| Title | : | An Isle of Man Ghostly Cozy CollectionABC: Arrivals and Arrests / Boats and Bad Guys / Cars and Cold Cases (Isle of Man Ghostly Cozy #1-3) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 792 |
| Publication | : | Published October 14, 2017 |
Arrivals and Arrests
Fenella Woods has only met a few people during the twenty-four hours she's been in Douglas, the capital city of the Isle of Man. She's shocked when she discovers one of them dead in an alley behind her apartment building.
Struggling to adapt to her new life in a foreign country seems easy compared to coping with finding herself in the middle of a murder investigation.
Nearly fifty and newly single, Fenella meets a handsome police inspector, a dashing new neighbor, and a sophisticated businessman, all of whom have her questioning her determination to remain unattached.
Having a ghost for a roommate and a kitten as an uninvited houseguest has her questioning her decision to start a new life on the small island in the Irish Sea after all.
Boats and Bad Guys
Fenella Woods is excited to be taking the ferry across the Irish Sea to England so that she can begin her research. When she finds a dead body in her cabin, she has to change her plans.
The police seem convinced that the killer is one of the other passengers who had a cabin reserved for the journey. Fenella meets a group of suspects that includes a wealthy couple, an older man and his much younger wife, and a retired and incredibly nosy woman.
Finding herself caught up in the middle of another murder investigation isn’t pleasant for Fenella. This time Fenella is determined not to take any advice from her dead aunt who continues to occupy the luxury apartment that used to be her home. Her kitten, Katie, isn’t much help either, as she seems determined to cause as much mischief as she possibly can.
While Fenella wants to help Inspector Robinson find the killer before he or she strikes again, things certainly aren't going the way she'd expected when she started her new life on the Isle of Man.
Cars and Cold Cases
Fenella Woods is nervous but eager to start driving lessons on the Isle of Man. Having never driven a manual transmission before, she quickly finds herself struggling with having to change gears with her left hand while sitting on what feels like the wrong side of the car and driving on what seems to be the wrong side of the road.
Her friendship with CID Inspector Daniel Robinson is less stressful. He’s going through some cold cases and he asks her to share her thoughts. Daniel seems to think that she’ll have a different perspective on the investigations because she doesn’t know any of the people involved. He’s surprised to find that the first case he mentions, a missing person from thirty years earlier, involves Fenella’s new driving instructor.
Fenella’s aunt Mona, who is either a ghost or a figment of Fenella’s imagination, has her own ideas about both the missing person and an unconnected thirty-year-old murder investigation that Daniel is also reopening. And of course, she’s eager for Fenella to get involved in both cases.
Fenella isn’t sure she’s ready to try to deal with driving lessons, two cold cases, one nosy aunt, a kitten who needs surgery, and three different men who all appeal to her in very different ways. She knew her life was going to change when she moved to the Isle of Man, but she wasn’t anticipating quite this much excitement.
An Isle of Man Ghostly Cozy CollectionABC: Arrivals and Arrests / Boats and Bad Guys / Cars and Cold Cases (Isle of Man Ghostly Cozy #1-3) Reviews
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I enjoyed these stories much more than I thought I would. Cozy mystery isn't the type of book I normally read. I got this three book bundle on sale through Kindle more than a year ago. I forgot I had it and decided to give it a try to fulfill an A-Z challenge looking for an author whose name contains (X).
It turned out to be a lot of fun and the characters are likeable. I will be returning to this author again in the future. -
Body Count
Fenella Woods, a single fifty year old, inherits her Aunt Mona's apartment on the Isle of Man. She quits her job and moves there to write a book. She never dreams that the day she arrives she will find a dead body and a few days later a second dead body.
Along with that the ghost of her aunt appears in the house and refuses to leave. She wants Fenella to solve the mystery of the deaths and wants to help her.
With the help of the Good Looking detective, her friendly male neighbor and the hunky millionaire she works to solve the case.
This is a good read of a cozy mystery. -
These cozy mysteries weren’t as engaging as others I’ve read, but over the three books in this box set, I grew to like the characters and enjoy their company. Shelly and Mona were my favourite characters and really brought life to the book and to Fenella’s life. I can understand why Fenella stayed with Jack for so long because even after moving to the island her life is still so routine. The dullness of Fenella’s daily routine really dragged this out.
Each book slowly builds up to the big reveal of the murderer but the reveal is rather underwhelming. Diana Xarissa chooses to reveal the murderer and then jump ahead a few days or so to have Fenella find out from Inspector Robinson the motive, means and opportunity that the murderer had.
I really only read past the first book in the box set because I was interested in the Isle of Man. I have family who came over to Canada from the island many, many years ago, so I would like to learn more about where I come from. Diana Xarissa does provide us with some history of the island as Fenella goes to visit historical landmarks such as Castle Rushen. -
Fenella Woods was born on the Isle of Man off the coast of Liverpool, England, but grew up in the US. She unexpectedly inherits her Aunty Mona's estate and moves back to the Isle of Man and into her aunt's lovely flat. Her move was partly motivated with the idea of re-connecting with where she was born, but also because she is tired of her long-term relationship with Jack and was also bored with her career as a history professor in Buffalo, NY.
Her first morning there Fenella walks to the grocery store then takes a shortcut through the alley behind her flat because it is raining. There she finds a body with a knife sticking from it. She calls the police and because of this first meets detective inspector Daniel Rogers. After her interview with him, she discovers that her Aunt Mona's ghost hasn't "moved on," but wants to meet her niece.
Fenella soon meets her neighbor Shelley, a recent widow and Paul, a twice divorced semi-retired businessman. The three become friends and enjoy their local pub and dinners at each other's homes. Within a few days Fenella finds another body and once again Daniel Rogers is on the scene.
A kitten appears in the building's hall and runs into Fenella's apartment. Although she's never had a pet (her mother didn't like animals), she falls in love with and keeps her.
Mona despairs of Fenella's working and leisure wardrobe (jeans and sweatshirts or dull business suits) and persuades her to wear some of her well-made classic clothes. She also despairs of Fenella's lack of interest in romance and tries to help her with that, despite the younger woman's insistence that she's still getting over her relationship with Jack.
Each of the three books in the series involves 2 murders and the above cast of characters with several other minor characters and of course those who know or are related to the murder victims.
If you enjoy murder mysteries that don't have too much gore, you'll be sure to enjoy these books. I look forward to reading more of this and the author's other series of books.
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Wildly different than expected
These three books are really quite good. There's romance, dearh, and missing bodies. The romance is tense and leaves you curious who Mel will choose. The mysteries of the the missing and dead are suspenseful and surprising. But, based on title alone, as this was my first Diana Xarissa read, I thought we'd be looking for ghosts or having ghosts help in the searches. Alas, it is only 1 ghost and while Mona is funny, fiesty, and does help, she only talks to Mel and only in the flat. But, I loved the writing and am looking forward to some other adventures with Ms Diana. -
I liked the first one on the series but the beach one afterwards got less interesting & seemed overly long. I like the main characters although Fenella seems very old fashioned for someone her age in the present day - more like the 1950s. There's way to much mundane narrative and dialogue that has little to do with the mysteries which is too bad because the mysteries by themselves are quite good. MoMA the ghost could become more integral I think. IMHO these could be very very good if the narrative was tightened up a bit and Fenella got into a little more trouble like the fist mystery, rather than the bystander she'd become by the 2nd & 3rd.
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This poor girl hasn't been in the country of her birth only a short time and she finds a just about dead man in the street. She has inherited all the earthy goods of an aunt. She does the right thing, calls the police and the next she knows, she might be the suspect of the murder!
She can't even go into her new home without an escort! BTW, her new home is quite large, and already has a house-guest...the ghost of her deceased aunt! -
very good
This is a series of cozy mysteries. It starts out a bit slow but rapidly picks up steam. Fenella has moved from the states and is trying to get used to the differences, she meets her aunt who died and left her the apartment and all of her money. Of course she’s a host but highly entertaining. This is a series well worth reading. Well written and seems to have a lot of twists to it as well as the romantic nuances. I enjoyed it. -
Cozy mystery
I look very this mystery series and the touch.of the supernatural gives it some flavor. Fenella is an amazing character and I love for her flaws and strengths. Mona is hilarious. She'll is the best friend you want to have. Katie is adorable. Peter is sweet and Daniel is awesime . -
It was really well written, entertain, amusing, and a good who-done-it .. loved it/them
I would highly recommend this series to my friends . . well written... entertainng . amusing .. real who-done-it mysteries ...thoroughly enjoyed reading them.
