When a traveling renaissance faire takes over one of Ravenwood Cove’s farms at harvest time, it brings along more than just colorful jugglers and medieval jousting. As families flock to enjoy the fair food and fun performances, even the corn maze and pumpkin patch can’t hide deadly secrets hidden inside the faire!
I've been writing and making stories in my head as early as I can remember. In third grade I came home, set my lunchbox down, and told my mother I wanted to be a writer. Luckily, Mom was supportive.
I've been a published author for a while now, under different names and genres, but the thought of writing about a small coastal town in Oregon, and about its loves and mysteries and holidays and people has been with me for years. To be honest, I am a bit scared to dump those ideas onto the written page, but hope you'll enjoy getting to meet the people who inhabit my imagination.
In real life, I'm married with kids, live on the West Coast of the US, and own a hobby farm just outside of my favorite small town. I love to travel, and can often be found strolling down a windy Oregon beach, holding onto the string of a high-sailing dragon kite.
The Ravenwood Cove cozy mysteries are light and fun… usually about 150 pages in length, they take two hours to read and always leave you smiling. It's partially about the mystery but it's also following the lives of several prominent citizens… FAIRE, FEAST, and FATALITY, the 13th book in the series by Carolyn L. Dean is no exception. Released a few weeks ago, I try to stay current with this series so I can read the new ones as they are published.
A Renaissance Faire comes to this small, sleepy town in Oregon. Amanda, B&B owner, coordinates the event, but shortly after it arrives, one of the workers is found dead. Which other faire member had something to do with it? Or was there an unknown connection to a Ravenwood Cove citizen? I enjoyed the setting and descriptions. Mrs. Granger, the elderly grandmotherly type, is as fun as always… and James and Amanda's relationship and new daughter are a great complement to this collection. I look forward to more.
This is the 13th book of Carolyn Dean’s Ravenwood Cove cozy mystery series. The plot about a traveling Renaissance Fair coming to town was interesting as I have been to such fairs and this felt like I was getting a look behind the scenes of one. I enjoyed reconnecting with other characters in the series, such as the delightful Mrs. Granger. It was nice to have some relationship development between Amanda and her cousin, Hortense. I hope that continues in the next book in the series.
I fear this series has gone stale since Amanda got married and had a kid. I liked the setting of this one, but the mystery itself fell flat for me. I wish there had been more details about the renaissance faire. We have one annually in a town close by, but I've never been able to get anybody interested enough to go with me. I never felt as if I were actually at the faire along with Amanda. There was almost nothing mentioned about the bed and breakfast itself, and the characters came across as really flat. I generally don't take away a star due to bad proofreading, but the number of typos, wrong word choice, words left out, words out of order made the book difficult to read. I use large font size, and even then there was a mistake at least every other page—sometimes more than one per page. Even the "afterword" was written for the book where Amanda was kidnapped, not this one. That's just downright sloppy. I know it's hard to find one's own typos, but surely the author can find a beta reader to help find them for her.
I have enjoyed this series but this book and # 12 were darker and less about the town and the citizens.
Amazon synopsis: When a traveling renaissance faire takes over one of Ravenwood Cove’s farms at harvest time, it brings along more than just colorful jugglers and medieval jousting. As families flock to enjoy the fair food and fun performances, even the corn maze and pumpkin patch can’t hide deadly secrets hidden inside the faire!
This is a consistent series that is a quick and easy read. The characters are good and the murders are usually a part of the plot but not the entire focus. Also, the fmc doesn't do a lot of investigation, but usually is the one that solves the mystery. She proved she can take care of herself in this one too. It's been mentioned a few times, but there are some editing issues through the book. However, one reviewer stated the Afterword was for the wrong book, but I don't see that.
I have read all the books in this series. I had thought Ms Dean would only be doing 8, so I was surprised and happy to see another one pop up and that I had apparently missed 9, 10, 11, & 12. If this is 13 where are the others?
Also, I don’t mean to be critical but your editing could use some help.
You did it again! So much drama! And an ending that I did not see coming. Please keep up the fabulous work. Writing stories with so much drama and just plain fun. The very ending blew me away! I would never have seen that coming. The killer was a total surprise.
I am officially finished with this series. I don't really like the characters enough to care what happens to them any more. I have been noticing an increase in the wrong words being used many times. I prefer quality over quantity. Fewer books, longer books, more intriguing stories with good editing.
Mrs Granger is , as usual an great part of the story. As it is with small towns and fairs and gatherings, the community is always there for each other. Strangers can sometimes be accepted or very carefully watched. But in a small town your family is everyone you will accept.
Another great one from Carolyn. It's like coming home to friends and family. I am so glad Hortese has finally joined them. On to the next adventure. Start with book one and you will be hooked!
Amanda invites the cast to Ravenwood Cove when their site cancelled their contract. Justine was asleep in Diesel's tent catches fire. Diesel found dead had a snake around his neck but died from hit on head. Amanda has a new mystery to solve.
Once again our author has kept us waiting for an answer. However, it finally came along! This was a very enjoyable reading experience. I'm already looking forward to the next in the series.
The Renn fair has come to town. Unfortunately, death has come with it too. A lot of suspects considering the man who died was not liked at all. Just when I thought I was right on the suspect, I was totally wrong. My favorite part of this story is the ending.