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Zelda Richardson Mystery #0.5
Holiday Gone Wrong
After a tiresome year of computer programming, Zelda Richardson is back on the road – destination Panama and Costa Rica. Learning to scuba dive, exploring Central American rainforests, and climbing a volcano sound like the perfect antidotes to Seattle’s spring rains.
When a banana farmer tells her about the Disquís spheres he found on his property, she can’t resist going to the site. Her visit puts a deadly spin on her vacation and leaves her fighting for her life.
Despite Zelda’s best efforts to just relax and enjoy her trip, thrilling mysteries pop up at every turn. Will she ever be able to go on holiday without it turning into an international incident?
How did Zelda Richardson get from Nepal in Down and Out in Kathmandu to Amsterdam in The Lover’s Portrait? This short story will help fans better understand this unintentional amateur sleuth’s decision to study art history and give new readers a taste of her tantalizing misadventures.
When a banana farmer tells her about the Disquís spheres he found on his property, she can’t resist going to the site. Her visit puts a deadly spin on her vacation and leaves her fighting for her life.
Despite Zelda’s best efforts to just relax and enjoy her trip, thrilling mysteries pop up at every turn. Will she ever be able to go on holiday without it turning into an international incident?
How did Zelda Richardson get from Nepal in Down and Out in Kathmandu to Amsterdam in The Lover’s Portrait? This short story will help fans better understand this unintentional amateur sleuth’s decision to study art history and give new readers a taste of her tantalizing misadventures.
50 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 8, 2018
41 people are currently reading
97 people want to read
About the author
Jennifer S. Alderson
55 books768 followersHi! I am an American expat currently living in Amsterdam. After traveling extensively around Asia, Oceania, and Central America, I moved to Darwin, Australia, before finally settling in the Netherlands. When not writing, you can find me in a museum, biking around Amsterdam, or enjoying a coffee along the canal while planning my next research trip.
My love of travel, art, and culture inspires my award-winning Zelda Richardson Art Mystery series, Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mysteries, and Carmen De Luca Art Sleuth Mysteries.
Connect with me here on Goodreads, Facebook, Instagram, or my website.
Thanks for stopping by!
My love of travel, art, and culture inspires my award-winning Zelda Richardson Art Mystery series, Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mysteries, and Carmen De Luca Art Sleuth Mysteries.
Connect with me here on Goodreads, Facebook, Instagram, or my website.
Thanks for stopping by!
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
May 22, 2018
Panama and Costa Rica are the locations which give this very short Zelda Richardson tale its color and flavor. It’s a tie-in with the author’s mystery series based around artifacts or art, and appears to be set between the first (Down and Out in Kathmandu) and second (Lover’s Portrait) entry in the series, which now has a third entry (Rituals of the Dead). Having read and reviewed Lover’s Portrait, which I enjoyed, I picked this up as a supplement to the series.
On the positive side, it’s light and breezy and moves quickly. You get some travelogue type color which makes for a pleasant read, and it doesn’t take long to begin and finish. A situation arises in Panama involving unwanted amorous advances from someone who won’t take No for an answer. Because of the situation, Zelda is forced to cut her time short in Panama and head for Costa Rica. She runs into mystery there, and someone insistent in a less amorous vein. It’s all very light and pleasant and there’s no real danger. This short bauble in fact feels like a colorful cozy mystery — very light on the mystery — set in pretty locations.
However, even in a story as brief as this one — the actual story portion ends at 63% on my Kindle — you can draw the reader in, give them a beginning, middle, and satisfying conclusion. I didn’t find that here. While I did enjoy this, I felt like I was just being rushed along from one place to the next. There is a difference between movement within a narrative, and quickness. The difference can sometimes be one of reader involvement, and that’s what I felt the problem was here. We get no setup. We are simply dropped into the water, figuratively speaking, with Zelda while on vacation. A short prolog or chapter of her arriving, acclimating the reader to the exotic setting, seeing it through Zelda’s eyes, would have helped toward that end. As it is, it felt like I was dropped into the second chapter, the first one missing.
That continues throughout this short story, at least for me. The reader is given no background about the guy (I don’t want to give too much away) with the hots for Zelda, for example. Just adding a paragraph or two, a scene where he’d seen her at the hotel bar or sun-bathing, whatever, and a moment showing how dangerous he could be would have lent that initial scene with a tiny bit of believability it doesn’t have. Instead this comes off like standard chick-lit cozy fluff. The entry in this series I read, Lover’s Portrait, was so much better than that. The small mystery Zelda uncovered in Costa Rica in this story continued with that same artificiality. It seemed rushed along, which is not the same as movement.
As I said, I did enjoy this, but if I’d had a better setup that immersed me into Zelda’s time in Panama and Costa Rica, and I’d had a couple more chapters to give this story background and real movement rather than just jumping quickly around, I’d have enjoyed this much more. Stuff written to accompany a series should be like a mini version of it, a satisfying bite. But this felt more like too much of a nibble around the outer edges.
Had this very short story been turned into a novelette by a few more brief but welcome chapters, I’d be much more enthused about it. It is pleasant, light and distracting for when you only have a short time for reading, which is a good thing. If that’s what you’re looking for this will do the trick, and you’ll find it enjoyable. As someone who has read and enjoyed Lover’s Portrait, however, I think it misses the mark slightly in giving readers a real sense of the series, at least the entry I read. Just a tick over three stars, because it’s a pleasant read.
On the positive side, it’s light and breezy and moves quickly. You get some travelogue type color which makes for a pleasant read, and it doesn’t take long to begin and finish. A situation arises in Panama involving unwanted amorous advances from someone who won’t take No for an answer. Because of the situation, Zelda is forced to cut her time short in Panama and head for Costa Rica. She runs into mystery there, and someone insistent in a less amorous vein. It’s all very light and pleasant and there’s no real danger. This short bauble in fact feels like a colorful cozy mystery — very light on the mystery — set in pretty locations.
However, even in a story as brief as this one — the actual story portion ends at 63% on my Kindle — you can draw the reader in, give them a beginning, middle, and satisfying conclusion. I didn’t find that here. While I did enjoy this, I felt like I was just being rushed along from one place to the next. There is a difference between movement within a narrative, and quickness. The difference can sometimes be one of reader involvement, and that’s what I felt the problem was here. We get no setup. We are simply dropped into the water, figuratively speaking, with Zelda while on vacation. A short prolog or chapter of her arriving, acclimating the reader to the exotic setting, seeing it through Zelda’s eyes, would have helped toward that end. As it is, it felt like I was dropped into the second chapter, the first one missing.
That continues throughout this short story, at least for me. The reader is given no background about the guy (I don’t want to give too much away) with the hots for Zelda, for example. Just adding a paragraph or two, a scene where he’d seen her at the hotel bar or sun-bathing, whatever, and a moment showing how dangerous he could be would have lent that initial scene with a tiny bit of believability it doesn’t have. Instead this comes off like standard chick-lit cozy fluff. The entry in this series I read, Lover’s Portrait, was so much better than that. The small mystery Zelda uncovered in Costa Rica in this story continued with that same artificiality. It seemed rushed along, which is not the same as movement.
As I said, I did enjoy this, but if I’d had a better setup that immersed me into Zelda’s time in Panama and Costa Rica, and I’d had a couple more chapters to give this story background and real movement rather than just jumping quickly around, I’d have enjoyed this much more. Stuff written to accompany a series should be like a mini version of it, a satisfying bite. But this felt more like too much of a nibble around the outer edges.
Had this very short story been turned into a novelette by a few more brief but welcome chapters, I’d be much more enthused about it. It is pleasant, light and distracting for when you only have a short time for reading, which is a good thing. If that’s what you’re looking for this will do the trick, and you’ll find it enjoyable. As someone who has read and enjoyed Lover’s Portrait, however, I think it misses the mark slightly in giving readers a real sense of the series, at least the entry I read. Just a tick over three stars, because it’s a pleasant read.
May 15, 2018
Every time I read a Zelda novel I get an incredible urge to travel! The author does a fantastic job with setting and making you feel as if you were there. This short Zelda adventure is a perfect ‘amuse-bouche,’ giving the reader a glimpse of author’s knack for story-telling.
February 27, 2019
Vibrant short story and introduction to Zelda Richardson on a holiday that has truly gone wrong. If you yearn for adventure, then you will love this read. Fast-paced, witty and descriptive. A trip to Panama and Costa Rica you won't forget. It is an intriguing segue to what promises to be a great travel mystery series.
April 30, 2020
Way too short but very enjoyable. The plot was very quick though for such a short story. The author probably could have extended the first plot line instead of adding the second. I’ll pick up another by the author.
May 16, 2018
Zelda gets in and out of trouble in this delightful short story. One travels vicariously through the authors rich descriptions of Central America.
July 13, 2018
A very enjoyable short read.
‘Holiday Gone Wrong is a short read with elements of mystery and intrigue, but also some lovely comic moments, all of which make the reader want to know more of Zelda and her story. The author does a great job of balancing all of those elements without giving away the storylines of the other books in which Zelda features.
This short read is enriched by vivid, detailed descriptions of the exotic locations which really transported me to those places and brought the story to life. The author has cleverly conveyed both the beauty of the places and the joy of experiencing them, which definitely enhances the reader’s enjoyment of the story.
‘Holiday Gone Wrong’ works perfectly well as a stand-alone, but also serves as a great introduction and/or companion to Alderson’s mystery novels which also feature Zelda.
‘Holiday Gone Wrong is a short read with elements of mystery and intrigue, but also some lovely comic moments, all of which make the reader want to know more of Zelda and her story. The author does a great job of balancing all of those elements without giving away the storylines of the other books in which Zelda features.
This short read is enriched by vivid, detailed descriptions of the exotic locations which really transported me to those places and brought the story to life. The author has cleverly conveyed both the beauty of the places and the joy of experiencing them, which definitely enhances the reader’s enjoyment of the story.
‘Holiday Gone Wrong’ works perfectly well as a stand-alone, but also serves as a great introduction and/or companion to Alderson’s mystery novels which also feature Zelda.
May 6, 2022
This was okay, the main character seems to be a trouble magnet though.
* Zelda is on holiday, a man starts to show interest in her, and her scuba diving instructor says she should leave immediately; the man is involved in illegal drugs, and the last two women he's dated disappeared and were never seen again.
* Zelda takes his advice and moves on to Costa Rica, she buys a necklace which turns out to be made of shark's teeth which are illegal to sell, and then ends up alone with a man who turns out by doing illegal things himself 🤦
* This was okay, but it didn't really suck me in. Zelda didn't seem to be doing anything to call trouble to find her, but it did anyway.
* We also found out that on her previous holiday to Nepal she ended up involved in smuggling of some sort 🤦
* Really she was lucky that she managed to get away from the man unharmed, he seemed harmless when she first met him, but it just shows you can't really trust anybody.
* Zelda is on holiday, a man starts to show interest in her, and her scuba diving instructor says she should leave immediately; the man is involved in illegal drugs, and the last two women he's dated disappeared and were never seen again.
* Zelda takes his advice and moves on to Costa Rica, she buys a necklace which turns out to be made of shark's teeth which are illegal to sell, and then ends up alone with a man who turns out by doing illegal things himself 🤦
* This was okay, but it didn't really suck me in. Zelda didn't seem to be doing anything to call trouble to find her, but it did anyway.
* We also found out that on her previous holiday to Nepal she ended up involved in smuggling of some sort 🤦
* Really she was lucky that she managed to get away from the man unharmed, he seemed harmless when she first met him, but it just shows you can't really trust anybody.
March 20, 2020
A quick read.
This short story held my attention through to the end. It is predominantly written in a narrative voice. A young woman goes on holiday and experiences a series of potentially dangerous encounters; none of which interlinked in the hurried climax. However, the writer appears knowledgeable about the places her protagonist visited and included plenty of descriptive scenery.
This short story held my attention through to the end. It is predominantly written in a narrative voice. A young woman goes on holiday and experiences a series of potentially dangerous encounters; none of which interlinked in the hurried climax. However, the writer appears knowledgeable about the places her protagonist visited and included plenty of descriptive scenery.
March 10, 2020
Holiday Gone Wrong
Seems like everywhere she goes, she encounters trouble! All she wanted was a fun vacation, learning to deep sea dive, and enjoying the sites, smells, and people. Will she escape with her life? Good descriptions of her scenery, and of the characters. An enjoyable read!
Seems like everywhere she goes, she encounters trouble! All she wanted was a fun vacation, learning to deep sea dive, and enjoying the sites, smells, and people. Will she escape with her life? Good descriptions of her scenery, and of the characters. An enjoyable read!
September 2, 2020
She needs a vacation from her vacation!
Zelda’s world travels always seem to come with trouble and her time in Panama and Costa Rica are no different. She either needs to stay home or find someone to travel with to keep her out of risky situations. Fortunately, she always came out ok in the end. It’s an amusing book and a quick read.
Zelda’s world travels always seem to come with trouble and her time in Panama and Costa Rica are no different. She either needs to stay home or find someone to travel with to keep her out of risky situations. Fortunately, she always came out ok in the end. It’s an amusing book and a quick read.
May 6, 2019
A fun, fast read
Trouble seems to find Zelda wherever she travels. This time, the venue is Central America. Jennifer Alderson has a travel writer’s eye for description and the talent to make her readers experience the locales where the story takes place. Well done.
Trouble seems to find Zelda wherever she travels. This time, the venue is Central America. Jennifer Alderson has a travel writer’s eye for description and the talent to make her readers experience the locales where the story takes place. Well done.
December 5, 2019
Good descriptive story as though one was there. Enjoyed the adventure, the touch of humor, a touch of mystery, and all very enjoyable.
Currently reading
May 17, 2020Author gift
THREE BOOK SET
Holiday Gone Wrong,
Down and Out in Kathmandu: A Backpacker Mystery,
Notes of a Naive Traveler: A Nepal and Thailand Travelogue
THREE BOOK SET
Holiday Gone Wrong,
Down and Out in Kathmandu: A Backpacker Mystery,
Notes of a Naive Traveler: A Nepal and Thailand Travelogue
July 25, 2022
This is nothing more than a travelogue. Only a hint of a poor plot. Zelda seems like a cardboard cutout.
April 10, 2023
This was a bit rubbish.Plot didnt go anywhere and the main protagonist was an idiot
August 24, 2020
Short story adventure with Zelda Richardson
I wish there was more. Zelda Richardson seems to attract the wrong sort of people while adventuring and traveling.
She is briefly in Panama and then in Costa Rico. Wonderful descriptions of flora, fauna.
I wish there was more. Zelda Richardson seems to attract the wrong sort of people while adventuring and traveling.
She is briefly in Panama and then in Costa Rico. Wonderful descriptions of flora, fauna.
December 30, 2020
I didn't really like Zelda.
August 4, 2022
I found this short story when I googled "novels about Costa Rica." My wife and I were headed to Costa Rica and, as I am wont to do when I travel overseas, I wanted to get handle on the culture. Well, I didn't realize this is a short story and a YA short story at that. And besides, much of it took place in Panama. So, it was not a bad read - kind of an interesting story - just not exactly what I was looking for.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews