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Essie Cobb Senior Sleuth #4
Ghosted
It’s Halloween and time for the goblins to come out. But for Essie Cobb, senior sleuth, and her pals at the Happy Haven Assisted Living Facility, there’s nothing quite so spooky as a good mystery. Maybe it’s the strange new resident who resembles Mark Twain. Why does he collect a box surreptitiously each day from a stranger behind the kitchen entrance? Or maybe it’s Felix Federico, Happy Haven’s new manager. Where did this Italian heart throb of all the female residents, develop his charming ways? And will Essie’s pals be able to convince her to go on a field trip to a local haunted house despite her aversion to any activity that takes her away from a nearby restroom? But most important––why is Essie seeing things? Such as large rodents in her shower, faces in her crossword puzzles, and the ghost of her dead husband on her favorite television game show? Is she being haunted or is age finally catching up to this ninety-year-old lady? Essie isn’t one to just sit around and wait for an answer. She’s going into detective mode and find out why she’s being GHOSTED.
210 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 23, 2013
9 people are currently reading
102 people want to read
About the author
Patricia Rockwell
33 books149 followersPatricia Rockwell has spent most of her life teaching. From small liberal arts colleges to large regional research universities—and even a brief stint in a high school, her background in education is extensive. She has taught virtually everything related to Communication—from a fine arts speech-theatre orientation to more recently a social science research approach. Her Bachelors’ and Masters’ degrees are from the University of Nebraska in Speech and her Ph.D. is from the University of Arizona in Communication. She was on the faculty at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette for thirteen years, retiring in 2007.
Her publications are extensive, with over 20 peer-reviewed articles in scholarly journals, several textbooks, and a research book on her major interest area of sarcasm, published by Edwin Mellen Press. In addition to publications, she has presented numerous papers at academic conferences and served for eight years as Editor of the "Louisiana Communication Journal. " Her research focuses primarily on several areas of communication: deception, sarcasm, and vocal cues.
Dr. Rockwell is presently living in Aurora, Illinois, with her husband Milt, also a retired educator. The couple have two adult children. SOUNDS OF MURDER is her first novel.
Her publications are extensive, with over 20 peer-reviewed articles in scholarly journals, several textbooks, and a research book on her major interest area of sarcasm, published by Edwin Mellen Press. In addition to publications, she has presented numerous papers at academic conferences and served for eight years as Editor of the "Louisiana Communication Journal. " Her research focuses primarily on several areas of communication: deception, sarcasm, and vocal cues.
Dr. Rockwell is presently living in Aurora, Illinois, with her husband Milt, also a retired educator. The couple have two adult children. SOUNDS OF MURDER is her first novel.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
February 11, 2018
Light cozy mystery that was spent far too much time discussing bladder control problems in one of the elderly residents at the assisted living facility. Essie becomes suspicious of a new resident who is meeting someone on the sly, wonders about their new handsome manager, and has to contend with her daughters who decide to swoop in and clean out her apartment. When she starts to hallucinate about seeing her dead husband, she begins to wonder if she is going crazy.
September 22, 2019
Spooky
Not my favorite of this fun series. It was a bit sad in places. I will look forward to the next book
Not my favorite of this fun series. It was a bit sad in places. I will look forward to the next book
September 16, 2025
TWO WORDS TO DESCRIBE THIS BOOK? A 'FEVOR DREAM!' BUT AS ALWAYS PATRICIA ROCKWELL KNOWS HOW TO KEEP ME HAPPY!
SERIES PREMISE: In this series we follow Essie Cobb who, along-side her friends Opal, Marjourie & Faye, lives in Happy Haven Nursing Home in San Diego, California.
In this book: Essie's daughters have dropped by to stop the madness! It's time to clean out their mother's closet and equip her with an answering machine. Essie doesn't see what the bother is and, even more so, would prefer to not have the additional bother of more technology in her room!
But then strange things start happening: She keeps seeing her late husband everywhere, she even hears him on her answering machine. What the heck is going on here? Also, why is the new resident, a great lookalike of Mark Twain doing each night by going outside the home via the back? Doesn't he know Happy Haven has rules?!
But Essie is on the case!
THOUGHTS: Oh my goodness this book was a fever dream and a half! Essie seing ghosts and other weird things was really freaky. I'm not used to having these things happen to the sleuth we're following. At one point Essie feared she was getting alzheimer's and this was really tough for her and me, who has grown to love Essie so much! The Fever Dream didn't come to an end until the final climax but let me tell you, it made everything else so totally worth it. A brilliant end to an amazing story! Long live Essie Cobb and her fellow slueths at Happy Haven!
5 Stars!
xoxo.
SERIES PREMISE: In this series we follow Essie Cobb who, along-side her friends Opal, Marjourie & Faye, lives in Happy Haven Nursing Home in San Diego, California.
In this book: Essie's daughters have dropped by to stop the madness! It's time to clean out their mother's closet and equip her with an answering machine. Essie doesn't see what the bother is and, even more so, would prefer to not have the additional bother of more technology in her room!
But then strange things start happening: She keeps seeing her late husband everywhere, she even hears him on her answering machine. What the heck is going on here? Also, why is the new resident, a great lookalike of Mark Twain doing each night by going outside the home via the back? Doesn't he know Happy Haven has rules?!
But Essie is on the case!
THOUGHTS: Oh my goodness this book was a fever dream and a half! Essie seing ghosts and other weird things was really freaky. I'm not used to having these things happen to the sleuth we're following. At one point Essie feared she was getting alzheimer's and this was really tough for her and me, who has grown to love Essie so much! The Fever Dream didn't come to an end until the final climax but let me tell you, it made everything else so totally worth it. A brilliant end to an amazing story! Long live Essie Cobb and her fellow slueths at Happy Haven!
5 Stars!
xoxo.
March 25, 2020
~Senior amateur sleuths dealing with senior issues
~From the first chapter of this book I was not all that impressed, reading about the group’s bladder issues. I decided to give it a chance and continue reading.
~The farther I read the less engaging I found the main characters. I realize that every mystery book with an amateur sleuth must have some sort of unique gimmick. I have read about housecleaners, teenagers, clergy, bakers (many), retired cops, retail clerks, and news reporters to name a few. Some occupations lend themselves to detecting and mystery solving better than others.
~I don’t have a problem with seniors being the main character…I’m a senior myself. However, I simply could not relate to the characters…did not find them believable…or even enjoyable.
~It might be perfect for some readers…and I truly hope some enjoy this book…however, for me, I cannot recommend it.
~From the first chapter of this book I was not all that impressed, reading about the group’s bladder issues. I decided to give it a chance and continue reading.
~The farther I read the less engaging I found the main characters. I realize that every mystery book with an amateur sleuth must have some sort of unique gimmick. I have read about housecleaners, teenagers, clergy, bakers (many), retired cops, retail clerks, and news reporters to name a few. Some occupations lend themselves to detecting and mystery solving better than others.
~I don’t have a problem with seniors being the main character…I’m a senior myself. However, I simply could not relate to the characters…did not find them believable…or even enjoyable.
~It might be perfect for some readers…and I truly hope some enjoy this book…however, for me, I cannot recommend it.
June 24, 2025
Happy Haven Assisted Living Facility resident sleuth, Essie Cobb, is at it again. It's Halloween and she is seeing ghosts, losing track of time, and hallucinating. Is it just Halloween hauntings or is Essie losing her mind? She is 90 years old after all.
This book is more about Essie and her family. The first 3 books involved Essie's 3 best friends in the investigations more.
There are 2 mysteries to solve. First, Essie's mental issues. That one is pretty easy for the reader to figure out. Second, what is Happy Haven's newest resident, Edward Troy, up to? This one comes as a total surprise.
This book is more about Essie and her family. The first 3 books involved Essie's 3 best friends in the investigations more.
There are 2 mysteries to solve. First, Essie's mental issues. That one is pretty easy for the reader to figure out. Second, what is Happy Haven's newest resident, Edward Troy, up to? This one comes as a total surprise.
April 24, 2020
Witty and fun
Eddie is a senior sleuths that rocks. A witty and warm story. Well worth reading. I do be catching up on the series.
Eddie is a senior sleuths that rocks. A witty and warm story. Well worth reading. I do be catching up on the series.
June 19, 2021
Cute story, if you're 12 years old. Had the potential for a good mystery but fell short; shallow characters, grade school level writing. Very disappointing, thank heavens it was free.
July 19, 2021
Good
I really enjoy reading about the adventures and mysteries that Ms. Eddie and her friends get involved in. Good clean light hearted stories that are very fun to read.
I really enjoy reading about the adventures and mysteries that Ms. Eddie and her friends get involved in. Good clean light hearted stories that are very fun to read.
June 18, 2013
Loved the old ladies. I always wondered what went on in those places. Enjoyable read!
August 25, 2013
Loved it. Reminded me a lot of my mom
September 12, 2013
As mysteries go this book is very disappointing. It is however not too bad as "little old lady" stories go. It made for a pleasant few hours but did not make me want to read more about Essie
February 13, 2014
Fun little read about little old ladies getting into trouble at a assisted living home.
December 28, 2016
I love Essie and her pals. This is funny, light suspense and insight into how senior citizens think and enjoy life.
June 16, 2024
Some interesting characters and a passable plot, but overall this is not one of the best cozy mysteries I've ever read.
March 27, 2017
An Intriguing Halloween Mystery
I enjoyed this exciting Halloween mystery. I was totally wrong about the person who was responsible for Essie's hallucinations. I suspected a different person.
The writer knows how to keep the reader's attention right up to the end of the book. I highly recommend this well written cozy mystery.
I enjoyed this exciting Halloween mystery. I was totally wrong about the person who was responsible for Essie's hallucinations. I suspected a different person.
The writer knows how to keep the reader's attention right up to the end of the book. I highly recommend this well written cozy mystery.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews