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Isle of Man #22
Aunt Bessie Volunteers
Aunt Bessie volunteers to help Manx National Heritage clear out years of accumulated rubbish at Peel Castle.
Elizabeth Cubbon has been known as Aunt Bessie for most of her life. She’s acted as an honourary aunt to most of the children who’ve grown up in Laxey over the past fifty years or more. She’s also well known for being a helpful volunteer with Manx National Heritage, the group charged with preserving and publicising the island’s rich history.
Aunt Bessie volunteers to take a quick look.
When Mark finds what looks like a skeleton in one of small towers in the castle walls, Bessie reluctantly takes a peek. A quick call to the police has Inspector Anna Lambert on the scene a short while later.
Aunt Bessie volunteers to help the police work out the identity of the skeleton.
Bessie knows people all over the island. It doesn’t take her long to compile a list of women who left the island at the right time and never returned. Now the police just have to work out which woman never got any farther than St. Patrick’s Isle, the tiny island where Peel Castle sits.
Bessie and the police need to work out the identity of their skeleton, but that isn’t all. They also want to know how she died and how her body ended up at Peel Castle. Equally puzzling is how it managed to remain undiscovered for over thirty years.
Elizabeth Cubbon has been known as Aunt Bessie for most of her life. She’s acted as an honourary aunt to most of the children who’ve grown up in Laxey over the past fifty years or more. She’s also well known for being a helpful volunteer with Manx National Heritage, the group charged with preserving and publicising the island’s rich history.
Aunt Bessie volunteers to take a quick look.
When Mark finds what looks like a skeleton in one of small towers in the castle walls, Bessie reluctantly takes a peek. A quick call to the police has Inspector Anna Lambert on the scene a short while later.
Aunt Bessie volunteers to help the police work out the identity of the skeleton.
Bessie knows people all over the island. It doesn’t take her long to compile a list of women who left the island at the right time and never returned. Now the police just have to work out which woman never got any farther than St. Patrick’s Isle, the tiny island where Peel Castle sits.
Bessie and the police need to work out the identity of their skeleton, but that isn’t all. They also want to know how she died and how her body ended up at Peel Castle. Equally puzzling is how it managed to remain undiscovered for over thirty years.
238 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 19, 2019
315 people are currently reading
74 people want to read
About the author
Diana Xarissa
230 books264 followersDiana started self-publishing in 2013 and over a decade later she now has over a hundred books available for readers. Writing remains her passion and she has no plans to stop writing in the foreseeable future.
Diana grew up in Erie, Pennsylvania, and earned a history degree from Allegheny College. She met her husband, an Englishman, while living and working in Washington, DC. Following their marriage, she moved to Derbyshire. A short while later, the happy couple moved to the Isle of Man.
During their years on the island, Diana and her husband welcomed two children, and Diana completed a master’s degree in the history of the island. In 2008, the family made the decision to move to the US. Now empty-nesters, Diana and her husband are living in the suburbs of Buffalo, New York, and contemplating moving somewhere that doesn’t get snow.
Diana also writes mystery/thrillers set in the not-too-distant future as Diana X. Dunn and Young Adult fiction as D.X. Dunn.
Diana grew up in Erie, Pennsylvania, and earned a history degree from Allegheny College. She met her husband, an Englishman, while living and working in Washington, DC. Following their marriage, she moved to Derbyshire. A short while later, the happy couple moved to the Isle of Man.
During their years on the island, Diana and her husband welcomed two children, and Diana completed a master’s degree in the history of the island. In 2008, the family made the decision to move to the US. Now empty-nesters, Diana and her husband are living in the suburbs of Buffalo, New York, and contemplating moving somewhere that doesn’t get snow.
Diana also writes mystery/thrillers set in the not-too-distant future as Diana X. Dunn and Young Adult fiction as D.X. Dunn.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
March 23, 2020
This may be the best book in the series. It's not the happiest book but it's filled with what makes this series so good: a cast of believable characters you can understand and care about. In this entry, we see our friends go through some difficult times. Drawing upon the history we developed as a result of reading the books that preceded this one, the reader cannot help but become emotionally involved in the events surrounding our fictional friends.
Diana Xarissa's greatest strength as a writer is how she can create a warm and inviting setting populated with realistic characters the reader can identify with and with whom they can empathize. I realize the Aunt Bessie series is not great literature. But, does it have to0 be? The series is characterized as cozy mysteries. They do fit that description. However, they also bring a sense of comfort and calm to this reader. I have now read twenty-two Aunt Bessie books and have started the twenty-third. I cannot complain that I am intellectually wasting my time by reading light fiction. The reason is because these books do actually provide me with reading stimulation every bit as important as being intellectually challenged.
As I write this review the world is being ravaged by COVID-19. Here in the United States there are large cities that are on lockdown in an attempt to contain the virus. People are being asked to shelter in place. While reading Aunt Bessie Volunteers I was able to eliminate the anxiety I feel because of outside situations. I was able to enter a world populated with kind people who cared about one another, who help one another and who have problems of their own. The books are not feel good fairy tales. They deal with life and death issues just like we do in the real world. What makes these books work so well for me is how Xarissa maintains a sense of connection and hope between the characters that live on this island. The characters may live on an island but they are not islands unto themselves. This really comforts me for, if we are honest, society has a very self isolating aspect about it what with our Netflix binge watching, our video games and our political divisions. Xarissa instinctively understands that no man is an island. The ironic part of it is that these characters do actually live on an island.
I highly recommend Aunt Bessie Volunteers to those readers who enjoy gentleness in their reading. I also recommend the Aunt Bessie series of books based upon that same aspect. No, you may not leave the series with a greatly enlightened mind. But, your heart will be enlarged from the kindness and sense of connection Diana Xarissa infuses in her stories.
Diana Xarissa's greatest strength as a writer is how she can create a warm and inviting setting populated with realistic characters the reader can identify with and with whom they can empathize. I realize the Aunt Bessie series is not great literature. But, does it have to0 be? The series is characterized as cozy mysteries. They do fit that description. However, they also bring a sense of comfort and calm to this reader. I have now read twenty-two Aunt Bessie books and have started the twenty-third. I cannot complain that I am intellectually wasting my time by reading light fiction. The reason is because these books do actually provide me with reading stimulation every bit as important as being intellectually challenged.
As I write this review the world is being ravaged by COVID-19. Here in the United States there are large cities that are on lockdown in an attempt to contain the virus. People are being asked to shelter in place. While reading Aunt Bessie Volunteers I was able to eliminate the anxiety I feel because of outside situations. I was able to enter a world populated with kind people who cared about one another, who help one another and who have problems of their own. The books are not feel good fairy tales. They deal with life and death issues just like we do in the real world. What makes these books work so well for me is how Xarissa maintains a sense of connection and hope between the characters that live on this island. The characters may live on an island but they are not islands unto themselves. This really comforts me for, if we are honest, society has a very self isolating aspect about it what with our Netflix binge watching, our video games and our political divisions. Xarissa instinctively understands that no man is an island. The ironic part of it is that these characters do actually live on an island.
I highly recommend Aunt Bessie Volunteers to those readers who enjoy gentleness in their reading. I also recommend the Aunt Bessie series of books based upon that same aspect. No, you may not leave the series with a greatly enlightened mind. But, your heart will be enlarged from the kindness and sense of connection Diana Xarissa infuses in her stories.
January 2, 2020
Would have scored higher for this truly good cozy mystery that is otherwise spoilt by the consistent not so mysterious rehashing of character information already presented in previous books of the Aunt Bessie series. Readers are encouraged (by the author) to read the series in sequence but are consistently treated as if this had not occurred. There is however some growth with the characters as the series progresses which adds an interesting thread. Not so certain about the very thin paralleling of another story within the story of Aunt Bessie’s own (might have been) life story.
June 30, 2020
Set on the Isle of Man, when a skeleton is found in a tiny tower at Castle Peel, Inspector Anna Lambert is called in to investigate. Nobody likes Anna very much, but when the bones are discovered to be female and date from about thirty years ago, she is smart enough to ask Aunt Bessie help her come up with a list to try to narrow down the identification. Most of the book consists of tracking down the stories of these women and various reasons for leaving or staying on the island. As a mystery, rather flat.
June 7, 2020
An unexplained, very cold case, Inspector Lambert showing a human side, an ongoing mystery about John's ex-wife's illness in Africa where she is with her second husband unsettling his relationship with Doona, Hugh and Grace learning parenthood...
All in all a really good read as Aunt Bessie wishes she hadn't agreed to volunteer for this particular job, but does her best to think back and help identify the sad remains.
All in all a really good read as Aunt Bessie wishes she hadn't agreed to volunteer for this particular job, but does her best to think back and help identify the sad remains.
October 29, 2024
When Aunt Bessie volunteered to help Manx National Heritage to sort out things stored in Peel Castle, she wasn’t expecting one of the team to find a skeleton. Bessie is asked by police to help identify the person who died years previously, and uses her listening and friendship skills to unearth the mystery.
In the background, various friends help, but also experience some distressing life events.
Another very interesting visit to the Isle of Man.
In the background, various friends help, but also experience some distressing life events.
Another very interesting visit to the Isle of Man.
July 28, 2021
Sad Sad
This book was the saddest one yet. Unhappy lives and mothers who die. I love the Aunt Bessie series but this one made me sad and cry. I had figured out the ending but it still was sad to read it. Ms. Xarissa, you have done it again. Great read. I suspect there will be another murder most foul, and can’t wait to read.
This book was the saddest one yet. Unhappy lives and mothers who die. I love the Aunt Bessie series but this one made me sad and cry. I had figured out the ending but it still was sad to read it. Ms. Xarissa, you have done it again. Great read. I suspect there will be another murder most foul, and can’t wait to read.
March 3, 2023
Aunt Bessie
Aunt Bessie agrees to help Mark from Manx National Heritage when they go thru storage rooms at Peel Castle. When Mark discovers a skeleton, Aunt Bessie works with Constable Anna Lambert to discover who the skeleton is. Also, John's ex wife Sue is sick in Africa and at the end of this book she dies. Another great addition to the series.
Aunt Bessie agrees to help Mark from Manx National Heritage when they go thru storage rooms at Peel Castle. When Mark discovers a skeleton, Aunt Bessie works with Constable Anna Lambert to discover who the skeleton is. Also, John's ex wife Sue is sick in Africa and at the end of this book she dies. Another great addition to the series.
May 20, 2020
This is the best of the series so far. Some stories left this reader wanting more, but this story was deep, cogent and well worth the time.
February 18, 2022
Fun with Aunt Bessie
As usual, this story was intriguing with a fair bit if humor added. I had to laugh at some of the constabulary personnel. It was great! A must read for sure.
As usual, this story was intriguing with a fair bit if humor added. I had to laugh at some of the constabulary personnel. It was great! A must read for sure.
March 10, 2023
Questions
This was a very different Aunt Bessie book. I loved the involvement of the many different characters. Emotions ran high inthis book
This was a very different Aunt Bessie book. I loved the involvement of the many different characters. Emotions ran high inthis book
November 11, 2023
Another very enjoyable mystery featuring Aunt Bessie. This one was very difficult to guess, and I liked it very much.
November 13, 2023
This is book #22 of 26. These are the prequel set of books to the ones with the ghost of Aunt Bessie
December 27, 2019
Another fun read.
Aunt Bessie is getting tired of being involved in these murders! 😆 Anyways, this one is a bit slow but still entertaining.
Aunt Bessie is getting tired of being involved in these murders! 😆 Anyways, this one is a bit slow but still entertaining.
September 24, 2019
Another awesome Aunt Bessie read!
The latest entry in the Aunt Bessie mystery series set on the Isle of Man continues in the same outstanding tradition as Diana Xarissa’s other cozy mysteries. A skeleton found in a forgotten castle tower building sparks a puzzling mystery for Aunt Bessie and her police cohorts and friends. Who was the woman? Why did no one miss her? A satisfying conclusion also ties up a continuing problem from previous books.
The latest entry in the Aunt Bessie mystery series set on the Isle of Man continues in the same outstanding tradition as Diana Xarissa’s other cozy mysteries. A skeleton found in a forgotten castle tower building sparks a puzzling mystery for Aunt Bessie and her police cohorts and friends. Who was the woman? Why did no one miss her? A satisfying conclusion also ties up a continuing problem from previous books.
September 26, 2019
What is in Peel Castle Tower?
Another good read from Diana Xarissa. Aunt Bessie seems to be at the wrong place at the right time when a co-worker finds a skeleton at Peel Castle. Who could this be? How long has this skeleton been here? Is it male or female? Come along for the figuring and final answer as Aunt Bessie helps unravel a tale of several people that would make a good story by themselves.
Another good read from Diana Xarissa. Aunt Bessie seems to be at the wrong place at the right time when a co-worker finds a skeleton at Peel Castle. Who could this be? How long has this skeleton been here? Is it male or female? Come along for the figuring and final answer as Aunt Bessie helps unravel a tale of several people that would make a good story by themselves.
November 12, 2019
loved the visit with Aunt Bessie, can't wait to see what happens in the next book...
September 27, 2019
99 percent wonderful!
I love these books, Aunt Bessie, and all about the Isle. In this one, the only disappointing thing was the chance meeting at the end. Felt like a bit of a cheat. But that won't keep me from ordering the next one as soon as it releases. Will he devastated when the series ends.
I love these books, Aunt Bessie, and all about the Isle. In this one, the only disappointing thing was the chance meeting at the end. Felt like a bit of a cheat. But that won't keep me from ordering the next one as soon as it releases. Will he devastated when the series ends.
October 17, 2019
Another Winner
Another wonderful mystery as Bessie and a small group of Manx National Heritage employees cleaning out the detritus of years of extra “stuff” in the outbuildings of Peel Castle find a skeleton! Who can it be and how and when did the person find themselves locked in the tower wall?
Another wonderful mystery as Bessie and a small group of Manx National Heritage employees cleaning out the detritus of years of extra “stuff” in the outbuildings of Peel Castle find a skeleton! Who can it be and how and when did the person find themselves locked in the tower wall?
September 24, 2019
One of the best
This certainly was one of the better Aunt Bessie stories. Though I've enjoyed nearly every one of them, I found the last few books very superficial and not up to the quality of the previous books. This one was worthy of reading and reflection.
This certainly was one of the better Aunt Bessie stories. Though I've enjoyed nearly every one of them, I found the last few books very superficial and not up to the quality of the previous books. This one was worthy of reading and reflection.
September 27, 2019
Another great read!
Diana xariss a never dissapoints! Having grown up with great grandmothers and great aunts in the 1950s I can totally relate to Aunt Bessie . Can not wait for the next installment.
Diana xariss a never dissapoints! Having grown up with great grandmothers and great aunts in the 1950s I can totally relate to Aunt Bessie . Can not wait for the next installment.
September 22, 2019
Another great read.
I liked the insertion of Anna Lambert to the group. It allowed for a different dynamic. It is a book with many sad stories. I kept getting weepy.
I liked the insertion of Anna Lambert to the group. It allowed for a different dynamic. It is a book with many sad stories. I kept getting weepy.
September 24, 2019
Great read
This was different from the other books in this series, but still enjoyable. I'm curious to see where the relationship between Diana and John to from here. 😁
This was different from the other books in this series, but still enjoyable. I'm curious to see where the relationship between Diana and John to from here. 😁
October 1, 2019
Sadness around every corner.
Well crafted and well written as usual. This is a moving addition to the Aunt Bessie collection. I loved it.
Well crafted and well written as usual. This is a moving addition to the Aunt Bessie collection. I loved it.
Read
October 1, 2019I have loved all the Aunt Bessie books, I don't want the series to end!
October 25, 2019
Loved it !!
A bit sad in places more than we're used to but once again a cracking good read from Diana. Well done!
A bit sad in places more than we're used to but once again a cracking good read from Diana. Well done!
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews