jaden Skye is clearly NOT in the same league.
February 15, 2014
Written by a talented author, for sure. It was difficult to get past the (many!) grammatical errors, but the story line was a good one. I also had a hard time with the intense drama of it all. It seemed like the characters would often go from a casual conversation to yelling and fighting in a second, and that really annoyed me. Otherwise, I thought the book was a solid 3 stars
August 17, 2015
This was an interesting read. Grabbed you fairly quick and wouldn't let you go. Engaging characters and a typical murder mystery plot. It was fun.
October 1, 2023
Good story but….
A good story carrying on the series but some things annoyed me.
Matheus had a personality change to make him look like a man who may abuse or try to control women.
Cindy, considering she dashed from NY to Florida to help out Matheus upon the discovery of his wife’s body had an enormous wardrobe of clothes to wear. She seemed to have two or three completely new outfits every day. She must be brilliant to have packed a suitcase with such an array of clothing when effectively she was dropping everything to join Matheus in such a hurry.
Cindy’s sister Ann also became an overbearing ogre on the premise that she had Cindy’s best interests at heart.
Matheus’ wife had been missing for six years and whilst Matheus suffered significantly with her loss he seemed to get over Shelly once he met Cindy. But then on the discovery Shelly had been murdered in Florida Keys his personality changed and he became mega moody and self-centred. He phoned Cindy for help and she hightailed it down to Florida Keys to help Matheus in his hour of need.
Cindy had left him in Grenada when he didn’t particularly like her ditching Shelly’s photos after Cindy moved in with him and he wanted to deal with another new case but Cindy said she needed a rest. Personality change was just too much.
Nonetheless the story was decent and Matheus and Cindy bumbled their way through the investigation, unlike their usual methodical and considered modus operandi in previous books. Overall ok but irritating. I will read the next book though.
A good story carrying on the series but some things annoyed me.
Matheus had a personality change to make him look like a man who may abuse or try to control women.
Cindy, considering she dashed from NY to Florida to help out Matheus upon the discovery of his wife’s body had an enormous wardrobe of clothes to wear. She seemed to have two or three completely new outfits every day. She must be brilliant to have packed a suitcase with such an array of clothing when effectively she was dropping everything to join Matheus in such a hurry.
Cindy’s sister Ann also became an overbearing ogre on the premise that she had Cindy’s best interests at heart.
Matheus’ wife had been missing for six years and whilst Matheus suffered significantly with her loss he seemed to get over Shelly once he met Cindy. But then on the discovery Shelly had been murdered in Florida Keys his personality changed and he became mega moody and self-centred. He phoned Cindy for help and she hightailed it down to Florida Keys to help Matheus in his hour of need.
Cindy had left him in Grenada when he didn’t particularly like her ditching Shelly’s photos after Cindy moved in with him and he wanted to deal with another new case but Cindy said she needed a rest. Personality change was just too much.
Nonetheless the story was decent and Matheus and Cindy bumbled their way through the investigation, unlike their usual methodical and considered modus operandi in previous books. Overall ok but irritating. I will read the next book though.
May 20, 2018
Where to start with this one? Well.......for one, I can see why this was a kindle freebie, I certainly wouldn't have wasted money on it! It is in dire need of proof-reading and copy-editing. The writing was pretty bad in some places, and I had to re-read parts to try and understand what was being said.
The only good thing about it was the idea behind it. If only it had had a better writer.....I also had to check the publication date because unbelievably both the narrator and characters used the word "retarded" to describe someone with learning difficulties several times. The year of publication? 2012! Completely unacceptable and if somebody is going to take on the responsibility of writing about such characters, albeit background ones, then they need to at least refrain from using potentially offensive language. I know it must seem like such a petty thing to get riled up about, but its a negative point that really stood out for me.
I'll be avoiding this author from now on. One star for the sake of a rating and nothing more.
The only good thing about it was the idea behind it. If only it had had a better writer.....I also had to check the publication date because unbelievably both the narrator and characters used the word "retarded" to describe someone with learning difficulties several times. The year of publication? 2012! Completely unacceptable and if somebody is going to take on the responsibility of writing about such characters, albeit background ones, then they need to at least refrain from using potentially offensive language. I know it must seem like such a petty thing to get riled up about, but its a negative point that really stood out for me.
I'll be avoiding this author from now on. One star for the sake of a rating and nothing more.
October 15, 2020
I never know whether to post reviews of books I didnt enjoy that much but I also think that it's nice to see what other peoples thoughts are, especially if they read it themselves and enjoyed it.
One thing I will say is the story line itself was good, and it was a very quick read. I also like that the focus was on the relationship between the two detectives and how it was effected through out the case.
However, I just didnt feel invested in the story or the characters. There wasn't quite enough about either for my liking. My copy also had a lot of errors on it. Normally I find it funny with one or two but this was through out the whole book and became a bit of distraction.
I think that the writing and ideas are there but they just need to be a bit more developed (sound like an english teacher 🙄). I would be willing to read later books by the same author but it's not something I would look out for myself personally.
One thing I will say is the story line itself was good, and it was a very quick read. I also like that the focus was on the relationship between the two detectives and how it was effected through out the case.
However, I just didnt feel invested in the story or the characters. There wasn't quite enough about either for my liking. My copy also had a lot of errors on it. Normally I find it funny with one or two but this was through out the whole book and became a bit of distraction.
I think that the writing and ideas are there but they just need to be a bit more developed (sound like an english teacher 🙄). I would be willing to read later books by the same author but it's not something I would look out for myself personally.
July 11, 2019
Wow, this book was such a read. It was nice to have a little different change of pace where it focuses on Cindy and Mattheus instead of solely focusing on the case. The endings keep being about the same, Cindy goes to confront the real killer, ends up getting hurt, and Mattheus saves the day. Hopefully the next book in the series is a bit different and follows up more on their relationship. I like these books cause they draw you in and make you want to find out who the killer is. As well as make you want to hear more about Cindy and Mattheus.
I look forward to reading the rest of the books in the series.
I look forward to reading the rest of the books in the series.
April 2, 2019
As always, I enjoyed this quick romance mystery. Mattheus' wife, Shelly, has been missing for six years. Mattheus gets a phone call that she has been found dead in the Florida Keys. The hitch is, Shelly was just killed within the week. As a side bar, Cindy and Mattheus' relationship heating up, cooling down, and maybe heating up again.
July 28, 2017
Interesting light reading
This book had the "normal" automatic spell correction errors; not as bad as some books. The story moved along at a good pace without subplots. It kept me interested.
This book had the "normal" automatic spell correction errors; not as bad as some books. The story moved along at a good pace without subplots. It kept me interested.
July 5, 2025
Editing errors
This book had some editing flaws. Several places had the wrong character's name being quoted. This was confusing and led to a lot of unnecessary rereading of conversations.
This book had some editing flaws. Several places had the wrong character's name being quoted. This was confusing and led to a lot of unnecessary rereading of conversations.
October 17, 2018
Good story but the back and forth dialogue between Mathias and Cindy over their relationship doesn't come across as realistic and gets annoying.
July 21, 2019
Good book
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
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
April 16, 2020
I think the author needs to fire her proof reader.
May 29, 2024
Too many errors. I usually find one or two but this book is full of mistakes.
March 20, 2017
I was glad to see a reslution to the mystery of Mattheus' wife. Also, Cindy rediscovered her inner strength and prevented complete control of her life by her partner. Now if onlyshe couldget her sister Anne in check.
December 30, 2019
Cindy and Mattheus are investigating another murder and finding their relationship is becoming more and more complicated. Matteus seems to still be stuck in the past and Cindy is still grieving her dead husband, but there is definite chemisty. Together they have started a PI business and are involved in solving crimes throughout the Caribbean. They can't seem to get on the same page at the same time. At times it is hard to like Matteus and at times it is hard to like Cindy.
Decent mystery, well paced storyline.
Decent mystery, well paced storyline.
April 25, 2024
This one took me by surprise I’ve read the first four of these books, and this one was excellent. The character development was great and I think that the storyline put a lot of things together for me. I am so excited to read the next one. I continue this journey with the Caribbean murder series.
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February 9, 2014A little bit sappy
Plot twists + turns kind of go at 90' angles to each other; it's almost as if each person suspected of being the killer is an entirely different story, only incidentally combined into a single book. Good proofing for typo's and to improve grammar would be great additions.
Plot twists + turns kind of go at 90' angles to each other; it's almost as if each person suspected of being the killer is an entirely different story, only incidentally combined into a single book. Good proofing for typo's and to improve grammar would be great additions.
October 10, 2015
I enjoyed this series at first, but the characters and storyline have gone downhill. The character of Shelley was never fully explained and the intensity of e characters went up and down so much that I had whiplash. Mathieus and Cindy are all over the place as well. Combine that with the casual use of the word retarded, and I think that this will be the last I read in this series.
January 10, 2013
Great, engaging book!!! Love this Caribbean island-hopping crime-fighting duo!!! Quick read that kept me wondering every chapter...and what a twist at the end! Can't wait for the next one in the spring!!
February 23, 2014
A genuine page turner
This is my first novel by Karen Skye that I have read but it won't be the last. I was kept
interested by the characterization as well as the subject of spouse abuse and the Key West location.
This is my first novel by Karen Skye that I have read but it won't be the last. I was kept
interested by the characterization as well as the subject of spouse abuse and the Key West location.
August 10, 2016
Book #5 in the Caribbean Murder Series. Cindy and Mattheus finally decide to move in together, but things don't work out. Cindy flies home to New York, but Mattheus calls her up to ask her to help him with a new murder case--his wife's body has finally shown up.
May 7, 2014
great plot, developing to almost last page
author did wonderful job; can't say same about editor.many grammatical, typing and punctuation errors.still with the read.enjoyed most of book
author did wonderful job; can't say same about editor.many grammatical, typing and punctuation errors.still with the read.enjoyed most of book
September 18, 2014
Death by Deceit By Jaden Skye
I liked this book...
very good storyline, even though it was slow in the beginning and kind of dragged heavily in the middle.
Good characters and plenty of them all in a good story.
I recommend this book, for a young reader or for a easy read.
I liked this book...
very good storyline, even though it was slow in the beginning and kind of dragged heavily in the middle.
Good characters and plenty of them all in a good story.
I recommend this book, for a young reader or for a easy read.
January 13, 2015
This is the first time I could not force myself to finish a book. Ridiculous dialogue, characters with the emotional range of a lobotomy patient and a paper-thin plot. Great if you enjoy the work of elementary school students. Otherwise, don't waste your time.
February 26, 2015
I enjoyed the book. It was exciting enough to keep me engaged, but I have to agree with other reviewers that the spelling, grammar, punctuation and overall editing of the book was not good. If this is the authors 5th book you would think this would have been taken care of by now.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews