The Key to Murder

Old Maids of Mercer Island #5

by Lynn Bohart

When an old family friend dies on Julia Applegate’s doorstep, Julia realizes her brother Ben’s hunt for Jack the Ripper has come too close to home.

When Carter Davis dies on her doorstep, she notifies her brother Ben who is in London researching Jack the Ripper. Little does she know that Ben is not in London but at Carter’s home searching for a key he left with Carter for safekeeping. What ensues is a complex deep dive into a century-old secret society called The Electi, whose members are also looking for the key and will kill anyone who gets in their way. When Julia and the girls risk their lives to infiltrate The Electi and catch Carter’s killer, they might also solve one of history’s greatest mysteries and identify Jack the Ripper.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery

350 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 1, 2022

About the author

Lynn Bohart holds a master’s degree in theater and has taught writing through Green River College for 10+ years. She has self-published ten popular paranormal mystery novels, two short story books, and two nonfiction books on Amazon.com, including the Detective Giorgio Salvatori mystery series and the Old Maids of Mercer Island mystery series. She is currently working on her first YA book following Julia and her brother Ben from the Old Maids books when they were teens. She is also the founder of Lil Dog Communications, a freelance writing and consulting company.

If you like true crime, visit her website at www.lynnbohart-author.com and sign up to receive her newsletter "Let's Talk About Murder" for free where she interviews authors, law enforcement, journalists and forensic technicians to talk about the ultimate crime. She also writes The Murder Brief Blog to explore topics like The Body Farm, The Serial Killer Gene, and more.

Lynn will be a presenter for the Crime/Thriller Summit in October.

Reviews

[Barb · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started this series several years ago because the first book was a Kindle freebie. It caught and held my attention, with great characters, good mysteries and an appealing setting... and none of that has changed as the series has continued.

The main characters are a group of friends "of a certain age" who lived on an island in Washington state. They are an amazing group of woman who have been through thick and thin together and have each other's backs, no matter what. Their strengths work to benefit the group - or the individual who needs help at the time, and I love that. I liked that Julia's brother, Ben, played a significant role in this book, and enjoyed the enthusiasm of 12-year-old Curt, a guest at the inn.

This is a mystery book, so when a dying man shows up in the book's first few pages, it's obvious that his death wasn't from natural causes. At first, there weren't many suspects to consider, but as the investigation continued, a few possibilities arose. I was sure I knew who the guilty party was, but of course, I was wrong. I was mildly surprised when the culprit was revealed, but given the circumstances, it made sense.

There is one more book in this series, which I hope to read before the end of the year. I'll miss the characters, but it will be good to cross a series off my list to balance out all the new series I've added recently.

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great series!

The only negative issue I have with these books is that they cause me to lose sleep because I can’t put them down! I love the mystery, the characters & the settings. Just finished this one & I will be starting the next one NOW!

[Marisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

★★★★☆

[Joy Martinez · Rating 5 out of 5]

great mystery

As usual, the old maids of Mercer Island continue to delight with murder and mayhem. More so if you’re from the Pacific Northwest.