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Isle of Man Ghostly Cozy #19
Secrets and Suspects
After finding a skeleton while visiting the properties that she’d inherited from her aunt, Mona Kelly, Fenella Woods is only a bit worried about what she might find when she visits the safe deposit boxes that Mona had in banks around the Isle of Man. Having said that, she’s still shocked when she walks into one of the banks just as a body is found in one of the vaults.
Nigel Corlett was the bank’s manager, but no one can explain how he’d ended up dead inside a time-locked vault. There is no shortage of suspects, as it becomes clear that Nigel was involved with many different women, some of whom seem to have been a bit obsessed with the handsome man.
Can Fenella help the police work out how Nigel got into the vault after hours? Can they work out exactly how many women he was actually seeing? And can Fenella persuade the owners of the Seaview in Ramsey to let her best friend, Shelly, have her wedding reception there when they’re supposed to be closed for the season?
Nigel Corlett was the bank’s manager, but no one can explain how he’d ended up dead inside a time-locked vault. There is no shortage of suspects, as it becomes clear that Nigel was involved with many different women, some of whom seem to have been a bit obsessed with the handsome man.
Can Fenella help the police work out how Nigel got into the vault after hours? Can they work out exactly how many women he was actually seeing? And can Fenella persuade the owners of the Seaview in Ramsey to let her best friend, Shelly, have her wedding reception there when they’re supposed to be closed for the season?
234 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 11, 2021
214 people are currently reading
23 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 - 16 of 16 reviews
October 11, 2021
I do love this series, I get excited whenever I see a new one has come out.
Fenella (is it wrong I call her Aunt Fenny in my head? I don't know why, she seems like a young Aunt Fanny (you know, one of those elderly aunts everyone has that is prim and proper and frowns when she sees someone acting in a way that isn't prim and proper?) Aunt Fenny is like that, only a little less dripping in disapproval.) Anyway, Aunt Fenny visits several banks to inventory all of the jewelry Mona stashed away in safety deposit boxes. When they visit the last bank in Ramsey, an employee discovers a dead body in one of the vaults, a man named Nigel who was the manager at the bank. Caught up in yet another murder investigation, Fenella does her part by running into suspects everywhere (well, it is a small island and she's the richest person there, so....) and divulging the secrets told to her to fiance Daniel, a police inspector. This one had quite a few suspects, as apparently Nigel liked to chase skirts. While there were a lot of suspects, I don't think I evr suspected them as the murderer. So when the ending came around (a few reviewers have commented that the ending was a bit abrupt, and I can see why that would be a sticking point) it was then the motive was revealed. I actually liked how it all unfolded, it felt very natural and realistic, at least as far as cozy mysteries go.
Another great entry into one of my favorite series, and I can't wait for the next book.
Fenella (is it wrong I call her Aunt Fenny in my head? I don't know why, she seems like a young Aunt Fanny (you know, one of those elderly aunts everyone has that is prim and proper and frowns when she sees someone acting in a way that isn't prim and proper?) Aunt Fenny is like that, only a little less dripping in disapproval.) Anyway, Aunt Fenny visits several banks to inventory all of the jewelry Mona stashed away in safety deposit boxes. When they visit the last bank in Ramsey, an employee discovers a dead body in one of the vaults, a man named Nigel who was the manager at the bank. Caught up in yet another murder investigation, Fenella does her part by running into suspects everywhere (well, it is a small island and she's the richest person there, so....) and divulging the secrets told to her to fiance Daniel, a police inspector. This one had quite a few suspects, as apparently Nigel liked to chase skirts. While there were a lot of suspects, I don't think I evr suspected them as the murderer. So when the ending came around (a few reviewers have commented that the ending was a bit abrupt, and I can see why that would be a sticking point) it was then the motive was revealed. I actually liked how it all unfolded, it felt very natural and realistic, at least as far as cozy mysteries go.
Another great entry into one of my favorite series, and I can't wait for the next book.
August 16, 2021
Too many friends.
Darn! We missed out on the fun of the confession with an abrupt ending. But it was a good ending with Daniel and Fenella kissing and Mona fading away!
Darn! We missed out on the fun of the confession with an abrupt ending. But it was a good ending with Daniel and Fenella kissing and Mona fading away!
August 23, 2021
One of the better books of the series although it follows the same persistently consistent template. Fenella extraordinarily (more than any other human being) comes across a body, is therefore embroiled in a murder case which she is told not to become involved with the suspects, but amazingly always happens to not only meet with them but is also able to glean from them information the police cannot. There are also the usual reprises of all the characters and their histories to help boost content volume.
What is different about this book, although a very evident theme throughout the series, is a promotion of the common conception that for Americans a wealthy lifestyle is ultimate, and when you have it, you flaunt it, particularly in the face of those less financial. It is little wonder Daniel has issues with simply accepting that he is an honest worker making the best of what he has.
There is also the very consistent (costly) practice of rarely cooking or eating at home, unless it is of course takeaway (with pizza being predominant).
What is also different about this book, although again a theme that ripples through former books of the series, is the upsurge of supernatural influences.
Even with all the books very predictable template put aside, the book would have earned a higher rating from this reviewer were it not for a (perhaps unintentional) revealing of who the guilty person was midway through the book, and a plethora of contradictions. Fenella does not want (according to the author) extravagant jewelry, but she wants an extravagant lifestyle. Fenella is enamored with a Sapphire ring previously owned by Mona, but “struggles” to wear Daniels’s engagement ring. Fenella encourages the wedding of her best friend but remains reluctant of her own (since it may involve the removal of Mona). A takeaway place is dark enough for the owner to suggest remaining seated lest Fenella trips over something yet can read the menu.
What is different about this book, although a very evident theme throughout the series, is a promotion of the common conception that for Americans a wealthy lifestyle is ultimate, and when you have it, you flaunt it, particularly in the face of those less financial. It is little wonder Daniel has issues with simply accepting that he is an honest worker making the best of what he has.
There is also the very consistent (costly) practice of rarely cooking or eating at home, unless it is of course takeaway (with pizza being predominant).
What is also different about this book, although again a theme that ripples through former books of the series, is the upsurge of supernatural influences.
Even with all the books very predictable template put aside, the book would have earned a higher rating from this reviewer were it not for a (perhaps unintentional) revealing of who the guilty person was midway through the book, and a plethora of contradictions. Fenella does not want (according to the author) extravagant jewelry, but she wants an extravagant lifestyle. Fenella is enamored with a Sapphire ring previously owned by Mona, but “struggles” to wear Daniels’s engagement ring. Fenella encourages the wedding of her best friend but remains reluctant of her own (since it may involve the removal of Mona). A takeaway place is dark enough for the owner to suggest remaining seated lest Fenella trips over something yet can read the menu.
August 15, 2021
Diana Xarissa is on top form here. Fenella just happens to be in the branch of a bank when a body in uncovered in an impossible 'locked-door' scenario inside a locked bank vault.
Being one of those people that other people choose to talk to, Fenella soon learns a lot more about the victim's private life that either her fiancé, Inspector Daniel Robinson, or his colleague do in the official investigation. She also begins to suspect that Aunt Mona (deceased) might sometimes have something to do with the way Fenella seems to bump into witnesses more than sheer chance might suggest...
We have at least half a dozen people who might have a motive to commit the murder and in the very end I almost felt sorry for the one who did.
Being one of those people that other people choose to talk to, Fenella soon learns a lot more about the victim's private life that either her fiancé, Inspector Daniel Robinson, or his colleague do in the official investigation. She also begins to suspect that Aunt Mona (deceased) might sometimes have something to do with the way Fenella seems to bump into witnesses more than sheer chance might suggest...
We have at least half a dozen people who might have a motive to commit the murder and in the very end I almost felt sorry for the one who did.
May 24, 2021
The body of bank manager Nigel Corlett is discovered when the bank's second vault is opened. Security footage shows him leaving the premises the previous afternoon, but not coming back. So HOW did Nigel get into the vault after hours, and WHO killed him?
There are numerous suspects: several women whom Nigel had been dating, and co-workers who were jealous of Nigel's promotion. As usual, Fenella and the ghost of Aunt Mona get involved in the mystery, even though Inspector Daniel Robinson, Fenella's fiancee, warns her to stay away from the witnesses / possible suspects.
There are numerous suspects: several women whom Nigel had been dating, and co-workers who were jealous of Nigel's promotion. As usual, Fenella and the ghost of Aunt Mona get involved in the mystery, even though Inspector Daniel Robinson, Fenella's fiancee, warns her to stay away from the witnesses / possible suspects.
August 17, 2021
Wonderful
These books are wonderful as are the other series of books by Diana. Fennella gets caught up in another murder. She has been visiting banks with Doncon her Advocate looking at and doing an inventory on the jewellery that her aunt Mona left to her. They arrive at the last bank and find the manager dead in the vault. Fennella is also helping plan her best friends wedding and keeps getting pulled in to help investigate the murder. Madness and mayhem. I can't wait to read the next book.
These books are wonderful as are the other series of books by Diana. Fennella gets caught up in another murder. She has been visiting banks with Doncon her Advocate looking at and doing an inventory on the jewellery that her aunt Mona left to her. They arrive at the last bank and find the manager dead in the vault. Fennella is also helping plan her best friends wedding and keeps getting pulled in to help investigate the murder. Madness and mayhem. I can't wait to read the next book.
August 22, 2021
Very Similar to all the others
I realize that there cannot always be a festival and Fenella can’t always be in Holiday but this book was only interesting in the very beginning. The rest was like eating the same thing over and over. Shelly no longer seems like a fun or adventurous person to be around. She seems rather whiny in the last two books. I did enjoy the book but I felt it lacked any excitement after the first couple of chapters.
I realize that there cannot always be a festival and Fenella can’t always be in Holiday but this book was only interesting in the very beginning. The rest was like eating the same thing over and over. Shelly no longer seems like a fun or adventurous person to be around. She seems rather whiny in the last two books. I did enjoy the book but I felt it lacked any excitement after the first couple of chapters.
August 18, 2021
enjoyed the book...
August 23, 2021
This was one of my favorites because the author added more time with Mona and for me that’s what the ghostly cozy needs. Thank you Diana Xarissa.
August 25, 2021
Sad Ending
I enjoyed this novel so much.
It’s good to read another well written mystery by Diana.
A surprise ending, again, which I did not expect.
Can’t wait for the next book
I enjoyed this novel so much.
It’s good to read another well written mystery by Diana.
A surprise ending, again, which I did not expect.
Can’t wait for the next book
September 23, 2021
Such a great series, love those 2 together
October 7, 2021
Excellent
Fenella again becomes involved with another Isle of Man mystery.
I loved this book which is a very quick read, and I highly recommend it.
Fenella again becomes involved with another Isle of Man mystery.
I loved this book which is a very quick read, and I highly recommend it.
October 9, 2021
Fun and a good mystery.
May 7, 2022
Murder at the bank
LOL funny moments, especially Fenella's encounter with the reporter. I love the interactions of the characters, and Mona is something else.
LOL funny moments, especially Fenella's encounter with the reporter. I love the interactions of the characters, and Mona is something else.
September 4, 2024
Never so sorry to be close to the end of the alphabet. Wonder if she could start an Isle of Man numbered series? This time the investigation centers on the theatre and the lies that bind.
December 18, 2021
Another excellent mystery from Diana Xarissa! I love these Isle of Man Ghostly Cosy mysteries, but I did find that this one had some typos and errors which I presume came from too big a rush to pulication. Looking forward to number 20!
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews