A Commission on Murder: An Eastern Shore Mystery

Eastern Shore Mysteries #2

by Cheril Thomas

The old farmhouse on Little Wye Creek is creepy enough to be a murder scene, and there's even a dead man on the lawn, but Grace Reagan hopes the infamous Garret Bishop is just pulling another lame publicity stunt. Wealthy, eccentric Bishop has 'survived' an avalanche, a hijacking, and a kidnapping plot. Did he die for real this time in a tragic accident, or was he helped along to his last headline? Bishop's death shocks everyone, especially Grace, who's so close to escaping the village of Mallard Bay she can nearly taste the lime in a Key West daiquiri. She has a few things to do before she goes, though, and selling the old Morgan farm is on the list. Even though the purchase contract in Bishop's coat pocket has a bullet hole in it, Grace isn't giving up. She's leaving Mallard Bay for good, and nothing's going to stop her, not even a murder. A COMMISSION ON MURDER is the exciting sequel to SQUATTER'S RIGHTS. Come back to Mallard Bay, the village where history and gossip live hand in hand. Everyone can find something to their liking in the little town on the eastern side of the Chesapeake Bay. Sailing, fishing, antiquing and great food draw visitors down to the Eastern Shore where the occasional murder will also keep them entertained. Reviews for SQUATTER'S “When the heroine buys a crumbling family house in a small Eastern Shore town, she also buys a lot more trouble than she bargained for, from the police, the locals and her own, estranged and angry family. It kept me turning pages right up to the end… a great beach read.” – Helen Chappell, author of THE OYSTERBACK TALES, CHESAPEAKE BOOK OF THE DEAD and the Hollis Ball and Sam Westcott mystery series. Cheril Thomas is the author of the Eastern Shore Mysteries series. SQUATTER'S RIGHTS and A COMMISSION ON MURDER will be followed by DEAD RIGHT THERE, which is scheduled for release in early 2019. She is also the co-author of a mystery novel, WHISPERS, and is a published short fiction author. Cheril lives on the Eastern Shore of Maryland with her husband and a shaggy black dog. You can find her www.CherilThomas.com and www.facebook.com/cherilthomasauthor

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Amazon, Crime, Audiobook

266 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 1, 2020

About the author

Cheril Thomas is the author of the Eastern Shore Mysteries series. She is also the co-author of a mystery novel, Whispers, and is a published short fiction author. When she's not writing at home in Easton, Maryland, she's traveling with her long-suffering husband, an otherwise brilliant soul who doesn't seem to mind being married to a woman who researches methods of murder. Together, they live to serve Gracie the Wonder Dog, a too-smart-for-her-own-good shaggy black Goldendoodle.

Reviews

[Foxy Vixen · Rating 4 out of 5]

2nd book in this series
So, Grace is trying to make peace as manager of the law office.
We start off with a murder, that is pointing to a supposedly Real Estate deal.
Do I need to say more about how crazy this is going to get? Crazy.
Leo is worming his way into Grace’s life, will he end up staying and how about her long lost DC love, David?

[Heart DeCoupeville · Rating 2 out of 5]

Acquired Kindle edition when offered free on Amazon.

This is one of those books that hovers between a 2.5 and a 3.0, but rounding down to 2.0 wasn't difficult, and primarily for one reason:

Grace Reagan lost all her backbone and therefore all her appeal as a main character. Everything about her that I liked in Squatter's Rights was gone. So much gone that this book wasn't even really about her; it was about all the worthless idiots she let walk all over her. None of the questions about Grace that were raised in Squatter's Rights were even mentioned.

A Commission on Murder starts roughly nine months after the end of Squatter's Rights, so you'd think Grace would have made some effort to seek answers, but apparently not. Why not? Oh, that isn't explained either.

Worst of all, absolute worst of all, It would have been different if she had had a good reason to do that, but surely after a dozen years on the job in DC she had to have other resources to resolve the situation. Granted, she put up some resistance, but when push came to shove, she caved. Blech.

I loved the character of Cyrus Mosley in the first book; now he's just a caricature, a cartoon. Cousin Niki offered a solution to Grace's pressing problem with Delaney House, but Grace never followed up on it. I understood from the beginning that that was going to establish a complication to the plot, but if I saw it, then Grace should have seen it.

There weren't many typos, but more than in the first book. And this time I wasn't going to give author Thomas a pass on misuse of fiancé/fiancée or stationary/stationery. While neither was enough to really impact a rating, they didn't boost it either. Once an author shows they don't understand an issue, I as a reader begin to lose trust that they know what they're writing about on other issues.

The only reason I finished this was to make sure nothing happened to Cyrus.. I doubt I'll read any further in the series.

2.5 rounded down to 2.0.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Once again a really complicated plot .... lots of characters, and yet, many of them didn't really have much to do with anything. For me, usually, by the second in the series, there are at least a handful of characters that I can say, "oh yeah, I remember them" so you don't feel like you're coming into it cold. But, in this case, I read a couple of chapters and had to go back to my review of book one to try to remind myself what the situation was. There was that much of a disconnect. And it's not like it had been years -- only about 4 months.

Of course, a complicated plot isn't necessarily bad, but, in this case, there just seemed to be too many details to keep a firm handle on which threads are most important. It starts with Grace, the main character, finding a dead body -- an outsider who was interested in making an offer on the property where he was found. There are ample suspects: two other bidders and the man's family. But there's very little in the way of investigation.

We do learn, however about how it's going moving the real estate/legal office Grace has been managing for aging and ailing Cyrus. Including money problems -- she repeatedly shares that they need money so she takes on clients she's not sure she should. All of whom end up somehow connected to the dead guy. Oh and at least one she refers to he ex back in DC. Which of course gives him a toehold back into her life and she doesn't seem to be able to remember why she broke up with him in the first place. Not to mention her lying aunt who she is more-or-less forced to employ.

I guess, in the end, I was exasperated with her. For a presumably smart person, she wasn't acting very smart, either as regards her love life or in paying attention to what's going on around her and realizing the whole situation. I didn't really like her much so it was hard to be on her side -- when she walks into an obvious trap getting hit on the head was pretty much a given. So, not quite TSTL, but close. Very much undecided as to whether to give it one more chance with book 3.

[Julie Angstadt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great story about the Eastern Shore

Enjoyed this murder mystery about Grace, and her crazy Delaney family. She's living in Delaney House, trying to sell the restored house, and helping Clayton Mosely with his law practice when a protection purchaser of another property is murdered. Can Grace figure out who killed Mr. Hudson? There are several suspects. Great read and hard to put down.

[Tamara Rickman · Rating 5 out of 5]

getting better and better

Devoured this installment in a day and a half and foraging for the next book now. A delightful continuing saga of dysfunctional family on the Eastern Shore of Maryland with mystery and intrigue. It’s all close to my home on the western shore of Maryland so when I’m done with the series, I’ll be taking a road trip to see the locations again.

[Doug · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read, good characters. I like everyone. Grace Regan now lives in Delancey House, and is working to sell it. She is working for Cyrus Mosley. This time Garret Bishop is murdered as he goes to buy a large plot of land that Grace is handling.

[Susan Fish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good mystery

This book kept my interest all the way. Many plots are the usual finding the murderer. This book had so many twists that one could not figure out the murderer until the end. To use the cliche, it is a real page turner.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second book of hers that I have read. I will be back for more. I really enjoy these Eastern Shore mysteries, especially living just south of Baltimore.
If you enjoy a good mystery without a lot of bloody gore, you will enjoy this series.

[Mary Sue Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very Good

Ms. Thomas wrote a sequel that is as good as the first book in this series. I really like Grace Reagan and her crazy relatives. This well written "who done it" keeps the reader's attention focused.

[Susan Simpson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the second installment of this Eastern Shore Series. The story moved very quickly, and it was great learning more about the characters. I liked the author's style and descriptions. I was kept in suspense until the very end! I highly recommend this book to all mystery fans.

[Nan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Poorly, poorly edited for Kindle.

[Hazel Friday · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story was pretty goid but made her rather stupid at the end

[Lisa Shower · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story

But lacking something the first one had. I am in sure what is missing, just know this book was very predictable.

[Cherry Donaldson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slow

This second book was a little slow during the last part of the story.
But it was still pretty good story.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grace triumphs again

Who knew a beautiful resort town had so much intrigue. Of course it all seems to have arrived with Grace.

[Helen Fleischer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Maryland family even more dysfunctional than my own.

[Nancy Walls]

Love the locationsetting

These aren't bad books
Cute short read
Helps you forget.about stuff for a while
Definitely worth a read especially because of location

[Sharon Neuwiller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eastern Shore Awesome!

Enjoy reading about the area I have grown up in and familiar with places that are written about. 100% greatness

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great series

Fun who done it! Love how the characters evolve and become more entangled with each other. Love the writing and this series.

[Jodie Wood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Keeps you guessing!

Twists & Turns keeps you guessing with Delaney Family Drama.

I'm looking forward reading to the next book in the series.

[Bonnie King · Rating 2 out of 5]

meh. lots of typos

[Kelcey Hereau · Rating 5 out of 5]

great read for any Marylander

Intriguing book and great to read about a place I know so well- Wye River and the Eastern Shore of Maryland.

[Diana L. Wells · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although this is part of a series the books can be read as stand alone novel. The characters are intriguing and quirky, the situations are complicated, sometimes ridiculous and other times fraught with danger. All in all an entertaining read.