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Locust Point Mystery #4
Hometown Hero
July 4th is a big deal in Locust Point — the parade, the fireworks, and the eagerly anticipated annual River Regatta. And this year local celebrity Holt Dupree will be in town, riding high on his recent draft pick for an NFL team. But not everyone loves football, and not everyone is a fan of Holt Dupree. Now the hometown hero is dead, and it seems the auto accident that killed him was no accident. Suddenly there are more suspects than anyone could imagine, and Kay Carrera is elbows-deep in the mystery.
192 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 7, 2018
340 people are currently reading
97 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
October 9, 2019
Let’s see if I can recall what this one is about . . .. Hmms. Appears I forgot to put this on my Read shelf, and forgot to put it onto a rating shelf. Mmphs.
A kid from, literally, the ‘wrong side of the tracks’ was a fabulous football player in high school which lead to a scholarship to college which lead to a hefty pro-football contract. Well that kid is in town, visiting, July 4th holiday time. Does stuff like go to parties, ride in make-shift boats, flirts with every woman around him, gets punched, drives on the same road Kay’s husband got seriously injured on, and then, to top things off, drives off said road and dies. With a girl in the car with him. And with Kay driving behind him.
Everyone, police, Kay, random people seen on the street, think Holt Dupree died due to accidentally drinking too much, getting behind the wheel, and attempting to drive on a winding road. Everyone, thinks that, that is, except for the woman/girl (what was she, 15? 17?) who had been the passenger in his vehicle. She begs Kay to investigate. Kay reminds her that she’s not actually a private investigator, she just works for one. Eventually Kay takes the case and begins looking into things.
As is probably expected, she immediately finds evidence showing that Hugh’s accident might have been something other than an accident. Problem now, though. And no, not in confincing the police. No, the problem lies with the fact that there are a ton, a whole small town’s worth, of people who had certain problems with Hugh. Maybe not enough to kill him, but maybe enough to punch him, or play with his brakes, or the like.
I was going to write this in the first review I wrote for this series, I mean the first I wrote today. Well, the part I’m about to write I mean. One of the little jokes about ‘Murder She Wrote’ that I heard going around back in the day (Murder She Wrote being a television series way back when involving a mystery author who kept having people die near her, have her solve their deaths, and never, once, be suspected as the murder – people kept dying near her!). That was the ‘little joke’, by the way. While it is true that she moved around and wasn’t stationary in just one small town, she did tend to just wander to other small towns – towns not exactly over-flowing with murderers. And yet people kept dying near her.
Well, since Kay started seeing dead people – the number of murdered people has sky-rocketed in her small town. Sky-rocketed! And, recall, all of the books I’ve read so far in this series (recall? This is something I pointed out in a different review) all occur roughly days to weeks apart. So – small town, small amount of time, a ton of deaths. All of which occur near the same woman. Who talks about ghosts and stuff. What’s more likely, she’s a murderer or ghosts keep leading her to their dead bodies? Well, to be fair, I don’t think a murder (current murder) occurred in the Antiques book. I think. Mmphs, can’t recall now. I recall the story, I just can’t recall who all died and when they died.
Another decent book.
Rating: 3.77
October 9 2019
A kid from, literally, the ‘wrong side of the tracks’ was a fabulous football player in high school which lead to a scholarship to college which lead to a hefty pro-football contract. Well that kid is in town, visiting, July 4th holiday time. Does stuff like go to parties, ride in make-shift boats, flirts with every woman around him, gets punched, drives on the same road Kay’s husband got seriously injured on, and then, to top things off, drives off said road and dies. With a girl in the car with him. And with Kay driving behind him.
Everyone, police, Kay, random people seen on the street, think Holt Dupree died due to accidentally drinking too much, getting behind the wheel, and attempting to drive on a winding road. Everyone, thinks that, that is, except for the woman/girl (what was she, 15? 17?) who had been the passenger in his vehicle. She begs Kay to investigate. Kay reminds her that she’s not actually a private investigator, she just works for one. Eventually Kay takes the case and begins looking into things.
As is probably expected, she immediately finds evidence showing that Hugh’s accident might have been something other than an accident. Problem now, though. And no, not in confincing the police. No, the problem lies with the fact that there are a ton, a whole small town’s worth, of people who had certain problems with Hugh. Maybe not enough to kill him, but maybe enough to punch him, or play with his brakes, or the like.
I was going to write this in the first review I wrote for this series, I mean the first I wrote today. Well, the part I’m about to write I mean. One of the little jokes about ‘Murder She Wrote’ that I heard going around back in the day (Murder She Wrote being a television series way back when involving a mystery author who kept having people die near her, have her solve their deaths, and never, once, be suspected as the murder – people kept dying near her!). That was the ‘little joke’, by the way. While it is true that she moved around and wasn’t stationary in just one small town, she did tend to just wander to other small towns – towns not exactly over-flowing with murderers. And yet people kept dying near her.
Well, since Kay started seeing dead people – the number of murdered people has sky-rocketed in her small town. Sky-rocketed! And, recall, all of the books I’ve read so far in this series (recall? This is something I pointed out in a different review) all occur roughly days to weeks apart. So – small town, small amount of time, a ton of deaths. All of which occur near the same woman. Who talks about ghosts and stuff. What’s more likely, she’s a murderer or ghosts keep leading her to their dead bodies? Well, to be fair, I don’t think a murder (current murder) occurred in the Antiques book. I think. Mmphs, can’t recall now. I recall the story, I just can’t recall who all died and when they died.
Another decent book.
Rating: 3.77
October 9 2019
June 11, 2019
I love this series! The secondary characters are wonderful, the town is fun, I love Kay’s sweet personality and I love the family in her home. Breezing right through this fun series!
February 26, 2018
I have read the whole series in 3 days. They are real page turners and I love all the characters. This book was slightly darker than the others and I read for escapism which is the only reason it lost a star. This looked at the issues facing those who come from poor, rough neighbourhoods and handles it well. There are no easy answers, I empathise with the father who would really like anyone who might lead his daughter astray locked up even though he knows that is not fair.
September 9, 2018
Good mystery but a little preachy
That’s because actually good, the mystery was interesting and definitely keeps you curious about what will happen and why things happen the way they did. But the constant reminders of kids from the wrong side of the tracks, and cutthroat with survival instinct is a little annoying after a while. I think it’s also a little preachy about kids who come from hard backgrounds, and how difficult their lives can be with stigma and stereotypes been placed it on them. It is kind of feels like a PSA message versus a plot point. But this book is good and the mystery is awesome I also like some of the character development, although we don’t get to see a lot of the more domestic side of things. It is a very interesting story and it has a lot more to offer than the previous book in the series
That’s because actually good, the mystery was interesting and definitely keeps you curious about what will happen and why things happen the way they did. But the constant reminders of kids from the wrong side of the tracks, and cutthroat with survival instinct is a little annoying after a while. I think it’s also a little preachy about kids who come from hard backgrounds, and how difficult their lives can be with stigma and stereotypes been placed it on them. It is kind of feels like a PSA message versus a plot point. But this book is good and the mystery is awesome I also like some of the character development, although we don’t get to see a lot of the more domestic side of things. It is a very interesting story and it has a lot more to offer than the previous book in the series
November 28, 2019
Enter the football player at the start of his pro career
Holt had basically clawed his way from a questionable upbringing in a poor part of town and was on the cusp of living his dream. When he came home for July 4th and renewed friendships, many girls and women tried to work their wiles on him. The accident he had in his truck sent 15-year-old Posey and another man to the hospital, while Holt's fate was heartbreaking. Having witnessed the truck accident and after Posey begged for her help, Kay started a not-an-investigation and tried to help figure out what had really happened during the young athlete's last visit to his hometown. I found the author's use of old resentments and relationships in addition to interesting things that were happening in the present made the plot a little more twisty than it might have otherwise been. Be alert as you read!
Holt had basically clawed his way from a questionable upbringing in a poor part of town and was on the cusp of living his dream. When he came home for July 4th and renewed friendships, many girls and women tried to work their wiles on him. The accident he had in his truck sent 15-year-old Posey and another man to the hospital, while Holt's fate was heartbreaking. Having witnessed the truck accident and after Posey begged for her help, Kay started a not-an-investigation and tried to help figure out what had really happened during the young athlete's last visit to his hometown. I found the author's use of old resentments and relationships in addition to interesting things that were happening in the present made the plot a little more twisty than it might have otherwise been. Be alert as you read!
January 14, 2020
It you want a great read choose this book!
It starts out with a hero, then you find out that like everyone he has flaws. Little indiscretions that makes him appear ruthless to some. But he has ruled he lives by and ruled he dies by unfortunately. A number of people hate him.for his past, his attempts to climb out of poverty and his position on the wrong side of the tracks. The ending was a surprise. This book is about morality, that ruthless people only appear to get ahead. Eventually they get taken down by the good in this world. A young girl follows in the ruthless past of her friend only for the two to discover reality. That hard work is the only successful way to the top.
It starts out with a hero, then you find out that like everyone he has flaws. Little indiscretions that makes him appear ruthless to some. But he has ruled he lives by and ruled he dies by unfortunately. A number of people hate him.for his past, his attempts to climb out of poverty and his position on the wrong side of the tracks. The ending was a surprise. This book is about morality, that ruthless people only appear to get ahead. Eventually they get taken down by the good in this world. A young girl follows in the ruthless past of her friend only for the two to discover reality. That hard work is the only successful way to the top.
November 19, 2021
When a football player arrives back in his home town for 4th July celebrations, not everyone is pleased, least of all the Judge as Madison, his daughter seems smitten!
Kay is witness to a traffic accident at the same spot where her husband had an accident, this brings back bad memories for her.
When a ghost seems to latch onto Kay, she has no choice but to try and solve his murder so he can move on, but theres sadness when she figures out who did it, and why.
This is a good cozy mystery series, easy to read books which are standalone stories, these are best read in order of publication to preserve continuity of the characters and series.
Kay is witness to a traffic accident at the same spot where her husband had an accident, this brings back bad memories for her.
When a ghost seems to latch onto Kay, she has no choice but to try and solve his murder so he can move on, but theres sadness when she figures out who did it, and why.
This is a good cozy mystery series, easy to read books which are standalone stories, these are best read in order of publication to preserve continuity of the characters and series.
February 24, 2022
Hometown Hero: A Locust Point Mystery (Book 4) — Libby Howard/Narrator: Margaret Strom (25 chapters) Feb. 21-22, 2022
A future NFL player, Holt is dead after a few days of partying and when he gets in his truck to drive a girl home he ends up getting killed. Everyone says he boozed it up, but Kay finds that’s not what everyone who knew him thinks.
As Kay starts to investigate several other factors in the case comes forward and using her investigative skills she figures out whodunit.
The ending on this one wasn’t a very thrillery, and I was A-OK with that.
Good story and I love the developments going on in Kay’s life with Judge Beck and his kids.
Four stars.
A future NFL player, Holt is dead after a few days of partying and when he gets in his truck to drive a girl home he ends up getting killed. Everyone says he boozed it up, but Kay finds that’s not what everyone who knew him thinks.
As Kay starts to investigate several other factors in the case comes forward and using her investigative skills she figures out whodunit.
The ending on this one wasn’t a very thrillery, and I was A-OK with that.
Good story and I love the developments going on in Kay’s life with Judge Beck and his kids.
Four stars.
June 14, 2020
Hometown Mystery.
This is the second book in the Locust Point series. You don't have to read the series if you don't want to. The books each have their story. A hometown football hero dies in a tragic truck accident. Was it an accident or murder. The book will have you feeling a hammer of emotions. Kindness, human generosity, love thy neighbors type people.Someone isn't holding to these standards. The hometown football hero is killed ...well, I can't give away the book can I?
Murder, secrets, it's all here. Loved the book.
This is the second book in the Locust Point series. You don't have to read the series if you don't want to. The books each have their story. A hometown football hero dies in a tragic truck accident. Was it an accident or murder. The book will have you feeling a hammer of emotions. Kindness, human generosity, love thy neighbors type people.Someone isn't holding to these standards. The hometown football hero is killed ...well, I can't give away the book can I?
Murder, secrets, it's all here. Loved the book.
March 7, 2021
Of the four of these I've read so far, this was my least favorite. This one veered off towards "stubborn old lady who won't mind her own business" more than previous books in the series did. There's a similar series (different author) with another older woman as the main character, and I stopped reading that series because the "I'm your mom, I do what I want" vibe was too strong. I'd hate to see that happen in this series!! Hoping the SOLWWMHOB (how's that for an acronym) vibe decreases in the next book. We'll see!
I did enjoy the plot though!
I did enjoy the plot though!
February 19, 2018
This series gets better and better
Every story is stronger because the depth of the characters and their relations become more interesting. Will Kay heal and find romantic love again? Will Daisy? Which one of the kids will become a lawyer, if any? Locust Point is full of people to care about.
Every story is stronger because the depth of the characters and their relations become more interesting. Will Kay heal and find romantic love again? Will Daisy? Which one of the kids will become a lawyer, if any? Locust Point is full of people to care about.
February 22, 2018
I was a little disappointed that the book ended without finding out who tampered with the truck. I thought that the book ended unfinished. Also could have added in how the judge dealt with Madison's reaction to her friend part in Holt's death.
As written above. I do enjoy the light reading of the mystery as it's not so overbearing or to gorry.
As written above. I do enjoy the light reading of the mystery as it's not so overbearing or to gorry.
March 24, 2018
Once again, a good read, a mystery, and good characters. I am waiting for the next story to come out. Later this spring, I am guessing. And I like how the author moves it along, with new characters coming in, along with older ones, and with Kay, the main one moving along, with getting her PI license. Like in real life, things move on.
February 26, 2018
Brilliant
Another enjoyable experience from Libby Howard . I am looking forward to her next book and have it on preorder . I have really enjoyed this series and look forward to seeing where she is taking us to.
Another enjoyable experience from Libby Howard . I am looking forward to her next book and have it on preorder . I have really enjoyed this series and look forward to seeing where she is taking us to.
August 28, 2018
Super duper another hit
This one has me stumped, did not see who murdered the football star. Great read, good story line, full of lots of subspecies and some twists and turns. Very good flow to the book. You will not be disappointed!!!!
This one has me stumped, did not see who murdered the football star. Great read, good story line, full of lots of subspecies and some twists and turns. Very good flow to the book. You will not be disappointed!!!!
November 19, 2018
Didn't enjoy this book as much as the previous one. Felt this one was sad and very dark. And it ended with some questions unanswered. But have gotten very fond of the characters. So will definitely be reading the next book in this series.
March 25, 2020
Great evening read
Quick, page turner with well developed characters. Plot is just complicated enough to keep you guessing until the end.
And don't even get me going on the not so subtle sexual tension.
Quick, page turner with well developed characters. Plot is just complicated enough to keep you guessing until the end.
And don't even get me going on the not so subtle sexual tension.
December 4, 2020
Good read
I enjoyed reading this book. It reads like real life, that these people might be your neighbors and people you care about in life, including one cat named Taco. I read in one day.
I enjoyed reading this book. It reads like real life, that these people might be your neighbors and people you care about in life, including one cat named Taco. I read in one day.
June 12, 2022
did not see this one coming
Yup, ghost and murder but what a ride to get there. I can be pretty good at figuring out who did it and why but this one came out of left field. A very enjoyable, quick read. I won’t be quite so cocky with the next story.🤣
Yup, ghost and murder but what a ride to get there. I can be pretty good at figuring out who did it and why but this one came out of left field. A very enjoyable, quick read. I won’t be quite so cocky with the next story.🤣
January 27, 2023
This is a really twisted story where nobody got what they wanted and so many people were unhappy because they wanted to take shortcuts in life and get things the easy way. I really like these characters and I like the stories that this author writes.
August 5, 2025
Another wonderful story in this series with Kay Carrera getting involved in finding out what actually happened the night that Holt Dupree, a draft pick for an NFL team when he died. All the characters are believable in this story including some of the ghosts.
March 22, 2018
Sad ending
This was really well written. If some what sad. What a horrible bitter twist to the end. However I do think she found her this g in fostering she would be good at it
This was really well written. If some what sad. What a horrible bitter twist to the end. However I do think she found her this g in fostering she would be good at it
April 23, 2018
Another great read
The depth of the characters is stronger with every story, their relationships become more intriguing, with engaging plot and plenty of entertainment.
The depth of the characters is stronger with every story, their relationships become more intriguing, with engaging plot and plenty of entertainment.
May 23, 2018
Great read
OK I'm hooked on this series by Libby Howard I love all the characters and the storyline will keep you turning the page getting the next book now
OK I'm hooked on this series by Libby Howard I love all the characters and the storyline will keep you turning the page getting the next book now
July 16, 2019
This is a really good cozy series. I usually give these 5 stars, but this one didn’t feel like it had a complete ending.
September 29, 2019
Good
Page turner. Third book I have read by this author. Completely clean reading. Just a book that any age could read
Page turner. Third book I have read by this author. Completely clean reading. Just a book that any age could read
October 14, 2019
I do really like these stories. For many reasons. Gonna keep reading. Mistakes, yes. Not that many, though.
November 10, 2019
Will do anything to better thyself
Very entertaining story. Love the characters. A good, clean read for young readers. Looking forward to reading the next book.
Very entertaining story. Love the characters. A good, clean read for young readers. Looking forward to reading the next book.
February 2, 2020
Still totally sweet! (- in a good, non-cloying way!) This series is an excellent light read.
March 12, 2020
Best of the first four books in the series.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews