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Shores Mystery #4
Something Fishy
Herring are falling from the sky over The Shores, an unusual phenomenon anywhere, but especially in this quiet village. A newcomer, Anton Paradis, has opened a restaurant whose specialty is dangerous dining: foods that can kill, to tantalize the jaded palates of wealthy clients. Someone's bound to get hurt.
Someone does. Oddly, the victim dies laughing.
Mountie Jane Jamieson suspects it's no accident. But could there really be another murder at The Shores?
All the while, a wind turbine slices its blades over the cape, menacing the villagers with its eerie presence.
Death is in the wind -- and on the dinner plate.
Someone does. Oddly, the victim dies laughing.
Mountie Jane Jamieson suspects it's no accident. But could there really be another murder at The Shores?
All the while, a wind turbine slices its blades over the cape, menacing the villagers with its eerie presence.
Death is in the wind -- and on the dinner plate.
310 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2013
3 people are currently reading
67 people want to read
About the author
Hilary MacLeod
8 books19 followersI'm a writer broadcaster currently writing a mystery series set in a small Canadian fishing village. Like cosies? Quirky characters? Some serious dished up with some comic? Then you might like to start following The Shores series. I call it "village noir."
The first of these, "Revenge of the Lobster Lover" was published by Acorn Press in October 2010.
The book can be ordered online through amazon.ca and Chapters/Indigo. It's also available at many independents in Canada and at many Chapters and Coles. In the U.S. it can be obtained through Islandport Press in Maine. Contact: www.islandportpress.com/
The second, "Mind Over Mussels," was published by Acorn in 2011. The third, "All is Clam " -- a Christmas mystery -- was published in August 2012.
The latest was released September 24, 2013. Called "Something Fishy," it deals in dangerous dining -- food that can kill and a wind turbine slicing evil across the cape.
The first of these, "Revenge of the Lobster Lover" was published by Acorn Press in October 2010.
The book can be ordered online through amazon.ca and Chapters/Indigo. It's also available at many independents in Canada and at many Chapters and Coles. In the U.S. it can be obtained through Islandport Press in Maine. Contact: www.islandportpress.com/
The second, "Mind Over Mussels," was published by Acorn in 2011. The third, "All is Clam " -- a Christmas mystery -- was published in August 2012.
The latest was released September 24, 2013. Called "Something Fishy," it deals in dangerous dining -- food that can kill and a wind turbine slicing evil across the cape.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 24, 2017
3.5 stars.
Another book in this humorous series, set in a tiny remote village on Prince Edward Island. There are the always present recurring, quirky characters and the ‘come from away’ people who are possibly even wackier. It seems a lovely little Oceanside settlement except for all the murders.
The story begins with hundreds of fish falling from the sky and closes with an even more startling phenomenon. In between there are a number of deaths, some clearly from murder. There are some valiant rescues. Hyacinth,her sometime boyfriend and the local Mountie,Jane Jamieson, cooperate in trying to make sense out of the strange events. They are often distracted from mystery solving by weird activities which keep unfolding.
Am enjoying the series and the madcap characters.
Another book in this humorous series, set in a tiny remote village on Prince Edward Island. There are the always present recurring, quirky characters and the ‘come from away’ people who are possibly even wackier. It seems a lovely little Oceanside settlement except for all the murders.
The story begins with hundreds of fish falling from the sky and closes with an even more startling phenomenon. In between there are a number of deaths, some clearly from murder. There are some valiant rescues. Hyacinth,her sometime boyfriend and the local Mountie,Jane Jamieson, cooperate in trying to make sense out of the strange events. They are often distracted from mystery solving by weird activities which keep unfolding.
Am enjoying the series and the madcap characters.
July 23, 2014
This is the fourth book in the Shores Mystery series.
As the story opens, all the familiar characters are being inundated with a horde of dead fish falling from the sky. They are filling the eaves troughs of houses, slapping against car windshields, filling the lawns and covering the road. It seems to be raining fish!! Where are they coming from?? It only lasts a few minutes but it throws everyone into a panic. What is this?
Meanwhile the tourists are beginning their annual summer influx, buzzing like wasps around a nest and frolicking in the frigid Gulf of St Lawrence. The beach and the shore are a magnet, attracting so many that the locals silently resent the intrusion, especially when they outnumber the local inhabitants.
On the high cape above the Shore the skyline has changed. The “dome” property, previously owned by a fitness guru and an important locale in the last book, has been sold after a very short time on the market. It was bought by Newton Fanshaw, a pale looking, eccentric scientist who keeps pretty much to himself. He has erected a wind turbine and a solar panel, with a plan to create, store and sell energy. The locales stare at the “wind contraption” with its space age blades that pick up the breezes and whir into action. It dominates the Cape and interferes with their views of the beautiful Red Island sunsets. There is lots of discussion in the village about it. Some are even concerned it may affect their health. Most don’t like it, some hate it and others feel pleased that The Shores have finally arrived on the leading edge of new technology.
Anton Paradis is also a newcomer. He has bought one of the chic cottages next to the “dome” and has plans to turn it into a locale for fine dining with a particular focus. He calls it “dangerous foods”. He will offer a very specific menu to a limited number of guests, focusing on very rich clients who have a desire to sample something new and different, intriguing them with a selection of foods that may not normally be eaten because they are dangerous if not prepared or cooked properly. His idea is to give them a thrill---an invitation to flirt with death. He calls the experience “dangerous dining” and has plans to make it his very own unique brand.
After Jim MacAdam’s murder about a year ago, his pretty beige bungalow has now passed down to his niece Fiona Winterbottom. Now the proud owner of a prized shorefront property, Fiona decides to haul the bungalow off to town and replace it with the dilapidated trailer she has lived in. It certainly is not pretty to look at and Anton Paradis is angry. It will interfere with his plans for a heli-pad to bring in his high paying clientele and then when they are dining, they will be forced to look at that atrocity rather than the beautiful shoreline scenery.
All the core characters are back including Hy and Ian with his sidekick Jasmine the parrot; Gus in her purple recliner by the window who constantly talks to her absent husband Abe; Gladys who still misses and mourns Jim; Moira who has romance up her sleeve; Madeleine still minding all the children and cooking for Murdo who spends most of his time away from the police house, and the resident bad boy Jared MacPherson, always ready to make the best of opportunities presented to him by opening up a Fish Museum.
Jane Jamieson the resident RCMP officer is now a permanent police presence at The Shores. Despite the fact the area is small and has few full time inhabitants, this isolated community has had a surprising number of deaths in the last few years, and so Jamieson and her partner Murdo stay here on assignment. Jamieson, left on her own by the Detachment in Charlottetown who virtually ignore her reports, has gradually been evolving in her both her personal and professional life, becoming more and more a part of the community. When she first arrived, she was very much a “by-the-book” cop, but her experiences in this setting have changed her. The Shores, the village, the land, the sea and the people have just become a part of her. She has evolved a better sense of what justice really is, and has developed real friendships with Hy and Ian. She is the character who is really at the center of this story. We learned many things about her life growing up in the last book and in this edition she continues to endear herself to us.
The deaths begin with a hilarious “chili cook off” as part of the Canada Day celebrations. Can you really die from slow cooked beans? And then gradually more bodies turn up. Are these bodies the results of accidents or are they murder?? It is up to Jamieson to figure it out.
The characters are really the focus of these stories and they are so appealing, with MacLeod describing their idiosyncratic speech and way of life. Many of them reflect the “types” some of us know or have experience with in our own lives. But MacLeod does not just give us quirky characters to love, she also gives us something to think about, exploring the question of fading rural communities filled with strong traditional values and rampant gossip, who regard the march of progress with a careful and critical eye. She forces us to consider issues such as artificial insemination, custody rights, the health effects of wind turbines, and the forces of modern times which keep pushing forward a way of life not everyone wants. All the while she makes us laugh at quirky characters and describes incredibly funny events.
This is an easy to read and entertaining series .
I would also like to give kudos to Acorn Press, who have done a great job on the covers which really complement the crazy titles and invite the reader to pick up the book.
As the story opens, all the familiar characters are being inundated with a horde of dead fish falling from the sky. They are filling the eaves troughs of houses, slapping against car windshields, filling the lawns and covering the road. It seems to be raining fish!! Where are they coming from?? It only lasts a few minutes but it throws everyone into a panic. What is this?
Meanwhile the tourists are beginning their annual summer influx, buzzing like wasps around a nest and frolicking in the frigid Gulf of St Lawrence. The beach and the shore are a magnet, attracting so many that the locals silently resent the intrusion, especially when they outnumber the local inhabitants.
On the high cape above the Shore the skyline has changed. The “dome” property, previously owned by a fitness guru and an important locale in the last book, has been sold after a very short time on the market. It was bought by Newton Fanshaw, a pale looking, eccentric scientist who keeps pretty much to himself. He has erected a wind turbine and a solar panel, with a plan to create, store and sell energy. The locales stare at the “wind contraption” with its space age blades that pick up the breezes and whir into action. It dominates the Cape and interferes with their views of the beautiful Red Island sunsets. There is lots of discussion in the village about it. Some are even concerned it may affect their health. Most don’t like it, some hate it and others feel pleased that The Shores have finally arrived on the leading edge of new technology.
Anton Paradis is also a newcomer. He has bought one of the chic cottages next to the “dome” and has plans to turn it into a locale for fine dining with a particular focus. He calls it “dangerous foods”. He will offer a very specific menu to a limited number of guests, focusing on very rich clients who have a desire to sample something new and different, intriguing them with a selection of foods that may not normally be eaten because they are dangerous if not prepared or cooked properly. His idea is to give them a thrill---an invitation to flirt with death. He calls the experience “dangerous dining” and has plans to make it his very own unique brand.
After Jim MacAdam’s murder about a year ago, his pretty beige bungalow has now passed down to his niece Fiona Winterbottom. Now the proud owner of a prized shorefront property, Fiona decides to haul the bungalow off to town and replace it with the dilapidated trailer she has lived in. It certainly is not pretty to look at and Anton Paradis is angry. It will interfere with his plans for a heli-pad to bring in his high paying clientele and then when they are dining, they will be forced to look at that atrocity rather than the beautiful shoreline scenery.
All the core characters are back including Hy and Ian with his sidekick Jasmine the parrot; Gus in her purple recliner by the window who constantly talks to her absent husband Abe; Gladys who still misses and mourns Jim; Moira who has romance up her sleeve; Madeleine still minding all the children and cooking for Murdo who spends most of his time away from the police house, and the resident bad boy Jared MacPherson, always ready to make the best of opportunities presented to him by opening up a Fish Museum.
Jane Jamieson the resident RCMP officer is now a permanent police presence at The Shores. Despite the fact the area is small and has few full time inhabitants, this isolated community has had a surprising number of deaths in the last few years, and so Jamieson and her partner Murdo stay here on assignment. Jamieson, left on her own by the Detachment in Charlottetown who virtually ignore her reports, has gradually been evolving in her both her personal and professional life, becoming more and more a part of the community. When she first arrived, she was very much a “by-the-book” cop, but her experiences in this setting have changed her. The Shores, the village, the land, the sea and the people have just become a part of her. She has evolved a better sense of what justice really is, and has developed real friendships with Hy and Ian. She is the character who is really at the center of this story. We learned many things about her life growing up in the last book and in this edition she continues to endear herself to us.
The deaths begin with a hilarious “chili cook off” as part of the Canada Day celebrations. Can you really die from slow cooked beans? And then gradually more bodies turn up. Are these bodies the results of accidents or are they murder?? It is up to Jamieson to figure it out.
The characters are really the focus of these stories and they are so appealing, with MacLeod describing their idiosyncratic speech and way of life. Many of them reflect the “types” some of us know or have experience with in our own lives. But MacLeod does not just give us quirky characters to love, she also gives us something to think about, exploring the question of fading rural communities filled with strong traditional values and rampant gossip, who regard the march of progress with a careful and critical eye. She forces us to consider issues such as artificial insemination, custody rights, the health effects of wind turbines, and the forces of modern times which keep pushing forward a way of life not everyone wants. All the while she makes us laugh at quirky characters and describes incredibly funny events.
This is an easy to read and entertaining series .
I would also like to give kudos to Acorn Press, who have done a great job on the covers which really complement the crazy titles and invite the reader to pick up the book.
April 12, 2022
Another visit to Canada's answer to Cabot Cove. I found it hard to keep some of the recurring, less prominent characters straight in my mind.
September 30, 2023
As always by author Hilary MacLeod, a truly enjoyable book. I love the quirky characters and it’s fun to read as the mystery is solved.
August 8, 2015
Not great. Enough crass juvenile humour to spoil the rest.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews