Aspen Allegations (Sutton Massachusetts Mystery, #1) by Lisa Shea

Aspen Allegations (Sutton Massachusetts Mystery, #1) Reviews

• 
  Karen

  The writing in this book is very good but I had several reservations about other issues. The plot, which centered around old secrets, four young men and a young girl is a little overdone. Peter Straub's "Ghost Story" for example. The main reason everyone regrets the girl's death is that she would have undoubtedly been the greatest actress in history, inspired millions and changed lives and yet we are given no basis for that claim. The info dumps and lectures on nature, animal rights, yoga, eating, etc. are too much, overdone and not always accurate. Peonies and daylilies don't bloom at the same time, for example. The dialogue does not always flow well.
• 
  Pankaj Goyal

  Aspen Allegations by Lisa Shea is the first in a series of mystery novels set in Sutton Massachusetts. This is winner of the 2013 IPPY Gold Medal for Best Regional E-Book.
  
  The thrilling adventure of the main protagonists, Morgan and Jason, to uncover the mystery of death of John begins when Morgan encountered a dead body in the shadowy depths of Sutton Woods. Their quest to unravel the mystery is anchored by a terrific chemistry between them. Things from the past starts to surface as Morgan and Jason delve deep into the mystery. The reader remains spellbound and keeps reading the book.
  
  Lisa juggles a number of characters, each with a uniquely rounded personality and varied level of likeability, which gives a realistic scope and portrayal to the story. Readers are introduced to these different characters in the book in a certain order. These are given enough backgrounds. This not only helps to understand each of these characters but also maintains an absolute tension in the story (and curiosity among readers) that can be felt throughout the book.
  
  However, this book is not simply a murder mystery. There is romance, which touches one’s heart. There are birds, which chirp in reader’s ears. There are frogs, which go to hibernation. There are common scents of food, which make it very difficult to read the book with a half-empty stomach. There is cold, which one can feel while reading the book. And, there is a tragic accident which ripped apart a group of four close friends.
  
  I was, however, a little dissatisfied with the end. The end felt rushed. I really felt that the story deserved a more dramatic ending.
  
  This is my first Lisa Shea book and I don’t think it will be my last because I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. While the book lacked pace in certain portions, I never lost interest. I kept thinking about it, even when I was at work!! I will, therefore, without any reservation, recommend Aspen Allegations to anyone looking for a solid mystery and cozy-romance.
  
  
  (I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review)
  
• 
  Richard

  For the most part, this is a really pleasant book. I like the author's style in general, and I've enjoyed several of her medieval romances.
  
  This novel set in modern-day rural Massachusetts, apparently in the author's current home town. It's written in first person, and the narrator is a woman who works from home in the computer industry, who seems rather reserved with a veneer of calm. Or maybe just socially awkward but still calm inside, or trying to tell herself she's calm... She hits it off with the park ranger who stayed with her after she found that dead body in the woods... She feels drawn to figure out the mystery of a drowning 40-odd years before, because the dead guy was involved in that.
  
  Some of the best parts of the book are the internal ruminations and descriptions of the area by the narrator, who clearly loves the natural environment, and is less comfortable around people. But she's fairly reserved and a little emotionally flat. I didn't feel a lot of deep emo-engagement, either between her and other characters, or to her, as a reader. (Knowing the author's other work, I think the narrator's voice is a consciously constructed character attribute, by the way, rather than being "flaws" in the writing.)
  
  Occasionally, the dialog seems a trifle contrived, and is often too formal for the time/place, with oddly little use of contractions we'd normally find in modern American speech... But it's pretty well constructed overall, and I enjoyed it, even though I can't say it totally bowled me over.
  
  As usual with indie work, I'll mention that the formatting and editing were good. In fact, I didn't stumble across a single typographical error while reading the book, so bravo to Ms Shea (and her copy editor); she wins a Golden Rodent for this one.
  
• 
  Katerina

  A mystery srory taking place in Sutton. Morgan and John discover the body of John in the woods. Authorities believe it to be a hunting accident but the two protagonists think something is wrong with it. So Morgan starts poking in the story with the idea of finishing the biography John was writing. And then the problems start.
  
  The story was captivating. It is built up nicely most of the way. The first step is to narrow the biography to a particular moment in John's life, but one far far in the past. Could that be the key point? After so many years? Each one of the persons involved in the story is entangled in an atmosphere where he could be the one that killed. Everybody has motives but still everybody has also reasons to be innocent. The suspense is escalating. I could not let the book down.
  
  But the end is a bit disappointing. I did not find it husty or fast, but I found the important moment when Jeff and Matthews are at Morgan's house while Morgan and Jason in the other end weak. They did not wonder who could have sent the email? Yes the police could not find it with technology analysis but still who could have known what that they cracked the password. For me that point revealed the murderer. The rest of the story became too simple.
  
  Last point, the writer is doing amazing descriptions of the nature and the scenery. I do not enjoy these parts as I am more interested in the mysterynitself, so I have to admit I was not going through them, but somebody else might love them. Nevertheless a really interesting mystery book. I want to read more...
  
  (I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review)
• 
  Dhiraj Sharma

  When you happen to be a fan of Agatha Christie then you end up comparing every murder mystery/whodunit to her works. Same was the case with me when I started reading Aspen Allegations.
  
  The story revolves around the protagonist Morgan in the town of Sutton and her attempts to unravel the mystery surrounding a death in the woods. In between you have budding romance between the protagonist and the Park ranger and a mystery surrounding the accidental drowning of a girl years ago in the company of her friends.
  
  The author keeps the suspense intact and you keep on turning the pages to know what happens next, the story moves at brisk pace.
  
  If you are a nature lover you would enjoy this book as almost each chapter has a page dedicated to the sights and sounds of the surrounding flora and fauna.
  
  I felt the ending was a bit rushed and had the murderer not tried to repeat his act he probably would never have got apprehended.
  
  As I mentioned at the beginning this is definitely not quite comparable to a typical Agatha Christie’s mystery but the author Ms. Lisa Shea comes quite close to it.
  
• 
  Marisa

  Amazon - 22/07/2014
• 
  Lisa Denn

  
  According to the author, "Aspen Allegations was written in “real time.” Each day’s chapter was first written on the actual day the events took place. Locations were visited and described as they appeared on that day."
  
  Writing in "real time" in the manner explained by the author is probably the cause of my disappointment with the book.
  
  The chapters jumped around too much leaving me confused and at times forcing me to reread previous pages to figure out what was going on.
  Several times I honestly thought I accidentally skipped a few pages.
  
  Too much time was spent describing the locations and surroundings and not enough time was spent developing the characters and story.
• 
  Patricia

  Morgan, while walking in the woods, discovers a dead man who has been shot. A ranger named Jason comes to help her, and altho the death is ruled accidental, they decide to investigate a possible murder. Aspen Allegations is an interesting read when Jason and Morgan begin looking back at other deaths and murders which have occured over the years.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• 
  Jeannie

  Stopped reading it because it was boring me. Good story line if the author would stick to it. So much other stuff in the book describing everything that has nothing to do with the story.
• 
  Erin Lee

  I received this book in a Goodreads Giveaway in exchange for a fair and honest review.
  
  First, it is abundantly clear that this series is, in reality, a love letter to Sutton, Massachusetts. From the details about the weather, the history of the area, the poignant descriptions of the locale’s floral and fauna to the author’s waxing lyrically about its charms, it is plain to see that she adores her home. Her writing seems like a product of another time, its protagonist the sadder-but-wiser divorcee who is comfortable in her own skin. In many ways I related to Morgan, from her love of libraries to her penchant for going on historical fact-finding missions.
  
  There were a couple of aspects that gave me pause. First, the author has an unusual and ultimately distracting habit of setting the visual for the reader primarily with color adjectives. Other than dialogue-heavy sections, nearly every time she seeks to set a scene, the only descriptors are colors, from Caribbean blues to tawny browns, grey-haired ponytails and royal purples. While variations in hue can certainly be fine descriptors, she relies too heavily on them, and there are spans when nearly every page features one or more such unnecessary references.
  
  My only other gripe is the sometimes almost clinical precision with which she either goes off on moral tangents unrelated to the narrative or pens entire passages that seem like they could more comfortably fit into a dissertation on American literature, such as the nearly two pages about “An American Tragedy” and its derivatives.
  
  In any case, though the love story was almost an afterthought, I look forward to seeing what is next in the cards for Morgan and Jason.
• 
  Paula

  I received this book from the Goodreads Firstreads Giveaway program. Thank you author/publisher for the opportunity to read and review your novel.
  
  Aspen Allegations is the first in the Sutton Massachusetts Mystery series. The author, Lisa Shea, wrote each chapter by spending time the day of writing in the locales specified. Interesting. The story is a cozy mystery. Also a little budding romance is taking place. Two mysteries need some solving a current mystery of a man found dead in the woods, and a mystery unresolved from years past. The main character Morgan is the one doing most of the research on these mysteries, and also finds herself involved in writing the dead mans biography. The mystery is wrapped up nicely.
  
  I enjoyed the authors love of Sutton and her obvious love of nature. I make it a point to spend time everyday in a green space. I enjoyed her love of birds. She obviously knows her species. Also loved all her descriptions of food. Very generous of her to donate so much of her proceeds to battered women's shelters. We could be friends in the real world. Looking forward to more from Lisa Shea.
• 
  Angie Hackett

  Ok read
  
  I got this because I had enjoyed another set of books by this author.
  
  This was an ok read. The characters were ok but I did feel that Morgan was a bit self absorbed. Jason seemed a bit too simple to please.
  
  I did find the detailing in this book was good, providing a rich tapestry but that said sometimes there was too many details in this book. I didn’t feel it was necessary to keep with all of the social engagements that Morgan had as I felt it took away from the mystery aspect of the book.
  
  Also, I found an inaccuracy in terms of the year given for the OJ Simpson trial mentioned in the book. Maybe I’m nitpicking here but his trial was in 1995, not in 1985 as the author would have us believe. I find it a bit jarring when facts are laid out wrong.
  
  Otherwise this was an ok read.
• 
  Charlene

  I really enjoyed this book for several reasons, the most important being it takes place in Sutton, Massachusetts which is about 30 miles from where I grew up. I enjoyed the authors' descriptions of Purgatory Chasm and Lake Singletary as well as the surrounding areas. And the Publick House! How wonderful to read of one of my favorite restaurants. The storyline was good and the character development was excellent. While I had my suspicions about who the murderer could be, the author did a great job of masking his identity until nearly the end. Highly recommend - especially if you're from Massachusetts. The book will bring back fond memories.
• 
  SANDYE

  Intriguing. Enjoyable.
  
  A well written murder mystery with a romantic undertone. Well developed characters. Exquisite descriptions of the beautiful Sutton, Massachusetts landscape, scenery, and wildlife. Strong plotline full of twists and turns that kept me guessing right up to the end! A great read for a quiet chilly weekend!
• 
  Kathy Heare Watts

  A tale of mystery, suspense in a life and death mystery.
  
  I won a copy of this book during a Goodreads giveaway. I am under no obligation to leave a review or rating and do so voluntarily. So that others may also enjoy this book, I am paying it forward by donating it to my local library.
• 
  Patti

  good story
• 
  Nicole

  I must admit I am a bit surprised by the number of negative comments here. I loved the book. It was a good murder mystery with a lovely understated romance threaded though it.
• 
  France Nadeau

  Boy, this author certainly likes to moralise, give lessons and tell how things should be in the world. I skipped over more than half the book.
• 
  Sandra

  Fast read with lots of vivid descriptions of flowers, birds, and food. Made me want to visit Sutton Massachusetts. The author definitely loves her home, and it shows up in her story. A little romance between Morgan and Jason only adds to the intriguing mystery and makes for a enjoyable read. This mystery kept me guessing all the way through the book. I won my book from Goodreads Giveaways.
• 
  Desiree Streib

  I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway in exchange for an honest review.
  While out hiking one morning, Morgan comes across the body of a man who had been shot to death. The police believe it to be a hunting accident, but Morgan is convinced it's murder. With the help of some friends, she sets out to see if she can gain some insight behind the murder. What she discovers leads back to an incident which happened 30 years ago. An incident somebody doesn't want the truth to get out about.
  This was a nice quick read. I unfortunately figured out pretty quickly who the murderer is, but knowing why was a mystery that I looked forward to discovering.