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A Zoe Hayes Mystery #2
The River Killings
On summer vacation from her art therapy job, Zoe takes a sculling class for fun with her best friend, Susan Cummings. One evening, while her daughter waits with Susan’s children at the boathouse on the banks of the Schuylkill River, Zoe rows off with Susan to practice for an upcoming regatta. When Susan’s oar catches on some flotsam (which turns out to be a woman’s dress), the boat flips, and the two find themselves in deep waters with not just one but an entire throng of floating bodies.
Someone along Boathouse Row is a multiple murderer, but who? And why?
One night, after Zoe’s boyfriend, Detective Nick Stiles, goes to the river but doesn’t return, Zoe and Molly go looking for him and, unexpectedly, Zoe uncovers a sinister plot, far broader and deadlier than she has anticipated, and far more difficult to escape.
Someone along Boathouse Row is a multiple murderer, but who? And why?
One night, after Zoe’s boyfriend, Detective Nick Stiles, goes to the river but doesn’t return, Zoe and Molly go looking for him and, unexpectedly, Zoe uncovers a sinister plot, far broader and deadlier than she has anticipated, and far more difficult to escape.
320 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 1, 2006
5 people are currently reading
234 people want to read
About the author
Merry Jones
25 books101 followersAKA Merry Bloch Jones.
Merry Jones is a Book Excellence Award Finalist in Suspense (What You Don't Know), and a Best Book Award winner from American Book Festival (Child's Play.) She has been writing since she was old enough to hold a pencil. "If I don't write," she says, "over time, I get agitated and irritable, as if energy is building up inside and I have to let it out."
Accordingly, over the years, she has written a wide range of material, in a variety of styles and for diverse media. She began her career by spending about fifteen years writing and producing video and multi-media for corporate clients, but, when her second child was born in 1989, she decided to pursue her passion and began to write books.
Series:
* Zoe Hayes Mystery
Merry Jones is a Book Excellence Award Finalist in Suspense (What You Don't Know), and a Best Book Award winner from American Book Festival (Child's Play.) She has been writing since she was old enough to hold a pencil. "If I don't write," she says, "over time, I get agitated and irritable, as if energy is building up inside and I have to let it out."
Accordingly, over the years, she has written a wide range of material, in a variety of styles and for diverse media. She began her career by spending about fifteen years writing and producing video and multi-media for corporate clients, but, when her second child was born in 1989, she decided to pursue her passion and began to write books.
Series:
* Zoe Hayes Mystery
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
August 22, 2021
I didn’t like the main characters. Zoe and Susan were annoying.
January 6, 2021
Very interesting! Loved reading a murder mystery that had so much rowing in it! I think I may have enjoyed it more if I read the first book in the series (and knew more about the main character, Zoe Hayes) but that book isn't about rowing so.....
December 6, 2014
I did not care for this book at all. The main characters were so annoying and the book lacked substance. It was almost childlike. Will not read anything from this author again.
May 3, 2010
RATING: 1.75
I have to admit to a bias in my mystery reading, and that is the fact that I really do not care for the part of the genre inhabited by amateur sleuths. Generally speaking, the protagonist tends to meddle in areas where they don't belong, unnecessarily exposing themselves and others to danger, and often behaving extremely stupidly. When I began reading The River Killings, I had high hopes based on an exciting opening that I would find a book featuring an amateur sleuth that would appeal to me. I was wrong.
Zoe Hayes is a single mother with an adopted 6-year-old daughter, Molly, and a significant other, Nick Stiles, who is a homicide detective. By profession, Zoe is an art therapist. As the book opens, she is on vacation and taking sculling lessons with her best friend, Susan, to prepare for an upcoming race. Nick is an avid rowing enthusiast; becoming involved in the sport is a way for Zoe to share in his interests.
Susan and Zoe decide to practice in a quiet environment and go out in their boat one evening. The boat capsizes, almost drowning both of them. The real horror, however, is what caused the incident—they have rowed into a flotilla of dead bodies, 19 Asian women floating in the Schuykill River in Philadelphia. As it turns out, these women were part of a slave trading operation. Once Zoe and Susan are rescued, they are the targets of someone who thinks they have seen something that they shouldn't have.
The book progresses through a series of threatening situations and dangerous episodes. Of course, Zoe is at the center of almost every event, despite the fact that she is living with a cop. As a matter of fact, she saves HIS life, although she finds herself in terrible danger several times. Zoe is in jeopardy; Molly is in jeopardy; Susan is in jeopardy; Nick is in jeopardy—if they had any pets, they would be in jeopardy too. There are at least ten different bad things that happen, and several people end up dead. There are people in disguise, people who are mentally unbalanced, people who like to hurt other people. Unfortunately, there are no smart people.
Putting my problems with the plot aside, I had a hard time liking any of the characters in the book. The best friend, Susan, is a neurotic pain in the butt. Six-year-old Molly is a precocious child. At times, that is endearing but in general, she comes across as obnoxious and spoiled. For example, she tells her mother she is not going to school and Zoe caves in to her demands. She often speaks as if she were an adult, and her role in the resolution of the book is wildly implausible. If I had liked Zoe more, that would have helped. As it was, I found her to be overly impetuous and lacking the common sense to know when and when not to get involved in dangerous situations. Certainly, she loved her daughter—it was mind boggling to me that she would leave her alone in a boathouse late at night. And the fact that she didn't trust Nick didn't help in building any sympathy when things were difficult between them.
I think that The River Killings could have been a really good book if Jones had focused in on one main plot and possibly a few sub-plots. It would have been really interesting to me to learn more about the whole slave trade operation, exactly how it worked, the kinds of lives the women who were enslaved led and the motivations of the people organizing the operation. The whole issue was basically ignored. The women had been manacled, marked, murdered and dumped into the river—doesn't that just cry out for some elaboration?
On the plus side, Jones did a good job with the Boathouse Row setting in Philadelphia and descriptions of the rowing. She does well with building suspense; however, that was somewhat diluted by her tendency to write in very short chapters as soon as the excitement started to rise.
Based on the success of Jones' first book, The Nanny Killings, I'm sure that this book will appeal to someone. Unfortunately, it's just not my cup of tea.
I have to admit to a bias in my mystery reading, and that is the fact that I really do not care for the part of the genre inhabited by amateur sleuths. Generally speaking, the protagonist tends to meddle in areas where they don't belong, unnecessarily exposing themselves and others to danger, and often behaving extremely stupidly. When I began reading The River Killings, I had high hopes based on an exciting opening that I would find a book featuring an amateur sleuth that would appeal to me. I was wrong.
Zoe Hayes is a single mother with an adopted 6-year-old daughter, Molly, and a significant other, Nick Stiles, who is a homicide detective. By profession, Zoe is an art therapist. As the book opens, she is on vacation and taking sculling lessons with her best friend, Susan, to prepare for an upcoming race. Nick is an avid rowing enthusiast; becoming involved in the sport is a way for Zoe to share in his interests.
Susan and Zoe decide to practice in a quiet environment and go out in their boat one evening. The boat capsizes, almost drowning both of them. The real horror, however, is what caused the incident—they have rowed into a flotilla of dead bodies, 19 Asian women floating in the Schuykill River in Philadelphia. As it turns out, these women were part of a slave trading operation. Once Zoe and Susan are rescued, they are the targets of someone who thinks they have seen something that they shouldn't have.
The book progresses through a series of threatening situations and dangerous episodes. Of course, Zoe is at the center of almost every event, despite the fact that she is living with a cop. As a matter of fact, she saves HIS life, although she finds herself in terrible danger several times. Zoe is in jeopardy; Molly is in jeopardy; Susan is in jeopardy; Nick is in jeopardy—if they had any pets, they would be in jeopardy too. There are at least ten different bad things that happen, and several people end up dead. There are people in disguise, people who are mentally unbalanced, people who like to hurt other people. Unfortunately, there are no smart people.
Putting my problems with the plot aside, I had a hard time liking any of the characters in the book. The best friend, Susan, is a neurotic pain in the butt. Six-year-old Molly is a precocious child. At times, that is endearing but in general, she comes across as obnoxious and spoiled. For example, she tells her mother she is not going to school and Zoe caves in to her demands. She often speaks as if she were an adult, and her role in the resolution of the book is wildly implausible. If I had liked Zoe more, that would have helped. As it was, I found her to be overly impetuous and lacking the common sense to know when and when not to get involved in dangerous situations. Certainly, she loved her daughter—it was mind boggling to me that she would leave her alone in a boathouse late at night. And the fact that she didn't trust Nick didn't help in building any sympathy when things were difficult between them.
I think that The River Killings could have been a really good book if Jones had focused in on one main plot and possibly a few sub-plots. It would have been really interesting to me to learn more about the whole slave trade operation, exactly how it worked, the kinds of lives the women who were enslaved led and the motivations of the people organizing the operation. The whole issue was basically ignored. The women had been manacled, marked, murdered and dumped into the river—doesn't that just cry out for some elaboration?
On the plus side, Jones did a good job with the Boathouse Row setting in Philadelphia and descriptions of the rowing. She does well with building suspense; however, that was somewhat diluted by her tendency to write in very short chapters as soon as the excitement started to rise.
Based on the success of Jones' first book, The Nanny Killings, I'm sure that this book will appeal to someone. Unfortunately, it's just not my cup of tea.
November 27, 2014
Yeah...I really can't stand the main character. She just seems to bumble her way through, never actually being able to figure anything out on her own. Couldn't even finish this one.
March 8, 2016
not sure I liked this one. Zoe just keeps getting into more and more dangerous situations. really hated that she kept dragging her 6 year old into the mess.
August 21, 2019
WOW is that kid ever a brat. And Zoe is actually TSTL. So done with this series
July 20, 2020
3.5
Engaging story with a strong main character.
Many suspenseful events...almost too many little plots going at once. Not only does main character Zoe find herself in deep water with 19 floating bodies (murder), she thinks a drug cartel is hunting her and friend Susan, then someone is stalking/threatening her boyfriend, who is later shot- and someone is following her adopted 5 year old daughter.
The lady is literally in the hospital 5 different times in the story..
However, the story was a zinger...
Engaging story with a strong main character.
Many suspenseful events...almost too many little plots going at once. Not only does main character Zoe find herself in deep water with 19 floating bodies (murder), she thinks a drug cartel is hunting her and friend Susan, then someone is stalking/threatening her boyfriend, who is later shot- and someone is following her adopted 5 year old daughter.
The lady is literally in the hospital 5 different times in the story..
However, the story was a zinger...
December 3, 2025
The main character is clueless every opportunity that arises. She does not learn from situations (oh, people she knows are somehow related to the 19 dead women she stumbled across...and she still takes no precautions. She leaves her 5 year old daughter in a situation that unexpectedly becomes dangerous...and then repeatedly leaves her daughters in dangerous expectations. I could go on).
Her "5 year old" seem more like a 12 year old (at least). I don't know if the author has an extremely smart, strong, fast, independent super-kindergartner....but she was pretty unrealistic.
Her "5 year old" seem more like a 12 year old (at least). I don't know if the author has an extremely smart, strong, fast, independent super-kindergartner....but she was pretty unrealistic.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 6, 2021
I had high hopes for this book. But, as another Goodreads reviewer said, one main female character is TSTL - and the other is obnoxious. Then, we are forced to endure a bunch of childrens' arguments - and that's just in the first chapter!
What a disappointment! I just gave up & stopped listening. This was a DNF for me.
What a disappointment! I just gave up & stopped listening. This was a DNF for me.
December 14, 2018
Zoe Hayes and her friend are boating when something becomes tangled in one of the oars. The something turns out to be a dead body, actually 19 female bodies. Zoe and her detective boyfriend, Nick, find out that the women were slaves.
February 5, 2019
It was an easy read. The main character had a few to many things occur in such a short period of time; it left you wondering what else was going to happen to this one individual.
August 25, 2020
Great book! Every time I row past Peter’s Island where the bodies were floating in the book I get the creeps. Thanks Merry!!
October 18, 2022
absolutely riveting! am going to hunt down the first of this series!
December 31, 2023
Loved this whole series
Read
December 22, 2024Zoe Hayes Mystery Series, Book 2
December 13, 2019
Enjoyed the mystery. There were a lot of twists and turns. Kept you on your toes.
August 21, 2016
Rating : 3.5/5
I liked the book. It was a little slow for my taste.
The story starts with Zoe an art therapist trying to have a calm summer vacation rowing which ends up being a completely opposite vacation with murder and mayhem.
Susan a defense lawyer and Zoe's close friend asks Zoe to row with her one night. As they row faster they end up flipping their boat and ending up in water. When Zoe comes up for air she looks around and finds bodies floating.Scared Zoe and Susan call police. Nick a detective and Zoe's boyfriend leads the investigation.
The investigation shows there were 19 bodies and all were Asian females leading to believe a human trafficking ring was active in the area. After they find the women Susan and Zoe are harassed by a FBI agent, a priest and an old lady asking about what they saw the night they found the bodies. On top of this Zoe's house in broken in and Susan gets car jacked. Also Zoe's daughter Molly ( a 6-year old) is followed by a lady in blue car.
Are all the events related or are they different? Will Zoe and Susan be safe?
I liked the book. It was a little slow for my taste.
The story starts with Zoe an art therapist trying to have a calm summer vacation rowing which ends up being a completely opposite vacation with murder and mayhem.
Susan a defense lawyer and Zoe's close friend asks Zoe to row with her one night. As they row faster they end up flipping their boat and ending up in water. When Zoe comes up for air she looks around and finds bodies floating.Scared Zoe and Susan call police. Nick a detective and Zoe's boyfriend leads the investigation.
The investigation shows there were 19 bodies and all were Asian females leading to believe a human trafficking ring was active in the area. After they find the women Susan and Zoe are harassed by a FBI agent, a priest and an old lady asking about what they saw the night they found the bodies. On top of this Zoe's house in broken in and Susan gets car jacked. Also Zoe's daughter Molly ( a 6-year old) is followed by a lady in blue car.
Are all the events related or are they different? Will Zoe and Susan be safe?
January 24, 2016
Zoe Hayes is on vacation from her job as an art therapist. She is in training for a rowing regatta with her friend Susan. They decide to take a night row on the Schuykill River when they flip their boat and discover 19 dead bodies. Zoe's boyfriend is a police officer investigating the deaths. Zoe doesn't do much investigating herself. She mostly keeps getting into dangerous situations and worrying about everything. Really I think by the fourth night in a row that she had to call 911 that the police would begin to be suspicious of her. I'm not in a hurry to read any more books in this series.
December 3, 2013
Zoe Hayes , art therapist and her friend Susan solve a mystery in downtown Philadelphia. Two reasons I enjoy this series-Zoe is an art therapist and it takes place in Philly-my home town. Zoe has alot going on and sometimes, actually frequently, Molly her six year old shows more common sense. Several things get solved and it was a good, quick read.
January 19, 2016
This is the 1st time I have read this author. Will be reading more of her work. This story was GREAT11 Could hardly put it down.Twists and turns to the very end!
Two friends go out rowing on the river at night. One of the oars gets tangled in "something" and they flip the boat,and come up in the middle of a buch of dead bodies floating down the river.
VERY[VERY GOOD BOOK!!!
Two friends go out rowing on the river at night. One of the oars gets tangled in "something" and they flip the boat,and come up in the middle of a buch of dead bodies floating down the river.
VERY[VERY GOOD BOOK!!!
July 30, 2009
I enjoyed this book more so than her first. Not the greatest mystery, but held my interest enough. The main character in this book surely needs to receive an award for the world's worst mother, something that distracted me from the plot more than a little.
July 19, 2015
I must admit that I knew nothing about sculling, but learned a bit while reading this book. I enjoyed the story and the characters a lot. There were so many twists and turns that it was hard to put down.
August 4, 2008
Author got better with this one. Second installment of the Zoe Hayes mysteries. The Nanny Murders was very good but this one was a bit better. Loved it
July 17, 2009
Really enjoyed this book. Easy read but a lot of action to keep it interesting. Apparently it is a series so I will now have to research the order.
December 31, 2010
I didn't enjoy this book as much as I expected. I found the plot implausible, did not bond with characters. I have one more of her books to read, let's wait and see.
October 9, 2013
Is this series for young adults or teenagers? The heroine was incredibly dense, asking herself over and over again, "could this be...?" I didn't enjoy the book at all.
January 15, 2009
You can guess what's going to happen all the time in this book.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews