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The Mumfest Murders: A Thomas and Rose Mystery
One dead body.
Two dead bodies.
Things are starting to get out of hand.
In need of a break from their consulting work with the SBI, Thomas Gabriel and Rose Daniels go to visit his aunt in the idyllic town of New Bern, North Carolina. But when a local electrician is found dead in the park, their vacation is cut short and they are plunged into a mystery that will reach to the very heights of power in small town America. The local police are sure they know who committed the murder, but are they right? And if they are wrong, then the real murderer is still on the loose. Thomas and Rose will have to set their vacation aside and do what they do best. But will anybody listen to them?
Two dead bodies.
Things are starting to get out of hand.
In need of a break from their consulting work with the SBI, Thomas Gabriel and Rose Daniels go to visit his aunt in the idyllic town of New Bern, North Carolina. But when a local electrician is found dead in the park, their vacation is cut short and they are plunged into a mystery that will reach to the very heights of power in small town America. The local police are sure they know who committed the murder, but are they right? And if they are wrong, then the real murderer is still on the loose. Thomas and Rose will have to set their vacation aside and do what they do best. But will anybody listen to them?
302 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 30, 2018
About the author
Charles E. Mellor
4 booksNothing too special to say here. I am the father of five wonderful children who keep me even busier than you would imagine. My wife and I run a bilingual preschool (well, she runs it and I fix all the things that get broken) and have a lot of fun doing it.
I have wanted to be a writer my entire life; unfortunately, I had never really passed through the want stage and into the doing stage.
Until now.
My first book, The Mumfest Murders, was published in June of 2018. Book 2 in the series, The Marathon Murders, was published in October of the same year. The third book, The Port City Murders, was finally published in March of 2025 after a slight delay.
But the delays are gone now. I have several more books in the pipeline and plan to publish several of them in 2025.
I have wanted to be a writer my entire life; unfortunately, I had never really passed through the want stage and into the doing stage.
Until now.
My first book, The Mumfest Murders, was published in June of 2018. Book 2 in the series, The Marathon Murders, was published in October of the same year. The third book, The Port City Murders, was finally published in March of 2025 after a slight delay.
But the delays are gone now. I have several more books in the pipeline and plan to publish several of them in 2025.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 23, 2026
This is an okay little cozy mystery that takes place in my hometown, so of course I had to read it! I tried to not nitpick or be too critical. I understand artistic license, and writing about a real place can be tricky. For the most part, the author got New Bern right, and I appreciate that! But let me set the record straight about a few incorrect things the author wrote in this book…
1) Apparently the author is no great fan of the bear statues scattered around New Bern. He repeatedly calls them “plaster bears” and suggests that they are tacky. They are not plaster. They are formed out of durable fiberglass and are painted by a wide array of artists in diverse styles and themes. I have never, EVER heard anyone describe these bears as “tacky.” While an individual bear statue may not be to your personal artistic taste, there is plenty of variety with something to please everyone. These whimsical and charming statues are quite beloved by most folk and a source of pride to the locals; plus visitors and children enjoy spotting the bears and having their photos taken with them.
2) The author describes the New Bern flag as “orange and black.” Wrong! Like the coat of arms (and flag) of the original Bern, in Switzerland, the New Bern flag consists of a red field with a diagonal band of yellow upon which stands fierce black bear.
3) I laughed when the author described the Prius as a rare and unusual car in this area. Ha! They are quite ubiquitous and plentiful here, and they were a common sight in New Bern when this book was published in 2019. This may seem a small discrepancy, but it was repeated and made into an important clue in the book.
I feel much better now that I have gotten these little inaccuracies corrected publicly. 😁
New Bern is a lovely town, and you can learn more about Mumfest, held every October, at www.mumfest.com.
1) Apparently the author is no great fan of the bear statues scattered around New Bern. He repeatedly calls them “plaster bears” and suggests that they are tacky. They are not plaster. They are formed out of durable fiberglass and are painted by a wide array of artists in diverse styles and themes. I have never, EVER heard anyone describe these bears as “tacky.” While an individual bear statue may not be to your personal artistic taste, there is plenty of variety with something to please everyone. These whimsical and charming statues are quite beloved by most folk and a source of pride to the locals; plus visitors and children enjoy spotting the bears and having their photos taken with them.
2) The author describes the New Bern flag as “orange and black.” Wrong! Like the coat of arms (and flag) of the original Bern, in Switzerland, the New Bern flag consists of a red field with a diagonal band of yellow upon which stands fierce black bear.
3) I laughed when the author described the Prius as a rare and unusual car in this area. Ha! They are quite ubiquitous and plentiful here, and they were a common sight in New Bern when this book was published in 2019. This may seem a small discrepancy, but it was repeated and made into an important clue in the book.
I feel much better now that I have gotten these little inaccuracies corrected publicly. 😁
New Bern is a lovely town, and you can learn more about Mumfest, held every October, at www.mumfest.com.
December 28, 2025
I did find this one difficult to rate, but I think I am happy with 3 stars. Seems suffice to me.
Basically what knocked the rating down so much was the fact that it felt so slow all the way through despite only being 302 pages long, I felt like the book was never going to end and to be honest, it felt like there was so much crammed into this book and I sometimes had to skip back to remember what had just happened due to how much was happening. I particularly enjoyed the team discovering who was behind the murders, despite their constant denial of one of them. At first they try to get away with it by saying all the evidence they have is purely circumstantial, until they remember that the main murder suspect had almost been killed and they were told she bit them, which they did discover with their new suspect even after they tried to deny the fingerprint evidence. It was an enjoyable read, despite how slow it felt for me.
Basically what knocked the rating down so much was the fact that it felt so slow all the way through despite only being 302 pages long, I felt like the book was never going to end and to be honest, it felt like there was so much crammed into this book and I sometimes had to skip back to remember what had just happened due to how much was happening. I particularly enjoyed the team discovering who was behind the murders, despite their constant denial of one of them. At first they try to get away with it by saying all the evidence they have is purely circumstantial, until they remember that the main murder suspect had almost been killed and they were told she bit them, which they did discover with their new suspect even after they tried to deny the fingerprint evidence. It was an enjoyable read, despite how slow it felt for me.
March 29, 2025
Unusual Theme and Good Read
A budding love story of two talented statewide investigators, this tale not only develops along lines that can turn a well deserved vacation into an almost honeymoon, but also it takes on political corruption in an almost unbelievably innocent milieu. Sit back and enjoy the tale!
A budding love story of two talented statewide investigators, this tale not only develops along lines that can turn a well deserved vacation into an almost honeymoon, but also it takes on political corruption in an almost unbelievably innocent milieu. Sit back and enjoy the tale!
April 3, 2025
I liked the book at the start but it got a tad bit boring when it started being all political.
Rose & Thomas relationship I wasn’t a fan. They were suppose to be on vacation but Thomas had to go wreck it and do a case he didn’t belong in.
Thomas didn’t even get on one knee to propose either!
Rose & Thomas relationship I wasn’t a fan. They were suppose to be on vacation but Thomas had to go wreck it and do a case he didn’t belong in.
Thomas didn’t even get on one knee to propose either!
March 24, 2025
A little too predicatable.
March 30, 2025
I just have to say: what happened between the two boys who were friends? More of a back story would have been helpful. It was like someone ripped out the first couple of chapters.
February 15, 2026
It was a little slow moving. I was annoyed by the main character.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews