Anchored Inn

Gray Whale Inn Mystery #10

by Karen MacInerney

Tea, scones, and old bones... It may be autumn on Cranberry Island, Maine, but things are heating up for innkeeper Natalie Barnes—and not just because of the cranberry scones in the oven. When a research team discovers the remains of a long-missing German U-Boat just offshore, the Gray Whale Inn becomes the center of operations for the eccentric multimillionaire funding the team. But the excitement over the discovery is soon dampened when something else turns up next to the long-lost sunken the body of a young woman who went missing twenty years ago, tied to an antique anchor that vanished at the same time. Soon, a second, more recent body, that of a local handyman, turns up next to the inn, a knife from friend and island selectman Tom Lockhart’s kitchen in his back. Natalie is dismayed to learn that several people close to her—including her husband, John, best friend, Charlene, and Tom himself—were connected with the missing girl, and may now be suspects in her long-ago disappearance. When Charlene’s young niece Tania disappears without a trace, Natalie fears that history is about to repeat itself. Can she find the culprit—and the missing young woman—before tragedy strikes Cranberry island again?

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Cozy, Fiction

220 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 29, 2020

About the author

I'm the author of the Agatha-nominated Gray Whale Inn mystery series, Tales of an Urban Werewolf. the Margie Peterson mysteries and the Dewberry Farm mysteries (plus a new fantasy in the works). My reading is like my writing: eclectic!

I grew up in the Northeast, but I currently live in Austin with my husband, two kids, and a houserabbit named Bunny. Feel free to visit me online at www.karenmacinerney.com; I love connecting with readers.

Reviews

[shawn marton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story

I really like this series and always look forward to a new book about Gray Whale Inn. But I was confused in several spots, the characters were told something then in a few pages or the next chapter it was like they had never been told and it was brand new to them. It is almost like there is more than one person writing the story. However, the story was good and I am looking foreword to the new series about Snug Harbor. If you like cozy mysteries you will probably like this series.

[Teri · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Karen MacInerney's 10th edition to the Gray Whale Inn mystery series, Natalie Barnes, owner of the Gray Whale Inn Bed and Breakfast on the little Maine community of Cranberry Island, is hosting a multimillionaire with a secret past connected to the island and who is investigating a sunken WWII German U-Boat off just off-shore. Arriving with the rich and quiet man is his assistant and his bodyguard, and coincidentally a dead body outside the inn appears about the same time. It's the body of a local handyman that just may have some dirt on many of the locals. That's murder #1. Mr. Millionaire invites Natalie, her husband, John, and the local boatman, Eli, to join the team as they go out on the water to investigate the U-Boat wreckage. Along the wreckage debris, they find the bones of a body with a necklace around its neck. That is the same necklace that belongs to a missing islander from twenty years ago, a young girl that John, Eli, and Natalie's best friend Charlene used to hang out with. That's murder #2. On top of that, Natalie's niece Gwen is mysteriously sick, and Charlene's niece, Tania, has gone missing. Natalie starts investigating, knowing the killer(s) could be any one of a number of locals and guests.

There is another side story about two women, Max and Ellie, who are staying at the end and who end up helping Natalie investigate the many crazy happenings on Cranberry Island. This is actually a lead-up to a new series that MacInerney has introduced, known as the Snug Harbor Mystery series. I've not read these yet, but I will soon. I enjoy how MacInerney has several series, with each of the main characters being connected in some fashion.

I thoroughly enjoy Karen MacInerney's cozy mystery series. The characters in this series have become so well developed over time that reading the stories feel like you're reading about great friends and family. Bonus recipes are at the end of the book for all the food mentioned in the story. As always, I look forward to new books in all of Karen's series.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been a fan of this series from the very beginning and am always happy to pick up any book by Karen MacInerney because her writing just flows so smoothly for me and I can get lost in the story right from the start. This one was no different. I loved learning about U-boats off the coast of the United States from Germany and the mystery was a stumper. Hoping there will be more in the series.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don’t want to say that it was obvious from the beginning, but when an author mentions a character, then drops tidbits about them along the way, it only heightens the reader's curiosity and then makes it obvious which character should receive more attention.

Cranberry Island, Maine in all its autumnal beauty is marred by the discovery of a young woman who went missing twenty years ago. Natalie Barnes, the owner of the islands B&B didn’t know of the disappearance so when she began to hear the rumors and a second body, that of the island handyman, is discovered, Natalie and her team of island natives go into high gear to discover what is going on and prevent it from happening again.

Karen MacInerney, who has gone the self-publishing route, has thrown a great deal into this book and goes to vast lengths to mix up the troubles in an attempt to keep the reader engaged, but at times, goes a bit too far and makes more out of a storyline than should have been. From a reclusive multi-millionaire and his team to a discovered sunken German U-Boat to the supposedly missing daughter of her friend, the reader is pulled in multiple directions which only tends to confuse instead of enhancing each storyline.

[Nikki · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is so poorly edited. On page 40 or so, Charlene tells the inn's guests that her niece is missing. They drink and talk about it. Then, the next day, and 20 pages later, the same people get the information again as if it is new. Later in the book, the guests and Charlene are going to investigate Tania's cottage, and Charlene also goes with Natalie to visit Loretta. It's just so sloppy. Interesting story, too bad.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another enjoyable trip to Cranberry Island from author Karen MacInerney! Anchored Inn was a pleasure to read, and I enjoyed solving the mysteries (there were more than one!) along with Natalie. Yummy recipes were included (hooray!), as well as an excerpt from a new series (also hooray!). A+++

[Linda Smatzny · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story has multiple mysteries but only one is murder. It happens on the grounds of the Gray Whale Inn. The book includes recipes and a look at a new book in a new series featuring a character from this story. The book was an easy and very quick read.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always delightful!

[dnsyl57 · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Anchored Inn" is book #10 in the "Gray Whale Inn Mystery" series by Karen MacInerney.

A research vessel is trying to locate the wreck of a U-boat from WW2 that was likely sunk off the island. The search is being funded by a quirky millionaire who may also have some ties to the island. As the submersible looks for the wreck, they discover the body of a girl who had vanished twenty years earlier. Not long after a body is found just outside the carriage house at the Inn. The police think they have the culprit but Natalie and John aren't so sure.

Additional storylines include Charlene's niece Tania going missing, Gwen being sick and Catherine wondering if her and Murray can work things out. There is also the introduction of a character named Max who will feature prominently in another series. (first chapter of that is included at the end of the Kindle edition. As always, there are a number of recipes also added to the end of the book.

I do like the core characters of this book but some of the subplots seemed to have obvious resolutions. The murder(s) was more interesting but I wasn't overly surprised at the reveal.

Overall, this was a quick and entertaining read.

[Deborah Almada · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fun read! There is a lot going on on Cranberry Island, an eccentric multimillionaire is renting the whole top of the Inn while a team he is financing is looking for a lost German U-boat, Charlene's neice is missing, Gwen, Natalie's neice is very sick, and then the body of a young woman who went missing 20 years ago, shows up next to the missing U-boat. We all know that Natalie and company are going to get involved with all of it.

I love visiting with these characters, I love the whole atmosphere of the Inn, the change of seasons, the colors, the food, the coast of Maine and of course several really intriguing mysteries. If that wasn't enough, we get a lovely preview of author McInerney's new series.

[A Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe Cozy Mysteries are not my thing. 3 stars because the series is kind of addictive despite the repetition. Once you have read one book though you’ve basically read them all. It feels like a formula, reading a Hallmark movie if you will. This is what you encounter over and over in this series. “Oh no someone died”, I better bake something. Oh here comes John, my stomach flipped. Better go clean the rooms, so I can snoop. Someone broke into my house at night and hit me on the head, guess I’ll just touch things and go back to bed. I’ll let the police know later even though I’m a suspect in a murder. Oh there goes the dangerous person I suspect the most, let me follow them. Oh they hit me over the head, hope I survive.

[Kathleen Chrisman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A German U boat is discovered off the shore of Cranberry Island which brings a multimillionaire and his staff to the Inn. While they are looking over the underwater discovery, the body of a missing girl is discovered anchored to the bottom of the ocean floor. Natalie is pulled into the investigation and discovers many people she is close to knew the missing girl.
I have always enjoyed this series and get quickly drawn into the lives of the characters that live on the pages. I look forward to the next book in this series.

[VICTORIA STEWART · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book as I have the whole series. My only issue what that there seemed to be some memory loss. Something would be told or spoken about and a few paragraphs or pages later they didn’t know anything about it. Also, I remember the relationship with Murray and Catherine having already discussed the issue of him seeing another woman in the last book. Even with those issues I still enjoyed the book. Always fun to catch up with the Grey Whale Inn and the residents of Cranberry Island.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cranberry Island is a great place to visit . . .

. . . but there's way too much death taking place there (which, I guess, is a good thing or the Gray Whale Inn series would be kind of dull -- Lol)

There were some internal continuity errors that dragged me out of the book a couple times, keeping a 5-star book to a 4-star rating, but I'm already looking forward to my next visit to Cranberry Island and Gray Whale Inn.

[Val Rheinheimer · Rating 2 out of 5]

So many mistakes! And not much really happened--a lot of repetition of the same information. And the whole storyline about Charlene's niece was ridiculous--no police department would put that much effort into searching for an adult who has just gone off without telling anyone exactly what they were doing. I have always really liked this series but this particular book was not very good. Not sure if I'll read the next one or not.

[Janet · Rating 2 out of 5]

The editing was so awful that it ruined the book for me. The story was okay but I felt like there were too many plot lines, none of which came to a satisfactory end. I felt as if she tried to work a bunch of stories into one book so didn't have time to flesh the plots out. I was on the fence about continuing this series after the last book and have now realized that I just don't care about the characters anymore.

[Barbara Tobey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a charming and delightful series. I would love to be a guest at the Gray Whale Inn. Not all guests are wonderful and can be quite demanding, but are they a murderer? Read this cleverly intertwined cozy mystery to find out. I am eager to start the new series by this author. Thanks to the author for providing a copy for my voluntary review.

[Maureen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another wonderful visit with Natalie at the Gray Whale Inn. I just love the setting of this series and the characters are so realistic and relatable. If I could go to Cranberry Island, I would! Although, maybe not. A lot of people are murdered there. :)

The preview of Karen's new series, set in Snug Harbor ME, was tantalizing. I guess I'll be buying that in June too!

[Mary Byrnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great series

I hope there are more adventures coming from the Gray Whale Inn. I want to hear more about these characters and where their lives are heading.
The chapter included from Karen MacInerney's new series The Seaside Cottage Cozy mysteries had me pre-ordering it without hesitation. Can't wait for its June release.

[Royaleagle0408 · Rating 3 out of 5]

A disappointing book

The series has gone downhill but this book at mistakes that are impossible to ignore. Plot conflicts on the same page and just repeated dialogue. Also a coupon of weak secondary plot lines. One was so incredibly obvious as to be almost insulting and the other was…irrelevant to anything. It all tied up with too nice a bow at the end, though.

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Cozy Mystery

Another great cozy mystery with several twists and turns to keep you guessing. I would love to live on Cranberry Island with Natalie as my friend...not only for the great recipes but she’s always there to lend a hand to her friends!

[Lisa Adkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Murder, mayhem and lost love

My heart swells with love everytime I get to read about the lives of these beloved characters. The plots, the twist and turns to keep me guessing and coming back for more

[Janet Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

such fun as usual.

I chose five because I love, not just like, her work. I have recently had surgery. Getting as comfortable as possible ,and reading for a couple of hours helps me ignore the pain.

[Jennifer George · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another wonderful installment set st the Gray Whale zinn

I love all the books in this series. All the main characters are like old family friends.
Natalie is always willing to help out her family and friends. And an added bonus are the recipes at the end of the book.

[Kathleen Esche · Rating 4 out of 5]

Multidimensional Book

This is not just a mystery. There is a historical dimension, a food dimension, and a wonderful family dimension. I enjoy how they all work together to make a great book.

[Manda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. Not terrible but…it was lacking. The dialog seemed forced and often repeated. Sometimes characters forgot the information they already knew. Felt like the end of the series and that the write was just done.

[Katy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though a fun and quick read, I found that there were instances that it seemed the story repeated itself (like a conversation with Max and Ellie seemed to happen twice in back to back chapters). It was a good story, and I'm always happy to follow the characters in the island.

[Marianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful read, a nice respite from more serious stuff. The setting, Cranberry Island in Maine, is lovely, the mystery is fun and the food (recipes included) is fabulous!

[Niki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another great read in the Gray Whale Inn Series, it was so nice to spend some time on Cranberry Island again. Loved the recipes as well.

[Heidi Prockish · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good!! I hope that there are more to this series and I am really looking forward to her new series this summer!!