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Shores Mystery #6
Cod Only Knows
For the first time in thirty years, all the signs have returned to the waters off The Shores. Signs of a presumed gone, possibly legendary giant cod.
A photograph is the only evidence the big one ever existed. The Shores's mysterious Abel Mack almost landed the most giant of the giant cod the last time they appeared.
At all costs, two powerful men with competing interests are after the biggest cod. They are closing in on The Shores--but the fisherman is missing.
Ninety-year-old Abel Mack has disappeared. At the best of times, Abel is there one minute, gone the next. His best friends and family are not sure they would recognize him if they found him.
Is he dead, by foul play or misadventure, or dead of exposure, as Mountie Jane Jamieson suspects? Or is he alive and sure to return, as his wife Gus Mack insists? Does the never-at-home Abel even exist outside Gus's memory or imagination, Hy McAllister wonders? Or has he been kidnapped for what he knows about the codfish?
In this sixth Shores mystery by Hilary MacLeod, everyone is after the one that got away. But does anything--or anyone--who is attached to The Shores ever actually get away...alive? Cod only knows.
A photograph is the only evidence the big one ever existed. The Shores's mysterious Abel Mack almost landed the most giant of the giant cod the last time they appeared.
At all costs, two powerful men with competing interests are after the biggest cod. They are closing in on The Shores--but the fisherman is missing.
Ninety-year-old Abel Mack has disappeared. At the best of times, Abel is there one minute, gone the next. His best friends and family are not sure they would recognize him if they found him.
Is he dead, by foul play or misadventure, or dead of exposure, as Mountie Jane Jamieson suspects? Or is he alive and sure to return, as his wife Gus Mack insists? Does the never-at-home Abel even exist outside Gus's memory or imagination, Hy McAllister wonders? Or has he been kidnapped for what he knows about the codfish?
In this sixth Shores mystery by Hilary MacLeod, everyone is after the one that got away. But does anything--or anyone--who is attached to The Shores ever actually get away...alive? Cod only knows.
Kindle Edition
Published October 1, 2017
2 people are currently reading
23 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 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 17, 2017
3.5 to 4 stars
I am new to this Maritime series. This is the 6th book involving mysteries in a tiny, remote village in northern Prince Edward Island. The books all revolve around fish and shell fish. The characters are mostly eccentric or just plain weird. The humor is based on the peculiar situations in which they find themselves.
I thought the book got off to a slow start since there were so many characters, and it took awhile for me to sort them out along with their various odd characteristics, but it soon picked up the pace with an unusual murder, mysterious disappearances, chase and rescue scenes, a special parrot and a huge cod fish. There is also Atlantic storms and pollution from fires in Quebec tainting the atmosphere.
Already looking for previous books in the series. Once I got into the book I enjoyed it and want to revisit the villagers.
I am new to this Maritime series. This is the 6th book involving mysteries in a tiny, remote village in northern Prince Edward Island. The books all revolve around fish and shell fish. The characters are mostly eccentric or just plain weird. The humor is based on the peculiar situations in which they find themselves.
I thought the book got off to a slow start since there were so many characters, and it took awhile for me to sort them out along with their various odd characteristics, but it soon picked up the pace with an unusual murder, mysterious disappearances, chase and rescue scenes, a special parrot and a huge cod fish. There is also Atlantic storms and pollution from fires in Quebec tainting the atmosphere.
Already looking for previous books in the series. Once I got into the book I enjoyed it and want to revisit the villagers.
October 11, 2018
Seamus O’Malley comes from a family that fished cod in Newfoundland for generations, a way of life that was left behind when the moratorium was announced and the fishery was closed. He tried to get into something different but ended up in trouble when he lost people’s money in a failed fish hatchery and was forced to leave “The Rock” a disgraced man. He resurfaced on Red Island as a biologist working for the Department of Fisheries but dreamed of returning to Newfoundland as the savior of the cod fishery. He thought he had found a way when he discovered an old photo torn from a book at the back of a filing cabinet. The picture taken years ago, showed a fisherman with a huge cod weighing several hundred pounds. It did not mention who the fisherman was or when the picture was taken, but the credit came from Red Island. Although cod normally weigh between twenty to thirty pounds, this fish was much, much larger. Seamus had not really thought through how he would use such a big fish to rebuild the fishery but believed the first step was to find the fish. And since his boss was away, he had lots of time for the hunt.
But someone else is interested in the giant fish. Brock Ferguson has recently moved to the island with his wife Letiticia, a lucky lady who has won the lottery three times. Letitica is in poor health and Brock brought her to the island expecting the fresh sea air to help her breathing. Brock and his wife are collectors. She collects cats and he collects fish. Although Ferguson passes himself off as a collector, his real intent is to break records or set new ones, make a name for himself and become famous. He was now after a record setting fish and he believed Red Island was the place he could find one.
Seamus O’Malley and Brock Ferguson meet and decide to pool their resources to find the giant fish. Both are after the same thing and although they begin work under the guise of helping each other, each plans to outwit the other and get the better deal. So begins the search for the giant cod.
Meanwhile ninety year old Abel Mack has gone missing. He is wandering around in a fog, knowing he has a purpose but not sure what that is---his mind is jumbled. His eighty year old wife Gus is not worried and insists that if something were wrong she would know it. Abel frequently wanders but always turns up and comes home at some point. Still, Gus’s friend Hyacinth MacAlister and the other villagers are worried and volunteer to form a search party. But the venture is complicated when they realize no one is certain what Abel looks like. They know he is always around somewhere but he wears a hat so his face is often obscured. Nevertheless, the villagers begin the search looking for someone they have not seen in years but believing they will recognize him when they see him.
In this sixth addition to the series, MacLeod returns to the group of loveable characters in her stories loosely based on Prince Edward Island and the people who make their living from the fishery. Apart from Abel and Gus Mack, there is Hyacinth MacAlister, a relative newcomer to the island who has a knack for falling over dead bodies. There have been a number of deaths on the island in recent years and Hy has always been curious about them. She has romantic moments with her friend Ian Simmons, a retired science teacher who is a computer whizz. But so far both seem happy to keep the relationship a friendship with occasional romantic twinges. And then there is Jane Jamieson the local RCMP constable, the Mountie with many hidden talents which are gradually becoming evident as she spends more and more time at the Shores. Murdo Black is Jamieson’s police partner but he spends most of his time snuggling with April Dewey who is a great cook and has six children. Murdo does so little police work that people in the village have forgotten he is a policeman.
There is Finn Finnegan, Hy’s long lost half brother who recently reunited with Hy on the island and has decided to stay. He gave up his career as a forensic scientist to focus on the environment and sometimes helps Jamieson with her investigations. He first fell for Abel and Gus’s daughter Dot and the couple had a baby. But Dot did not need Finn and was keen to return to her vagabond life traipsing all over the world. She simply dumped Finn, grabbed the baby and left the island for parts unknown. Before she left, Finn had already realized that Dot’s preferred life did not suit him and he began developing feelings for Jane Jamieson. Although he usually has a charming way with the ladies, Finn finds himself completely tongue tied around the Mountie who often keeps to herself.
This is another fun filled mystery that includes ducky cups, an ingenious kitty litter removal system, memories of old courting rituals, a parrot that can open soda cans, a Tilley hat and a horde of ginger cats fathered by a stud named Ralphie.
These books are funny, entertaining reads.
And who would even want to resist the quirky titles and book covers which are always an invitation to sit down with a good read.
But someone else is interested in the giant fish. Brock Ferguson has recently moved to the island with his wife Letiticia, a lucky lady who has won the lottery three times. Letitica is in poor health and Brock brought her to the island expecting the fresh sea air to help her breathing. Brock and his wife are collectors. She collects cats and he collects fish. Although Ferguson passes himself off as a collector, his real intent is to break records or set new ones, make a name for himself and become famous. He was now after a record setting fish and he believed Red Island was the place he could find one.
Seamus O’Malley and Brock Ferguson meet and decide to pool their resources to find the giant fish. Both are after the same thing and although they begin work under the guise of helping each other, each plans to outwit the other and get the better deal. So begins the search for the giant cod.
Meanwhile ninety year old Abel Mack has gone missing. He is wandering around in a fog, knowing he has a purpose but not sure what that is---his mind is jumbled. His eighty year old wife Gus is not worried and insists that if something were wrong she would know it. Abel frequently wanders but always turns up and comes home at some point. Still, Gus’s friend Hyacinth MacAlister and the other villagers are worried and volunteer to form a search party. But the venture is complicated when they realize no one is certain what Abel looks like. They know he is always around somewhere but he wears a hat so his face is often obscured. Nevertheless, the villagers begin the search looking for someone they have not seen in years but believing they will recognize him when they see him.
In this sixth addition to the series, MacLeod returns to the group of loveable characters in her stories loosely based on Prince Edward Island and the people who make their living from the fishery. Apart from Abel and Gus Mack, there is Hyacinth MacAlister, a relative newcomer to the island who has a knack for falling over dead bodies. There have been a number of deaths on the island in recent years and Hy has always been curious about them. She has romantic moments with her friend Ian Simmons, a retired science teacher who is a computer whizz. But so far both seem happy to keep the relationship a friendship with occasional romantic twinges. And then there is Jane Jamieson the local RCMP constable, the Mountie with many hidden talents which are gradually becoming evident as she spends more and more time at the Shores. Murdo Black is Jamieson’s police partner but he spends most of his time snuggling with April Dewey who is a great cook and has six children. Murdo does so little police work that people in the village have forgotten he is a policeman.
There is Finn Finnegan, Hy’s long lost half brother who recently reunited with Hy on the island and has decided to stay. He gave up his career as a forensic scientist to focus on the environment and sometimes helps Jamieson with her investigations. He first fell for Abel and Gus’s daughter Dot and the couple had a baby. But Dot did not need Finn and was keen to return to her vagabond life traipsing all over the world. She simply dumped Finn, grabbed the baby and left the island for parts unknown. Before she left, Finn had already realized that Dot’s preferred life did not suit him and he began developing feelings for Jane Jamieson. Although he usually has a charming way with the ladies, Finn finds himself completely tongue tied around the Mountie who often keeps to herself.
This is another fun filled mystery that includes ducky cups, an ingenious kitty litter removal system, memories of old courting rituals, a parrot that can open soda cans, a Tilley hat and a horde of ginger cats fathered by a stud named Ralphie.
These books are funny, entertaining reads.
And who would even want to resist the quirky titles and book covers which are always an invitation to sit down with a good read.
April 12, 2018
Abel Mack has disappeared from his home on the Shores. Is the 92-year old dead or is alive and sure to eventually return as his wife Gus Mack insists? After searching for days, RCMP Mountie Jane Jamieson and Hy McAllister wonder if Abel really exists. The locals had not seen the reclusive retired fisherman for ages. Meanwhile, two men with competing interests are searching for a legendary giant cod. A photograph is the only evidence the fish ever existed, with Abel Mack being the one who almost landed the giant cod the last time it appeared 30 years ago.
I received an eARC via Netgalley and Nimbus Publishing with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book and provided this review.
I received an eARC via Netgalley and Nimbus Publishing with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book and provided this review.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews