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Don't Mess With Mrs. Sedgewick: A Caper Story
Roberta Sedgewick is stuck in a house that is too empty without her beloved Burton—the rat died and left her with his dog and rooms that rattle. She convinces her three golfing buddies, all in their seventies, to sell their homes and buy adjoining condos. The widows intend to spend the rest of their days golfing, gambling at the casino, and having fun. Oh, the heaven of it. But then they all hire the same maid who uncovers long-hidden criminal secrets kept by each woman. Oh, the horror of it. The reputations of their deceased husbands, a banker, a minister, and a respected farmer, will be tarnished forever. Three of the widows could face jail time, and the fourth fears for her life. Whatever will they do with the conniving, blackmailing maid?
If you grew to love the characters in Marie F. Martin’s previous novels Maternal Harbor, Harbored Secrets, and Ratham Creek, you will treasure Roberta and her friends in the mystery Don’t Mess With Mrs. Sedgewick.
This is a caper story where the not so pure put their lives at risk to catch the real bad guys and save their little town.
If you grew to love the characters in Marie F. Martin’s previous novels Maternal Harbor, Harbored Secrets, and Ratham Creek, you will treasure Roberta and her friends in the mystery Don’t Mess With Mrs. Sedgewick.
This is a caper story where the not so pure put their lives at risk to catch the real bad guys and save their little town.
- GenresMysteryMystery Thriller
245 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 11, 2016
258 people are currently reading
167 people want to read
About the author
Marie F. Martin
8 books30 followersMarie F. Martin is the author of an intense vow in MATERAL HARBOR, surprising twists of a family’s past in HARBORED SECRETS, a grizzly attack and lover’s spat in RATHAM CREEK. Together her four thriller, mystery, or suspense novels have over 500,000 Kindle downloads and over 700 five star reviews.
Marie lives in a fertile valley at the base of the Rocky Mountains. She enjoys a quiet life where laughter comes easy, love easier. She invites you to join in her rich, rural memories on her website where she has posted a memoir of her early childhood and raising her own family of four children.
www.mariefmartin.com
Marie lives in a fertile valley at the base of the Rocky Mountains. She enjoys a quiet life where laughter comes easy, love easier. She invites you to join in her rich, rural memories on her website where she has posted a memoir of her early childhood and raising her own family of four children.
www.mariefmartin.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
December 14, 2016
In Don't Mess With Mrs. Sedgewick, author Marie F. Martin weaves an entertaining and fast-paced cozy mystery that follows the crazy adventures of four sassy widows whose lives get turned upside down when a blackmailing maid they employed uncovers long-buried secrets in all their lives, and threatens to bring criminal charges if they don't pay her hush money. So what's four elderly friends going to do when all hell breaks loose .... why solve the mystery of course!
Don't Mess With Mrs. Sedgewick is a well written story that has enough quirky characters, intrigue, suspense, humor, and drama that easily draws the reader into these four spunky ladies' amateur sleuth adventures. You can't help but love the four friends, their witty banter and their eccentricities will keep the reader in stitches, the intriguing plot twists will keep you guessing, while cheering the ladies on as even calamity can't stop them from embarking on their crazy mystery investigative adventures!
Don't Mess With Mrs. Sedgewick is a delightfully eccentric whodunit tale that cozy mystery fans will want to add to their reading list!
Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the author / publisher in exchange for my honest review and participation in a virtual book tour event hosted by Reading Addiction Book Tours.
http://jerseygirlbookreviews.blogspot...
Don't Mess With Mrs. Sedgewick is a well written story that has enough quirky characters, intrigue, suspense, humor, and drama that easily draws the reader into these four spunky ladies' amateur sleuth adventures. You can't help but love the four friends, their witty banter and their eccentricities will keep the reader in stitches, the intriguing plot twists will keep you guessing, while cheering the ladies on as even calamity can't stop them from embarking on their crazy mystery investigative adventures!
Don't Mess With Mrs. Sedgewick is a delightfully eccentric whodunit tale that cozy mystery fans will want to add to their reading list!
Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the author / publisher in exchange for my honest review and participation in a virtual book tour event hosted by Reading Addiction Book Tours.
http://jerseygirlbookreviews.blogspot...
December 19, 2016
Marie F. Martin‘s forth novel “Don't Mess with Mrs. Sedgewick” was as good as I thought it would be. Ms. Sedgewick wants to live the rest of her days surrounded with her three best friends. She talks them into buying condos that are next to each other. All is going well until Mrs. Sedgewick hires a cleaning lady that decides to air out all of the ladies’ dirty laundry from the past.
My favorite thing about “Don't Mess with Mrs. Sedgewick” was that every character in the book had secrets, some even criminal. I could not wait to find out what every character did since they all seemed like someone’s grandmother. Mrs. Sedgewick is not your ordinary lead female character. She is a sassy, older woman who knows exactly what she wants and how to get it. I admired her for her patience and trying to help people even when they clearly did not deserve it. The other three main characters were all just as loveable. Mrs. Sedgewick kept solving problem after problem. When she came up with a solution for one, another would arise. Just when everything seemed like it would be alright, Martin throws in plot twist. I really enjoyed this book! I hope that I could have as many good friend as Mrs. Sedgewick does when I reach her age.
My favorite thing about “Don't Mess with Mrs. Sedgewick” was that every character in the book had secrets, some even criminal. I could not wait to find out what every character did since they all seemed like someone’s grandmother. Mrs. Sedgewick is not your ordinary lead female character. She is a sassy, older woman who knows exactly what she wants and how to get it. I admired her for her patience and trying to help people even when they clearly did not deserve it. The other three main characters were all just as loveable. Mrs. Sedgewick kept solving problem after problem. When she came up with a solution for one, another would arise. Just when everything seemed like it would be alright, Martin throws in plot twist. I really enjoyed this book! I hope that I could have as many good friend as Mrs. Sedgewick does when I reach her age.
December 18, 2016
You will definitely want to have plenty of allotted reading time before starting this one. It was hard to put down. I was so engrossed in the story that I put off many of my important things to do. Marie F. Martin does a great job of creating a Mystery that keeps the reader invested and guessing.
Mrs. Sedgewick is a wonderful lead, she is fun to read about and easy to get behind as a lead character.
Lots of twists and turns and a wonderfully woven mystery.
Mrs. Sedgewick is a wonderful lead, she is fun to read about and easy to get behind as a lead character.
Lots of twists and turns and a wonderfully woven mystery.
February 5, 2017
Loved it
I loved the characters in this book. I could easily see this being made into a movie. I will definitely purchase more books by this Author.
I loved the characters in this book. I could easily see this being made into a movie. I will definitely purchase more books by this Author.
January 19, 2017
Delightful
A truly delightful book. Good mix of comedy with a little mystery. It would be fun to meet these ladies
A truly delightful book. Good mix of comedy with a little mystery. It would be fun to meet these ladies
November 8, 2017
Don't Mess With Mrs. SEDGEWICK
A delightful murder mystery, with the major characters being older, wealthy, widow ladies, all with secrets from their youth that they want to keep hidden. A well-written story.
A delightful murder mystery, with the major characters being older, wealthy, widow ladies, all with secrets from their youth that they want to keep hidden. A well-written story.
November 18, 2017
Mrs. Sedgewick and her three best friends buy condos that are next to each other. All is going well until Mrs. Sedgewick hires a cleaning lady that decides to air out all of the ladies’ dirty laundry from the past.
November 5, 2017
Golf
Loved the book. Writer was good. Will read more of her books. Great story line. Held my attention. Real page turner.
Loved the book. Writer was good. Will read more of her books. Great story line. Held my attention. Real page turner.
September 19, 2018
Really enjoyed it
Well developed storyline and characters. Well written and executed. Golf isn't "my thing" however the settings were pleasant to read about and the ending was awesome!
Well developed storyline and characters. Well written and executed. Golf isn't "my thing" however the settings were pleasant to read about and the ending was awesome!
January 15, 2019
Easy reading, interesting and I really enjoyed the book!
May 4, 2017
Roberta Sedgewick is a widow, living with her late husband’s dog in a house that rattles. She decides that she and her three best friends and golfing buddies, also widows, should sell their houses and buy adjoining condos. Then, she talks them all into hiring the same maid—who turns around and blackmails them for their past crimes. In some cases, these crimes aren’t minor. One of them could go to jail. When criminals from the past start showing up, and their real estate agent turns up dead, the heat is on. But, widows they might be, they are not helpless. Roberta still has her husband’s gun collection, and some of her friends are willing to consider using them.
Don’t Mess with Mrs. Sedgewick by Marie F. Martin is a humorous, while at the same time a bit scary, mystery with four septuagenarian characters who you can’t help but love. An entertaining read, totally worth the effort.
Don’t Mess with Mrs. Sedgewick by Marie F. Martin is a humorous, while at the same time a bit scary, mystery with four septuagenarian characters who you can’t help but love. An entertaining read, totally worth the effort.
July 23, 2018
An enjoyable read!
I am these days a persnickity reader. This book have me a number of hours of good reading fun. The characters became real for me, and I was right there with them. A book about seniors being adventurous is rare, loves the p!it and the mystery kept me reading into the night. I'm not a fan of golf, so I just skipped that part but I loved the ladies with their guns and wielding clubs to protect their friends.
I am these days a persnickity reader. This book have me a number of hours of good reading fun. The characters became real for me, and I was right there with them. A book about seniors being adventurous is rare, loves the p!it and the mystery kept me reading into the night. I'm not a fan of golf, so I just skipped that part but I loved the ladies with their guns and wielding clubs to protect their friends.
March 26, 2018
Don't Mess With Mrs. Sedgewick Scores a WHOLE in One
Don't Mess With Mrs. Sedgwick is a complete delight. With just enough suspense and lots of humor, Marie F. Martin MASTERS the interactions and detective skills of her senior lady friends who PLAY THROUGH the ROUGH of some real detective work TO A TEE.
Don't Mess With Mrs. Sedgwick is a complete delight. With just enough suspense and lots of humor, Marie F. Martin MASTERS the interactions and detective skills of her senior lady friends who PLAY THROUGH the ROUGH of some real detective work TO A TEE.
January 4, 2018
Great read
Loved, loved, loved these old ladies! What wonderful detectives they are, especially Mrs. Sedgewick. This is one I had no idea where the story was going. Very entertaining!
Loved, loved, loved these old ladies! What wonderful detectives they are, especially Mrs. Sedgewick. This is one I had no idea where the story was going. Very entertaining!
March 30, 2018
Enjoyable mystery
Loved finding a novel about strong minded and fun women. The twists and turns keep the four long time friends determined to solve the problems. A good plot that will keep you reading.
Loved finding a novel about strong minded and fun women. The twists and turns keep the four long time friends determined to solve the problems. A good plot that will keep you reading.
December 30, 2017
I found this entertaining. I wasn't sure how I felt about it in the first 2 chapters, then it picked right up.
May 18, 2019
( Format : Audiobook )
"Who needs men hanging around?"
They obviously breed wealthy golfing widows differently in Montana so close your eyes, hold your nose and jump into a huge tub of suspended disbelief before embarking on this book.
Four seventy something golfing friends, all now alone, but a beautifully located new build of four condos in it's own gated community, intending to spend their golden years having fun and supporting each other. Friends for years, they think they know each other. They are wrong. Each hides a secret from the past and trouble starts when a nosy Scottish cleaning lady starts to uncover them.
I guess the intention was to make the four women seem, each in their own ways, feisty and eccentric but for this reader they came over as rather foolish, sometimes pushy and occasionally unpleasant, their whole lives (mostly) having been pampered by husbands who made money and whose reputations they intended to protect. And now they had their second childhood, time to play without the grown ups, including with guns and rifles. Sorry, I couldn't warm to any of then, and they didn't seem to really like each other much ejther.
But they do get themselves in big trouble and, turned into a film, the plot line is just crazy enough to make it good, silly fun. As a book, well, sadly, this reader found little to encourage reading to the end.
The narrator, Beckie White, helped enormously. It was sheer pleasure to listen to her slightly deeper timbre read with good intonation and pacing, enthusiasm in her tone as she gave voice to the various characters. Her delivery was good, apart from her Scottish accents, which must rate as some of the worst I've ever heard. Fortunately, these comprise only a small percentage of the book overall.
My thanks to the rights holder of Don't Mess With Mrs.Sedgewick, who, at my request, freely gifted me with a complimentary copy, via Audiobook Boom. Oddball characters I enjoy, but these women were just a step too far with, it seemed, few if any redeeming attributes. Or perhaps it's just that I don't like golf.
"Who needs men hanging around?"
They obviously breed wealthy golfing widows differently in Montana so close your eyes, hold your nose and jump into a huge tub of suspended disbelief before embarking on this book.
Four seventy something golfing friends, all now alone, but a beautifully located new build of four condos in it's own gated community, intending to spend their golden years having fun and supporting each other. Friends for years, they think they know each other. They are wrong. Each hides a secret from the past and trouble starts when a nosy Scottish cleaning lady starts to uncover them.
I guess the intention was to make the four women seem, each in their own ways, feisty and eccentric but for this reader they came over as rather foolish, sometimes pushy and occasionally unpleasant, their whole lives (mostly) having been pampered by husbands who made money and whose reputations they intended to protect. And now they had their second childhood, time to play without the grown ups, including with guns and rifles. Sorry, I couldn't warm to any of then, and they didn't seem to really like each other much ejther.
But they do get themselves in big trouble and, turned into a film, the plot line is just crazy enough to make it good, silly fun. As a book, well, sadly, this reader found little to encourage reading to the end.
The narrator, Beckie White, helped enormously. It was sheer pleasure to listen to her slightly deeper timbre read with good intonation and pacing, enthusiasm in her tone as she gave voice to the various characters. Her delivery was good, apart from her Scottish accents, which must rate as some of the worst I've ever heard. Fortunately, these comprise only a small percentage of the book overall.
My thanks to the rights holder of Don't Mess With Mrs.Sedgewick, who, at my request, freely gifted me with a complimentary copy, via Audiobook Boom. Oddball characters I enjoy, but these women were just a step too far with, it seemed, few if any redeeming attributes. Or perhaps it's just that I don't like golf.
May 21, 2019
I received this book for free. I am voluntarily leaving this review and all opinions expressed herein are mine.
Here, Mrs. Sedgewick and her three widowed friends all move into neighboring condos to enjoy their golden years together. Each of them has a secret in their past. They all hire Audrey to clean their homes. Problem is that all of these women left evidence of their secrets in their condos and Audrey finds the evidence while snooping and uses it to blackmail each of the women.
I wanted to like this more but the story moves rather slowly; I found it unbelievable that after so many years these women are still hauling evidence around of their past indiscretions; and the way they ultimately dealt with Audrey is completely contrary to the title. The story did have some humorous moments and I enjoyed ladies sleuthing. I also enjoyed the character Toni, the lounge singer.
I listened to this book - the narrator did a good job and kept a nice pace.
Here, Mrs. Sedgewick and her three widowed friends all move into neighboring condos to enjoy their golden years together. Each of them has a secret in their past. They all hire Audrey to clean their homes. Problem is that all of these women left evidence of their secrets in their condos and Audrey finds the evidence while snooping and uses it to blackmail each of the women.
I wanted to like this more but the story moves rather slowly; I found it unbelievable that after so many years these women are still hauling evidence around of their past indiscretions; and the way they ultimately dealt with Audrey is completely contrary to the title. The story did have some humorous moments and I enjoyed ladies sleuthing. I also enjoyed the character Toni, the lounge singer.
I listened to this book - the narrator did a good job and kept a nice pace.
November 18, 2019
Four aging widows decide to nurture their life-long friendship by buying adjacent condos and spending their golden years golfing and gossiping together but their pasts come back to haunt them and life finds them working to piece together a modern day mystery that could endanger all of their lives.
Mrs. Sedgewick and her friends are clever, quirky and often laugh-out-loud funny as they stumble through a overcome gangsters, embezzlers thieves and blackmailers - all in the name of their friendship and preserving their quiet, status-driven lives in their gated condo community.
I loved these savvy seniors and their sleuthing shenanigans.
Mrs. Sedgewick and her friends are clever, quirky and often laugh-out-loud funny as they stumble through a overcome gangsters, embezzlers thieves and blackmailers - all in the name of their friendship and preserving their quiet, status-driven lives in their gated condo community.
I loved these savvy seniors and their sleuthing shenanigans.
August 4, 2019
Marie F Martin is a great writer. I so enjoyed this group of widowed women. Don't Mess With Mrs. Sedgewick has some endearing characters and unexpected twists. Becky White brought the characters to life with her performance. She gave them distinguishable voices, and added the right emotions. I requested this review copy audiobook and have voluntarily written this review. I will definitely listen to more books by this author and narrator. I never would have guessed the groups past crimes.
August 21, 2022
Great story with interesting characters who are older wealthy widows. A little comedy while trying to solve a mystery.Mrs. Sedgewick convinces the other 3 to buy adjoining condos with her, and things are going well until she hires a cleaning lady and gets the others to hire her too. The cleaning lady turns out to be a snoop and threatens to air the ladies secrets unless they pay her off. Nice ending.
May 21, 2017
Interesting book with non-standard style.
This was an interesting read, but hard for me to understand the plot and characters at times. I think a little additional humor might have helped, and more character development. But, I still enjoyed reading it, seeing potential in this as a series.
This was an interesting read, but hard for me to understand the plot and characters at times. I think a little additional humor might have helped, and more character development. But, I still enjoyed reading it, seeing potential in this as a series.
October 20, 2017
Golden Oldies
I loved the four old friends because they were such fantastic characters. This book had it all, drama, humour and even a hint of sex. The four friends each has a secret from their younger days; secrets that are about to change their lives. The ending was very moving.
I loved the four old friends because they were such fantastic characters. This book had it all, drama, humour and even a hint of sex. The four friends each has a secret from their younger days; secrets that are about to change their lives. The ending was very moving.
April 6, 2020
Four widows knowing each other for a long time, move into condominiums next to each other. All have pasts that each don't know about each other until a nosy cleaning woman they all hired confronts them. Things come up one after the other through the story that causes all of them to fear for their lives.
February 21, 2020
Friendship
Having good friends when you become a senior, especially long time friends mean you will do anything to make sure they are not harmed. Things and decisions made in your youth can come back to hurt you later on in life.
Having good friends when you become a senior, especially long time friends mean you will do anything to make sure they are not harmed. Things and decisions made in your youth can come back to hurt you later on in life.
March 16, 2021
The thing I liked most about Don’t Mess with Mrs Sedgewick is that all the main characters are over seventy, active, and confident. They love and miss their husbands but still love life and especially life outside their own needs.
August 3, 2017
Boring
My age group, but that is the only commonality I share with this group of ladies. Put me to sleep many times before I finally finished it.
My age group, but that is the only commonality I share with this group of ladies. Put me to sleep many times before I finally finished it.
May 26, 2019
I have absolutely loved her other books but this one I just could not get excited about. At all. More than halfway through the book I finally wondered why I was even trying and gave up.
Want to read
February 16, 2020DigitalBookStop
March 3, 2017
This was an enjoyable read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews