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Jillian Bradley #1
The Ghost Orchid Murder
It's been eight years since gardening columnist Jillian Bradley helped solve a string of murders in Half Moon Bay, but when a friend and colleague finds a young technical assistant dead on the floor of his own office, Jillian doesn't hesitate to answer his plea for help in the investigation. After all, a $2 million research grant depends on it. Together with Detective Jack Noble and Jillian's clue sniffing dog, Teddy, the three are determined to find the killer, even though it means personal sacrifice for Jillian. A classic who-dunit, set in beautiful Scottsdale Arizona at the foot of Camelback Mountain.
371 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 14, 2010
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790 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 107 reviews
December 27, 2012
2 1/2 stars. Well this was one of those cozy mysteries that just did not make sense to me. The murder made sense but I just don't get why the main character got so involved. And I really did not get why the Chief of Police was so accomodating to her. It was just odd. She had no qualifications to do an investigation. She was nice enough but she and her friends were just too nosey for me. They barely knew the deceased. They were not suspects. I just found it all sort of annoying. The dog was cute though.
October 21, 2016
A very sweet read - with a very interesting scenario behind the murders. BUT I found it extremely far fetched beyond believability about how Jillian was allowed, even encouraged to carry out her own investigation in conjunction with the police investigation- then later on when the FBI became involved they shared information with her and let her continue with her investigation.
Despite this, I did like Jillian as a character.
Despite this, I did like Jillian as a character.
April 23, 2022
For what it was, this was quite good.
From the beginning, we have a well-established cast of characters. Even though I can't really connect to middle aged women who frequent garden conventions in lavish hotels in their spare time, there's something about these characters that stands out as relatable just as who they are.
Then there's the whole setting. In a way, this reads kind of like a workplace drama or a locked room mystery with less suspense. I love the fancy Ritz-Carlton setting compared with the murder premise and the way different patrons approach all the happenings.
As an aside, this might also be one of my favorite MC / detective relationships. It's not typical cozy mystery romance, nor is it the blatant ignorance and refusal to work together from either or both sides because of perceived incompetence. Instead, it's a relationship built on trust, where both characters know their place. The police is happily married, and there's never a hint of romance between these two characters. As cozy mysteries go, it's a breath of fresh air.
The mystery itself is quite good as well. It doesn't exactly have a lot of red herrings, but is more subtle in the way the murder is solved and in all the clues that come together from different sources. It's not an easy one if you like to play along in mystery novels. Normally, I'm not a huge fan of cozy mysteries that wrap everything up in discussion after the fact, but in this case it actually works well.
Bonus: the dog talks (sort of)!
This was a lot of fun, and I might add the sequel to my ebook eventuals list.
From the beginning, we have a well-established cast of characters. Even though I can't really connect to middle aged women who frequent garden conventions in lavish hotels in their spare time, there's something about these characters that stands out as relatable just as who they are.
Then there's the whole setting. In a way, this reads kind of like a workplace drama or a locked room mystery with less suspense. I love the fancy Ritz-Carlton setting compared with the murder premise and the way different patrons approach all the happenings.
As an aside, this might also be one of my favorite MC / detective relationships. It's not typical cozy mystery romance, nor is it the blatant ignorance and refusal to work together from either or both sides because of perceived incompetence. Instead, it's a relationship built on trust, where both characters know their place. The police is happily married, and there's never a hint of romance between these two characters. As cozy mysteries go, it's a breath of fresh air.
The mystery itself is quite good as well. It doesn't exactly have a lot of red herrings, but is more subtle in the way the murder is solved and in all the clues that come together from different sources. It's not an easy one if you like to play along in mystery novels. Normally, I'm not a huge fan of cozy mysteries that wrap everything up in discussion after the fact, but in this case it actually works well.
Bonus: the dog talks (sort of)!
This was a lot of fun, and I might add the sequel to my ebook eventuals list.
August 31, 2013
I enjoyed Murder in Half Moon Bay over the weekend. It had just enough suspense, sleuthing, and action to move the story along and keep me reading even when I got tired. Some folks may criticize saying the relationship between Jill and the police was unrealistic, but it really reminded me of Murder She Wrote and a bit of the Ladies Detective group because Jill Bradley has her own "Gardening Club" of best friends who use their various resources to help investigate.
With a mystery I'm always pleased if I'm suspecting first one person and then another, and this provides lots of twists and turns, suspects and mixed motives.
Recommend for folks who like straight up mystery.
With a mystery I'm always pleased if I'm suspecting first one person and then another, and this provides lots of twists and turns, suspects and mixed motives.
Recommend for folks who like straight up mystery.
October 21, 2012
I liked the story line very much. I did not like trying to keep track of all the characters! Before we even get to the possible suspects there is; the sleuth, her three friends, the dog, the sheriff, the bell-hop, the deputy and a couple I can't even remember now. I have a difficult time with names and I don't enjoy a book that I need to make a chart, just to keep track of who is who. However, if this is not a problem for you, then you will really enjoy the story. It is well written and has good mystery.
October 20, 2013
I finally got interested in the last third of the book, but never did get a 'suspended disbelief' factor to work. There are a lot of characters to keep track of, and a lot of jockeying to figure out why they were important to the story, but I suspect the author's next book will explain a lot more. Definitely don't understand how the Chief of Police came to make a hotel guest a veritable 'partner' in the murder investigation. That would never happen in real life, so it spoiled the story flow for me in this one.
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May 20, 2013Couldn't get thru this Kindle book. Definitely written for a female audience. May be a good mystery, but there's way too much emphasis on meal and tea meetings and what they are eating and wearing. I enjoy many female authors (Muller, Paretsky, Maron, Jance), but they write for a wider audience. This one won't appeal to many men.
November 22, 2020
The MC in this book and her four friends have gone on an excursion to a gardening conference where she is supposed to judge the presentations. During the conference, one of the worker on the conference falls out her hotel window. What a terrible accident or was it?
This was a good mystery that kept me guessing and a good start to a series. A couple things were bothersome. There was a dog but it didn't play a really significant part - not sure why it was there. What I did like is that the MC was not a 20-30 year old but a mature woman and there was no love interest in this book. Well done by the author. I am not against a love interest but I like to see one that didn't count on it.
This was a good mystery that kept me guessing and a good start to a series. A couple things were bothersome. There was a dog but it didn't play a really significant part - not sure why it was there. What I did like is that the MC was not a 20-30 year old but a mature woman and there was no love interest in this book. Well done by the author. I am not against a love interest but I like to see one that didn't count on it.
August 24, 2017
Awesome
I breezed though this book. Great humor. Fun. We should all be aware of the every day evil that is around us.
I breezed though this book. Great humor. Fun. We should all be aware of the every day evil that is around us.
January 9, 2013
Jillian and her three collaborators in the Garden Club head off for a conference in a swanky hotel. Even though I've been to conferences in swanky hotels, it felt very alien to my lifestyle, but I suspect some of my friends would be far more at home with the setting. It gave me the impression of a Californian version of Dallas. There were a lot of people introduced to me very fast, and who was with whom didn't really settle in my brain till quite late into the book, after one or two had been murdered! I think this may have been my post-Christmas disorientation, but sometimes I felt Jillian's conversations, especially with suspects, to be very short. Would these people really give her intimate details with clues so that she could solve the crime in such a short exchange?
Jillian and her friends sort of irritated me with their pushy involvement in the crime-solving. Why would the Police Chief welcome their involvement? How about them trampling over all the evidence? And she kept putting herself at risk in very naive ways. I think she was extremely lucky not to have been bumped off herself.
But from these comments you can tell a number of things (I hope). Jillian gets you involved in her world. The author does a great job in drawing you in to the plot and to some of the people. The setting is described beautifully and the plot itself hangs together extremely well. From something that seemed very light to start with, it gets very deep, and I liked the science link, which was very realistic. It's always good when you can't put a book down after you've passed the halfway point!
I'm not sure whether I want to join Jillian in some of her other adventures, I'm not the Miss Marple kind, but I may well give them a go. Partly because Teddy the dog is adorable!
Jillian and her friends sort of irritated me with their pushy involvement in the crime-solving. Why would the Police Chief welcome their involvement? How about them trampling over all the evidence? And she kept putting herself at risk in very naive ways. I think she was extremely lucky not to have been bumped off herself.
But from these comments you can tell a number of things (I hope). Jillian gets you involved in her world. The author does a great job in drawing you in to the plot and to some of the people. The setting is described beautifully and the plot itself hangs together extremely well. From something that seemed very light to start with, it gets very deep, and I liked the science link, which was very realistic. It's always good when you can't put a book down after you've passed the halfway point!
I'm not sure whether I want to join Jillian in some of her other adventures, I'm not the Miss Marple kind, but I may well give them a go. Partly because Teddy the dog is adorable!
January 31, 2012
Miss Marple meets Jessica Fletcher in this story. A garden club goes to Half Moon Bay for a gardening conference. Jillian writes a garden column and does reviews in the garden world. First night at the conference and a woman is throw from the balcony and discovered by Jillian. Jillian works with the local police chief to track down the clues and learn who the killer is, who kidnapped the her dog and why. Its a quick read written in the style of Miss Marple and the television series Murder She Wrote. Interesting story with a cast of characters that all have secrets to keep.
May 6, 2013
This is the first book in a new series by an author I have never read before. It was well written, but the characters didn't ring totally true to me. While I enjoyed the story line and the book in general, I would have liked to feel like the friends were more laid back and the police chief not so easily to accept Jillian's help in solving the murder. Because there were so many twists and turns, I will read the next one in the series, however. I will still recommend it to anyone who enjoys mysteries. I did adore Teddy.
May 14, 2013
I so wanted to like this book. I didn't finish it and i almost always finish books. I hate to leave a book un-read. I found the character interactions to be very abrupt . The characters would come together almost colliding into each other , and then leave with perfunctory courtesy . Even the four main characters who are suppose to be best friends act like this . I found it to be very unsettling .
September 1, 2016
Interesting cozy but I couldn't figure out why the detective let the garden club do all the investigation and see all the evidence and sit in on interviews. I reslly wondered about the back story on the Garden club ladies. Many many editting errors detracted
Merged review:
This second in the series, taking place eight years after the first one. I enjoyed Jillian so much more in this one---not sure why. Very strong Christian message in this one
Merged review:
This second in the series, taking place eight years after the first one. I enjoyed Jillian so much more in this one---not sure why. Very strong Christian message in this one
August 20, 2013
This was very nice for a first time author. There was a lot of local color included and the author really seems to like the city of Half Moon Bay, despite placing a few murder victims there! The plot was great, and I think the essence of the writing would appeal to Christian fiction readers and dog lovers. I might read another in the series, but would not go out of my way to find one.
November 13, 2013
This was an entertaining read for me. It was light and easy, even though it was a murder mystery. I liked how the characters were woven together with their different personalities. There were almost too many characters to keep up with, but it all played out well. I will definitely read the other books in the series. I look forward to experiencing the development of the story lines and characters.
March 25, 2014
I liked this book, it was a refreshing read. OK, so not quite believable, the idea that a member of public would be allowed to get involved, but then it is a mystery story. Not dis-similar to Nancy Drew, or Miss Marple, and no polluting sex, or language in it.
I do think the main character must of put on weight though. Who has 3 sugars in tea?!
I do think the main character must of put on weight though. Who has 3 sugars in tea?!
June 8, 2013
What a great book! The setting makes me want to go there- the characters make me want to be friends with them. In fact I would love to be best friends with Jillian. And as for Teddy- Jillian's very well behaved Yorkie- I am in love- only wish my Yorkie were so well behaved
October 9, 2017
I really enjoyed this book. Kept me guessing to the end.
Merged review:
Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Love Teddy the "sleuth dog." I also loved the fact that Jillian's faith was more a prominent part of the story than in the first book. Looking forward to reading more books in the series.
Merged review:
Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Love Teddy the "sleuth dog." I also loved the fact that Jillian's faith was more a prominent part of the story than in the first book. Looking forward to reading more books in the series.
June 22, 2013
This was a great quick read. Keeping you on your toes from the beginning to the end. If you enjoy a mystery, I would suggest this one.
August 15, 2013
Started out good, but slow in the middle.
October 24, 2013
A very average book......
December 22, 2013
A fast read with an interesting plot
August 4, 2014
Enjoyed this book very much. Very descriptive writing style and love the little details included. Looking forward to reading the rest of the books in this series.
December 5, 2013
I didn't really care for the writing style. It seemed a bit juvenile.
May 20, 2021
As a new resident of Half Moon Bay, I picked this up in the local bookstore excited to read a story set in my new town where I would be familiar with the landmarks and context. While that was a fun aspect of the read, overall I was disappointed and would not recommend this as a read, even for the die hard cosy mystery reader.
From the start, I found the writing to be overly ponderous and plodding, with unnecessary details focused on things such as Jillian's interactions with Teddy and outfit choices. While I have seen books where these details are welcome, it requires a certain writing style which seamlessly blends it into the broader context of the story rather than feeling like a distraction - which unfortunately was not the case here. On the flip side, there were a number of plot holes where I felt that much more explanation and details would have been helpful, such as:
[SPOILER ALERTS]
Did Regina and Spencer actually sleep together?
Why did Evelyn and Thomas have random moments where they appeared happy?
Why did Celeste seem to change her personality at the very end?
Why did a certain FBI agent stay undercover once the culprits had been caught?
Most importantly, there were also a few aspects of the book which reinforced negative stereotypes of people of color.
For example, when referring to a local Mexican restaurant - "to put it bluntly, the place was garish - just the sort of garish one would expect to find coupled with a fiery, spice-laden cuisine." While I'm very sure that no offense was meant here, unfortunately, the way this is framed reinforces stereotypes of Mexican culture as simplistic, underdeveloped and uncultured and was an unnecessary elaboration within the broader context of the story.
In another anecdote, a "foreign looking" man was identified as wearing sandals that looked "native" who was later identified to be from Zambia. Again, I'm sure the connotation was not intentional but this clearly reinforces people from Africa as being different and "other" - it would have sufficed to simply say that the sandals were of a particular design that the person didn't recognise and were later identified to be commonly made and worn in Africa.
I appreciate this book was written over ten years ago within a different context but did feel compelled to point these out as unfortunate examples of unconscious bias which I believe readers and authors should be conscious of within today's broader environment.
Overall, I appreciated the ambition of the plot, the creativity in thinking through the multiple twists and turns, and also appreciate that this series represents the culmination of Nancy Jill Thames' ambition to pursue a writing career which I love in that people should always pursue their dreams. But unfortunately the writing and nuances within left me frustrated and disappointed.
From the start, I found the writing to be overly ponderous and plodding, with unnecessary details focused on things such as Jillian's interactions with Teddy and outfit choices. While I have seen books where these details are welcome, it requires a certain writing style which seamlessly blends it into the broader context of the story rather than feeling like a distraction - which unfortunately was not the case here. On the flip side, there were a number of plot holes where I felt that much more explanation and details would have been helpful, such as:
[SPOILER ALERTS]
Did Regina and Spencer actually sleep together?
Why did Evelyn and Thomas have random moments where they appeared happy?
Why did Celeste seem to change her personality at the very end?
Why did a certain FBI agent stay undercover once the culprits had been caught?
Most importantly, there were also a few aspects of the book which reinforced negative stereotypes of people of color.
For example, when referring to a local Mexican restaurant - "to put it bluntly, the place was garish - just the sort of garish one would expect to find coupled with a fiery, spice-laden cuisine." While I'm very sure that no offense was meant here, unfortunately, the way this is framed reinforces stereotypes of Mexican culture as simplistic, underdeveloped and uncultured and was an unnecessary elaboration within the broader context of the story.
In another anecdote, a "foreign looking" man was identified as wearing sandals that looked "native" who was later identified to be from Zambia. Again, I'm sure the connotation was not intentional but this clearly reinforces people from Africa as being different and "other" - it would have sufficed to simply say that the sandals were of a particular design that the person didn't recognise and were later identified to be commonly made and worn in Africa.
I appreciate this book was written over ten years ago within a different context but did feel compelled to point these out as unfortunate examples of unconscious bias which I believe readers and authors should be conscious of within today's broader environment.
Overall, I appreciated the ambition of the plot, the creativity in thinking through the multiple twists and turns, and also appreciate that this series represents the culmination of Nancy Jill Thames' ambition to pursue a writing career which I love in that people should always pursue their dreams. But unfortunately the writing and nuances within left me frustrated and disappointed.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 7, 2018
Slow to Start but Worth the Read
I like cozy mysteries but I feely admit that I chose this book because of the Yorkie on the cover. I love all dogs but especially Yorkies. At the beginning of the book I was regretting that decision. It starts out a bit slow and was a little dry and prissy for me and I almost quit it. Once the murder occurs, things started to pick up. This is where the characters and story came alive for me. Some things seemed a bit far fetched but all in all, it was a good mystery. I enjoyed this story and would recommend it
I like cozy mysteries but I feely admit that I chose this book because of the Yorkie on the cover. I love all dogs but especially Yorkies. At the beginning of the book I was regretting that decision. It starts out a bit slow and was a little dry and prissy for me and I almost quit it. Once the murder occurs, things started to pick up. This is where the characters and story came alive for me. Some things seemed a bit far fetched but all in all, it was a good mystery. I enjoyed this story and would recommend it
January 27, 2019
"Murder She Wrote"
What can I say? Apart from the annoying dog that cropped up on every other page this felt like Jessica Fletcher and Cabot Cove revisited. An elderly lady who stumbles across a murder case and leads the local police chief around by the nose until the case is solved. We also got a generous dose of prayer and patriotism to suit the taste of the prospective readership in the States. Back in the day I enjoyed 'Murder She Wrote'. It was harmless fun and I didn't analyse it too much. So, although I won't be following Jillian Bradley's next case, no doubt others will - especially if they love dogs.
What can I say? Apart from the annoying dog that cropped up on every other page this felt like Jessica Fletcher and Cabot Cove revisited. An elderly lady who stumbles across a murder case and leads the local police chief around by the nose until the case is solved. We also got a generous dose of prayer and patriotism to suit the taste of the prospective readership in the States. Back in the day I enjoyed 'Murder She Wrote'. It was harmless fun and I didn't analyse it too much. So, although I won't be following Jillian Bradley's next case, no doubt others will - especially if they love dogs.
January 28, 2024
For the most part I enjoyed this book, tho the poor dog didn't g e t anywhere near enough walks.poor thing (in my opinion)
Anyway the setting was different as was the storyline. The friends were helpful and the "Chief" was grateful. What more can I say, oh yes, I was hungry each time the ladies enjoyed all the cakes, biscuits and sandwiches etc etc which was very very often.
I gave this book 5 stars for helping the chief nab the murderer.
Anyway the setting was different as was the storyline. The friends were helpful and the "Chief" was grateful. What more can I say, oh yes, I was hungry each time the ladies enjoyed all the cakes, biscuits and sandwiches etc etc which was very very often.
I gave this book 5 stars for helping the chief nab the murderer.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 107 reviews