Living and Dying in the Hamptons

Reid Larson #1

by T.L. Ingham

Reid Larson's life becomes a whirlwind of adventure when she lands the job of her dreams at an art gallery in the Hamptons. But when the gallery she works for suddenly becomes the center of a murder investigation and an art theft scandal, all eyes are on Reid. As if that's not enough, Reid discovers that not only do ghosts exist, but she can talk to them- whether she wants to or not.

Genres: Mystery, Paranormal, Cozy Mystery

422 pages, Nook

First published September 5, 2012

About the author

T. L. Ingham was born and raised in upstate New York, before living short stints in Connecticut, Rhode Island, Illinois, and then finally, Indiana where she lives today, residing with her husband and their two dogs. She is the author of the blog 'Did This Really Just Happen?'

Ingham says of herself "I am a happily married mother of two and step-mother of two more. I also own two dogs. Apparently, I do things in twos. I am also an author with two published e-books and several short stories. All of my works can be found on Smashwords.com. I have a very unique way of looking at things sometimes, (or so I have been told, but that could be that my friends are reluctant to call me crazy and therefore replaced 'insane' with 'unique.') Often, I find myself in positions where I am saying, 'Did this really just happen?' And so, the blog was born."

Reviews

[D · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this as a free ebook and am glad I did. The main character is Reid Larson, who gets a job in an art gallery as personal assistant to the owner. After a forgery is discovered, Reid is attacked and suffers a head injury. She then wakes up next to a dead body and is the main suspect. She also finds she can now see and speak to ghosts.

The book contains an easy read mystery with a little romance and plenty of humor as Reid tries to hide her medium ability. When co-workers see her arguing with no one or the ghosts have jealous fights, I did laugh out loud several times.

I am giving this book four stars as it is the first book in the series. It contained a lot of background information regarding the characters, both alive and dead. I am reserving five stars for the second book, Murder and Mischief in the Hamptons, if it lives up to expectations.

[❂ Murder by Death · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, a GR friend had only good things to say about this book (you know who you are) and recommended it to me and I have to say - "Thank you!" :)

A fun fast read with a great cast of characters you wish existed in real life. The ghosts all crack me up - each very unique and very much still the person they once were. I love the snark and the humour, and the dialogue is fast and easy to follow with a minimum of editing errors.

The plot was well developed, a very solid effort. The villain wasn't obvious (to me) and though the ending was a bit anti-climatic, I was ok with that as I get tired of the predictability of cozies and their endings at times.

This book is an absolute steal, as the author is giving it away free of charge on Smashwords. I'd have happily paid 2-3 bucks for this book and another 2-3 for the sequel. If you're looking for an entertaining story that's lighthearted and fun, and you like free, this might be the book for you.

[Bandmama (aka Lucy) - Claiming Mitch as mine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a fantastic book and a very pleasant surprise. I love cozy mysteries with a twist of paranormal thrown in and the ghosts in this first book crack me up. Many of the characters do - they are fun loving, smart, and just plain likeable. You can relate to every one of them. The book is very well written and I absolutely loved it. I am going to read all books by this author. She's a fantastic writer/story-teller.

[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great fast paced story with funny and endearing characters. You'll look at ghosts in a whole new way! Lots of twists and turns and the main heroine, Reid, grew up on a dairy farm in my hometown of Pawling - quite the surprise! Would love to see this story as a TV series. Cannot wait to read the next Reid installment!

[Erinw · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was so pleased to read this fun, fast paced book! While the story is implausible, it is easy to just go with the craziness and the characters are likeable and well written. I am starting the second book in this series as soon as possible.

[Marilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good cozy mystery with a lot of humor, ghosts, romance and anything else you would like to throw in. The characters are very likeable and the storyline is easy to follow. Will read series.

[Annette Abbott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Slow to start. Main character seems to have a chip on her shoulder. Story did pick up and turned out to be great!

[Jeanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute little chick-lit slash mystery.

[Irène Wadowski uliasz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ce livre m'a remonté le moral. Un policier drôle, bien ficelé et rempli de fantômes sympathiques qui n'arrêtent pas de se disputer .