Secret for a Satyr

by Dorothy Bodoin

When Cressa Hannett finds the body of her elderly neighbor, piano teacher Libby Dorset, drowned in her ornate backyard fountain, it's horrible enough. But shortly before she discovered the body, Cressa witnessed a cloaked figure lurking nearby. Did she see Libby's killer? Did the killer see her? The killer has too much at stake to let Cressa expose the truth!

Genres: Mystery

301 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published August 3, 2007

Reviews

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an interesting mystery along with a bit of the supernatural. It was interesting and the characters very real. I did fix the murderer early on in the story, though. The only discordant thing about it was that Cressa Hannet was very fanciful and open to superstition and the supernatural when she had just left a life as a space engineer with a high science degree.

Cressa has returned to Maple Creek, Michigan when her job in Texas as a space engineer ended. She had grown up in Maple Creek. Next door to her small white house is a Victorian with a stone statue in the yard of a satyr. He is in a small pond. Cressa immediately dislikes his evil looks and imagines that he is beckoning people to come closer- for evil purposes. Then she finds her elderly neighbor, Libby Dorset, dead in the pond under the satyr. And suddenly she is involved in the story of a teenaged girl who disappeared in 1975. Are the two murders connected? Is Matt, the guy who has become her friend, a romantic interest or will he prove false? And then there's the handsome town policeman, the only character that isn't too well drawn.

I think this is a single title mystery but I would enjoy a sequel.

[Rabbit {Paint me like one of your 19th century gothic heroines!}]

DNF @ page 100 because I struggle with cozy mysteries.

[George · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little off putting cozy mystery. A woman, Cressa Hannett, in her 30’s returns to her small Michigan hometown, buys a home she remodels in a neighborhood renown for ghosts. Her neighbor dies mysteriously and Cressa experiences a series of mysterious happenings which border on the supernatural along with strong disquieting feelings regarding the neighbor’s water fountain. Her mental state is also all over the place as she adjusts to a new life after her career as an engineer in the space program comes to a sudden end (no explanation) so she is at loose ends and not overly happy with ending that career. She mentions (not exactly enthusiastically) interviewing for teaching positions as a means of establishing continuing financial support without every mentioning the results of at least 5 interviews.

The mysteries to be resolved are: the death of her neighbor which she considers murder which the police have classified as accidental; the many mysterious happenings (girl who appears in her yard and damages her plants as well as a neighbor’s, fleeting sightings of people passing through her and neighbor’s yard as well as appearances in the now empty house and sounds (music, laughter, barking) without sources; and what actually happened to the high school senior who had lived in Cressa’s home some 40 years ago who mysteriously vanishes without a trace.

[Crystal Toller · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Cressa Hannett finds the body of her neighbor drowned in her fountain, she is overwhelmed with sadness. Soon after the murder, Cressa discovers an old scrapbook in her basement that was meant for a former resident of the house she bought. She and a neighbor, Matt Emmerton begin investigating the disappearance of Minta Brandsford to find out what happened to her in 1975. How the two deaths tie in to each other and how Cressa discovers the killer make for a great read.

[Mare · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cressa Hannett moves back to her hometown of Maple Creek, Michigan to regroup after losing out on a job and ending a relationship in Texas. Once home she buys a small house on the street referred to as Victorian Row right next door to Libby Dorset, a piano teacher who lives in a large white Victorian house. Cressa loves her garden and has undertaken the revnovations to the smallest house on the street with slight reservations about the fountain in Libby's backyard. A life-like statue of a satyr stands in the center of the fountain.

On the morning after a celebration party of Libby's student's piano recital Libby is found dead - drowned in the fountain. The neighborhood is in shock, but believes it to be an accident. Cressa feels uneasy about the circumstances.

While cleaning her basement Cressa comes across an old package containing a memory book given to a girl who disappeared decades before Cressa returned to town. She contacts one of her neighbors, a newspaper man, thinking it would make a good human interest story. Then she sees a young girl on the property behind her home who vanishes before Cressa can talk to her.

Eerie things begin to happen to and around Cressa while she labors to find out what happened to the missing girl and Libby Dorsett. She's not satisfied with the answers that she has received and the more she digs the stranger things become.

The gothic feel of this book really kept me reading. Ms. Bodoin's style is engaging and her characters evoke small town personalities to a tee. She brings to life all of the eccentricities of relationships between neighbors in an eloquent and stylish manner.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a bit eerie with their mystery

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this new installment in the Cressa Hannett Mystery series. This is the first book I've read from Dorothy Bodoin. She created an intriguing story that kept me guessing until the end.

Cressa is a very interesting character. She is very intelligent and extremely curious, which could get her into more trouble. Her love interest(s) in this story, Matt and Dalton, are both well written and very endearing. I was leaning more towards one than the other, but I'll let you decide who you like better for yourself.

A quick read that made for an enjoyable afternoon.

[Dgoll · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute little mystery, relaxing read

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an alright mystery, but a bit slow moving.

[Karen Henry · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit slow moving but enjoyable.