Queen of Tentacles: A House of Cards Mystery

by Bethany Browning, George Dondero (illustrator)

From the BIBA-winning author of Sasquatch, Baby!, Queen of Tentacles is book two in the popular House of Cards cozy mystery series.

When Carrie Dettwiler brings her tarot card practice and her pet raven, Waggery, to the cold and craggy seaside town of Mariner’s Cove, she finds herself neck-deep in a rising tide of suspicion over who killed a flamboyant fortune teller named Baba Caracatiță. Despite her vigorous attempts to stay out of the investigation, Carrie is forced to get involved when her priceless emerald ring is found lodged in Baba’s throat, and the coroner is unwilling to return it without the correct papers. Meanwhile, her girlfriend, Stormy, is sneaking around town with a group of weekend pirates and a gray ghost, none of whom can explain her suspicious behavior. With nothing but her raven, her wits, and her (faltering) ability to trust others keeping her afloat, Carrie must resist the urge to flee and use every trick up her sleeve to uncover who’s behind Mariner’s Cove’s most sinister secrets.

Genres: Mystery

262 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 14, 2024

About the author

Bethany Browning is the BIBA- and Indieverse-winning author of Sasquatch, Baby!, Shimmerfish, Dead Spread, Queen of Tentacles, Trouble's Afoot, and Men Going Mad. She's also co-writer of the independent film War of the Wills, available on Amazon and Tubi. Her stories have been published in Esoterica Magazine, JAKE, Mudroom, Filth, Drabbledark, Stories We Tell After Midnight, Halloween Horrors, The Hallowzine, Allegory, and more. Learn more at bethanybrowning.com, and follow her on Threads @bethanybrowningbooks.

Reviews

[Read · Rating 4 out of 5]

Carrie and Waggery have headed to the coast to live with Stormy for a short spell. Unfortunately, mild chaos seems to stick to Carrie like a second skin. Shortly after arriving she finds herself once again in the middle of a murder investigation when local fortune teller, Baba Caracatiță, ends up dead after their brief encounter.

I really enjoyed the book, I've been loving this series - there's just so much fun wholesome tarot that nicely contrasts with the murder mystery. This one did feel like drama was created for suspense between Carrie and Stormy; which I don't think was necessary to the story. But it was still a very enjoyable read. I'm really curious to see what will happen in the third book!

Thank you to Bethany Browning and BookSirens for the ARC.

*I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Carrie Dettwiler goes to Mariner's Cove to hang out with Stormy and work in Stormy's shop for awhile. While there she meets Stormy's friends, some eccentric pirates. When they first meet, they have a little party. During the party, a rival fortune teller comes into Stormy's shop and threaten's Carrie and they argue. The next day Carrie feels terrible about it and proceeds to the fortune teller's house to apologize but ends up falling asleep on her porch and when she wakes up, the fortune teller is dead. Of course, this does not look good for Carrie. It is up to Carrie, Waggery, and Stormy to figure out what happened. I love how Carrie assigns a card from her tarot deck to all the pirates based on their character. Carrie has a hard time trying to figure out who to trust in this story. She knows she is being followed and for awhile thinks that Stormy is cheating on her with this 'Grey Ghost' Carrie sees everywhere. Carrie survives an attempt on her life. There are some major revelations and a major spin to the story at the end. I hope this author continues on with the story at some point. I would love to see what is in Carrie's future.
Thank you to #BookSirens and author #Bethany Browning for letting me read more about Carrie's story.

[Fraxinus · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Carrie Detwiler and emotional support raven, Waggerly visit her girlfriend Stormy at her tattoo clinic, Carrie immediately falls in with Stormy's friends, an eccentric crew of pirates. When Carrie ends up arguing with a rival fortune-teller, Carrie tried to apologize the next day, only to fall asleep on the fortune-teller's door and wake up at the center of, yet another unexplained death. Can Carrie, Stormy, and Waggery figure out what happened?

I absolutely adore this story, Waggerly is too adorable and so smart! Even though they are both reeling from childhood trauma, I really hope that they will make it work, they are a sweet couple.

I enjoyed the Pirate Crew, they were hilarious. I also love how Carrie introduces each character as a tarot card, which is fascinating. The way this tale is told, we get more of a glimpse into Carrie's childhood, which helps us to understand the woman she has become.

I can't wait to see where the author takes us next.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[CZ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Carrie and Stormy are settling in nicely at Mariner's Cove, and everything's going swimmingly... until Stormy's tattoo shop gets invaded by pirates! Thankfully, these pirates are the friendly sort (right?) and Stormy would never steer Carrie wrong (…right?)

Smack in the middle of the festivities, local fortune teller Baba Caracatiță shows up armed with the boho version of "this town ain't big enough for the two of us" threats. But even blackout rum-drunk, Carrie can give as good as she gets -- so when Baba winds up suspiciously past tense, it's looking an awful lot like Carrie made good on her drunken promise.

The second installment in the House of Cards mystery series is every bit as much fun as the first. There are a gajillion twists, most of which I didn't see coming, and a technicolor cast of characters to keep the story afloat. Fewer puns this time around, but just as much tarot and everyone's favorite raven as before.

Bottom line: Bethany Browning has done it again and I can't wait for part three. I received an advance review copy and this is my honest review.

[Rachael · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this, though the writing is not nearly as strong as other works that I’ve read by Browning. I read this in just a few hours but found it underwhelming. The best part of this follow up were the memories of Aunt Inez.
The second in the House of Cards Mystery features the main character Carrie and her girlfriend Stormy who we met in Dead Spread. I found it odd that there were almost no physical descriptions. The secondary characters are quite an interesting rag tag group of professionals by day and pirates by night.
The murder mystery was predictable and I wasn’t a fan of the continued use of the miscommunication trope between Carrie and Stormy.
The cliffhanger ending was the only thing that I did not see coming. I’m intrigued by the rings mystery that was set up to be the third in the series and will still probably read it, but am hoping not to be disappointed.
TY Bethany Browning and Booksirens for the advanced copy!

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Holy moly what a story. This was quite the adventure with twists and turns everywhere. Tid bits of new information added depth and suspense to the story. Questions of loyalty and betrayals abound. Who to trust? Who has ill intentions? People I thought were friends were actually villains. It kept me turning pages, and the big reveal at the end was a gobsmacker!!!

I voluntarily read a free copy of this book provided by book sirens and am giving an honest opinion.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of imagination in this book! I enjoyed the plot and all of the characters ... but especially Waggery, and the pirates too! The writing could have been a bit more cohesive, but I made it through with only a bit of distraction. - I received a review copy and freely leave this honest review.

[Annarella · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had fun in reading the first book in this series and this one is even better. Quirky and likeable characters, a lovely raven, a lot of fun.
A solid mystery I thoroughly enjoyed
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

[Tony]

This series is a must read. So much that before leaving a review of the prior book I had to go on and read this one. Definitely delightful story. Great characters. To be honest now I’m going to be anxious for the next as she has left it a little cliff hanger.

[Xinma]

a follow-up snack to book one.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Carrie and Waggery take a break and go to visit Stormy in Mariner’s Cove. Death hasn’t given her a break, though, and mystery abounds as she deals a bit more with her life and what she wants from it.

Mariner’s Cove has pirates and hidden shipwrecks and are a good change of scenery for Carrie from Prosperity, although being a suspect again doesn’t help!

This book was enjoyable and the story was at a good pace, I am hopeful for more Carrie antics coming soon!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.