Swept Away

Mysteries of Martha's Vineyard #9

by Ruth Logan Herne

The arrival of a Hollywood film crew revives memories of three dramatic events in Martha’s Vineyard’s history: a little girl’s unsolved disappearance, a daring heist, and a major hurricane. When Priscilla learns that all three events occurred over the course of the same weekend, she is convinced that they were connected. But how? With her daughter, Rachel, visiting, Priscilla dives into the mystery, but she isn’t alone. The son of the detective who oversaw the case of the missing girl tells Priscilla he is seeking answers to put his ailing father’s mind to rest. But is his story true, or is he just interested in recovering the missing money from the heist?

As Priscilla pieces together the clues, a smaller—but no less vexing—mystery hits closer to home. When her newly painted lemon-yellow door ruffles feathers in her neighborhood, someone begins leaving ugly scratches in the paint. Who is behind this disturbing vandalism—and can Priscilla catch the culprit to put a stop to it?

Genres: Cozy Mystery, Cozy

291 pages, Hardcover

About the author

Multi-published, award-winning, bestselling author Ruth Logan Herne is living her dream of being a published author and having the time of her life doing it. Born to a poor family in Rochester, NY, Ruthy draws on her early years and her many years of dealing with today's young families and businesses to create beautiful, heartfelt small-town stories of faith, hope and love... while adopting her favorite non-Scripture quotes "Plenty of time for rest in the grave" (Ben Franklin) and "No one can make you feel inferior without your permission." (Eleanor Roosevelt) and one can always depend on Yoda "There is no try. There is do or do not." Succinct... and true. :) She loves chatting with readers on facebook at Ruth Logan Herne or follow Ruthy on Twitter, visit her website or stop by Seekerville (www.seekerville.blogspot.com) or pop by the Yankee Belle Cafe where Ruthy and several lovely authors share recipes, facts, photos and just plain old life! (www.yankeebellecafe.blogspot.com

Reviews

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was delightful. I liked the mystery. The combination of theft, hurricane and a missing person was engaging. I still enjoyed the setting and the characters.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

A movie is going to be made on the island about something that happened in 1991. Thousands of dollars had been stolen and a little girl went missing, never to be found. There was also a hurricane that did lots of damage. A local man was found innocent of stealing but the town has always found him guilty. Priscilla and her visiting daughter work to find out who really took the money and find out what happened to the little girl.

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Hollywood film crew is covering three events at Martha's Vineyard for a documentary. There was a hurricane, a heist, and a girl disappeared all at the same time. The denizens don't like being reminded of the time. Priscilla investigates.

Gerald, the love interest isn't in this book, so that's different.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

You really have to suspend reality to believe Priscilla is allowed to participate in crime investigations at the level she is without more consequences than she receives. Other than that, I enjoyed the mystery investigation mostly but the ending was rather disappointing and disjointed. I still don’t understand why the crime of the what happened to the little girl was committed, that was never really made clear. The money mystery was pretty uneventful since it’s past the “statue of limitations” for doing anything about it (so what was the point?) and the other I figured out right away.

[NANCY GALLAGHER · Rating 2 out of 5]

main character it way too judgmental! Ending was rather disjointed, did not have a good synopsis of what exactly happened.

[Jo Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Priscilla is beside herself with joy--her beloved daughter Rachel is coming for a 3-week visit! What puts a damper on her excitement is the ongoing vandalism to her newly painted (bright yellow) side door. Between the sunny yellow paint, the lighthouse being turned into a museum and being on the tour route, several of the elderly long-time locals are very angry about the changes Priscilla, as an outsider, is making to her property. One old lady in particular has been complaining to everyone who will listen how Priscilla needs to go "back home." When Priscilla finds her door full of fresh, deep scratches, she just knows it's the meddling old lady, Alma. As she repairs and repaints the door, she is constantly finding ongoing damage. To add to the excitement, a movie crew wants to come to town and film a true life story that occurred in 1991. On the day Hurricane Bob hit the island, a local armored car driver is robbed of his cargo--3 million dollars in old bills. During the robbery and the storm, a little girl goes missing and is never found. Priscilla has to get to the bottom of this 30 year old mystery. But this time she not only has her 3 cousins and Gerald helping, now Rachel is there to lend a hand.

[Gayle · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is a hurricane, and bank robbery and a little girl disappears all in the same weekend many years ago. A Hollywood film crew comes to town to follow up on the story. The money, nor the little girl have ever been found.

In true Priscilla Grant fashion she has to find out what happened. This time she has her daughter, who is visiting, help her and the son of the detective who oversaw the case of the missing girl. He is trying to put his ailing father's mind at rest. There is a little romance brewing between Rachel and the detective-A. J. Montgomery. How can $3 million dollars and a little girl get off the island with a hurricane on the way?

The relationship between Priscilla and Gerald from the Coast Guard continues to blossom.

On a lighter mystery note = who is leaving scratches on her newly painted yellow door. I figured this one out right away.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Priscilla Latham Grant is at it again, solving mysteries and living her best life in this installment of the "Mysteries of Martha's Vineyard" series. A film crew has arrived in the community and causes controversy by stirring up memories of a little girl's disappearance during a major hurricane over a decade before. Can Priscilla solve an old mystery that is laced together with a new one?

A perfect light mystery that will keep the pages turning.

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Missing boat/ missing person--Priscilla is going to find out what happened?

[MARY · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished this book and it was good. Priscilla was put to worked in solving 2 years old cold cases. Plus seeing how Gerald cares for her, too. I did very much this book.

[Marilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much better than the previous one. There was actually action in this one and a complicated enough story that I didn’t guess the ending right away.

[Emily Prior · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5 star

I liked this mystery about a storm were a little girl let missing, and a robbery.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best series by Guidepost. Priscilla inherited a lighthouse and cottage on Martha's Vineyard and after living in Kansas decided to stay. Her daughter, Rachel, is coming to visit for three weeks. But in the meantime Priscilla and her cousins are trying to solve three mysteries along with A.J. the son of the detective who oversaw the case 20 plus years ago. Are the 3 mysteries connected and is one person involved or were there several. And can Priscilla trust AJ and why can she not pull up anything on the internet about him? And who keeps making ugly scratches on Priscilla's newly painted yellow door. So many mysteries and several new characters. Great story and character development. Can't wait to read the next one to see if there is any spark between Rachel and AJ. Will she stay on the east coast or go back to Kansas. A great series that keeps you guessing.