| Title | : | The Missing Sapphire of Zangrabar (Patricia Fisher Mysteries #1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 170 |
| Publication | : | First published July 1, 2019 |
When her life is unexpectedly turned upside down, ginaholic housewife, Patricia, doesn’t react as most would. Instead, she empties the bank accounts and jumps on the first cruise ship available – it just happens to be the world’s largest and finest, the Aurelia.
Less than twenty-four hours later, the world throws her the next curveball and so begins a race against time to prove she’s not a killer.
She has help though:
Her butler – his perfect Downton Abbey accent and penchant for folding napkins correctly should be enormously helpful!
A pretty gym instructor – can balanced nutrition and perfect abs keep Patricia out of jail?
Her chances don’t look great, but in our most testing times, we truly find our inner strength. Join Patricia Fisher as she learns that you are never beyond discovering a new version of yourself. The world will always look a little different once you have seen it through Patricia’s eyes.
Praise for the author:
"Higgs makes everyone and everything come alive!’ – Amazon customer
"Truly delightful tales of mystery and misadventure." – Amazon customer
The Patricia Fisher cozy mysteries are a series of fun, but enthralling tales which you can read without fear of graphic sex, unnecessary cussing or descriptive violence.
The Missing Sapphire of Zangrabar (Patricia Fisher Mysteries #1) Reviews
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I very much enjoyed this mystery....especially how Patricia ends up on the cruise ship in the best suite on the ship. Easy, relaxing and a lot of fun
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This was a cute and fun cozy mystery that kept me turning the pages. I liked Patricia and enjoyed watching her growth as she determined to solve the murder after she had been set up to take the fall. Barbie and Jermaine were great support characters with distinct personalities that fit right in with Patricia. On to the next one in this series.
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Maybe 2 1/2 stars? I was looking for something light to read on vacation, and .... it was that. It was also predictable (I guessed the killer early on), a bit ridiculous in places, and actually farcical in others.
I did purchase the kindle "boxed set" of the first four books in the series, so I may give Patricia Fisher another chance ... I do hope it gets better. -
This was a spur of the moment read, unfortunately although I liked the idea, by the fifth chapter I was so fed up with Patricia I couldn’t face anymore.
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I had taken a break from Cozy mysteries, as they began to run together. Female's life implodes, is left some structure (house, bed and breakfast, bakery, etc.) in some tiny town, with the Male interest some type of law enforcement. Like any other voracious reader, I still check out books that look interesting. I was introduced to Patricia Fisher through Steve Higgs' newsletter. What a way to come back to the genre!
Mr. Higgs managed to create an older female protagonist who acted her age and was still interesting. Her anger, confusion, and grief to catching her husband cheating with her friend was believable and relatable. Wiping out the bank account and going on a cruise was inspired and hilarious.
Patricia is an authentic, engaging, and sympathetic character, an honest voice, even pointing out to herself, and the reader, she had no idea what she was doing, her thoughts pingponging back and forth on her decisions. The strength of her personality drags Jermaine, her butler from her suite, and Barbie, her fitness instructor, along with her as she searches for clues to prove her innocence. The burgeoning friendships between them is as entertaining as it is heartwarming.
Aside from the murder, Mr. Higgs weaves the themes of doing things for yourself and being comfortable with who you are through the story. Patricia changes throughout the book, subtly, and thoughtfully recognizes the shifting of her viewpoint in regards to her situation, and towards the world, as well as how she feels about the changes in herself. She started out changing for Charlie, believing he would want her then. As Jermaine eases her pain, showing her what it's like to have someone do things for her, asking what she wants, Patricia's work with Barbie reminds her of the power of her body. She begins to pay attention to her own wants, and becomes more assertive.
It's going to be fun watching how Patricia, Jermaine, and Barbie grow in the coming books. I look forward to meeting the characters Mr. Higgs introduces next. -
On catching her husband having sex with her best friend, overweight 52-yr-old Patricia takes off on a cruise. With new found friends, she finds reawakening in trying to solve a crime.
The heroine is just your average housewife who has too long led an unexciting existence. Her partners are a Barbie Doll personal trainer who plays her coquettish role to the hilt and an overly unctuous gay butler with hidden talents. They both torture Patricia in their own funny ways and they become a great amateur trio.
There is so much British wit. So it's half Agatha Christie and half *A Comedy of Errors.* Very funny throughout, yet still there's the tension of the chase.
The author stays focused. No distractions, no bogus suspects. All leads to a satisfying conclusion.
Reading level: easy. Rating: PG-13. -
2020 bk 320. When Patricia Fisher learns of her husband's infedility, she leaves, after first moving their joint accounts into her own account. This enables her to purchase a ticket for one of the luxury cabins on a 'round the world' cruise. Sounds like a good way to retreat from a horrible situation, doesn't it. But Patricia lands almost immediately in trouble when she is accused of a jewel thief's death and confined to her cabin by the nasty head of security. I picked this up based on the interest by fellow good reader Trish and I am glad I did. The writing isn't as sophisticated as some of the other authors I read, but this is a good beach read or mystery for when you want something shorter to read. It was well-plotted enough that I've purchased the next two in the series.
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Fun
A mystery with comedy and watching a not so in her prime neglected wife discover herself. Clean and worth the read! -
Patricia just caught her husband cheating with her best friend, leaving her stunned, revolted, and betrayed. What to do? Clean out his bank account and go on a cruise, of course. Yes, a 3-month cruise around the world in the royal suite would be a lot of money, but what choice did she have? She was a 52-year old overweight lady with no children, no career, no home to go back to, and a marriage on the rocks. Sure, take a trip around the world (I wish I could.)
But boat life can be kind of dull. The character was mostly wallowing in misery. The case was also a little too complex for a cozy mystery. Didn’t really get into it. -
This was a fun, easy book to read, the characters were enjoyable! I look forward to reading more of the Patricia Fisher mysteries.
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Great read
First time reading a book by this Author. A friend told me about this series. Really enjoyed it. Light funny reading. Looming forward to book 2. -
It was a nice quick read, but not nearly as good as the Blue Moon series IMO.
as an aside: Mr. Higgs seems terribly obsessed with healthy eating! -
Enjoyed this cozy mystery - relaxing and fun to read - interesting characters - Book #1 in the Patricia Fisher Cruise Mysteries
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Some characters you just take to and I liked Patricia right from the start and was willing her onto the cruise ship.
She didn’t let me down throughout the rest of the book despite all the trials and tribulations she faced.
She is not super human or possesses extraordinary skills which is her main attraction. She comes over as ordinary as the woman next door just caught up in something. I enjoyed the everyday relatability of the story (not that I’ve ever been on a cruise).
This would make an entertaining tv series rather like an older Agatha Raisin. No graphic violence or sex scenes so you could safely watch it with your Granny.
I’m looking forward to the second book in the series. Read this and you will too. -
This was an entertaining cozy mystery. I liked Patricia, Jermaine, and Barbie. They made an unlikely trio but somehow it worked. I do find it a bit odd that Jermaine and Barbie were willing to risk their jobs for a woman they just met but oh, well...stranger things have happened. Patricia grew and evolved as a person even though the story only covered 5 days. I liked that she began to see she had worth no matter what she weighed. There were plenty of twists to hold my attention. I had the culprit figured out but it didn't detract from the story. I like the idea of the series taking place on a cruise ship because that lends itself to an ever-changing cast of characters. I look forward to reading more of the series.
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Spoiler Alert!
Patricia Fisher catches her husband cheating on her with her best friend. She drains their bank account and drives to Southhampton to hop on the first available ship. The only room available is an 8 room suite on the world's biggest and most luxurious ship.
On her very first night on board she gets drunk and meets a man who claims to be a jewel thief. When she awakens the next morning with a severe hangover she realizes her purse is missing and with the help of her gay Jamaican butler Jermaine and his friend Barbie (who helps Patricia get into shape through exercise and diet) she finds the supposed thief's cabin only to find he has been murdered. Patricia ends up under house arrest in her suite but once again with the help of her new friends she escapes to find the murderer.
Once the jewel thief is caught, the handsome captain not only tells Patricia that she will be refunded the entire cost of the 3 month cruise, but that there is a $500,000 reward for the return of the jewel.
She shares the windfall with Jermaine, Barbie (her fitness trainer) and the insurance recovery specialist. As she gives away more than half of her recovery reward, it will be interesting to see how she manages to keep living a life of luxury.
I enjoyed this book mainly because of the cruise ship background. It will be interesting to see what other perks she will receive for being in the Windsor suite, such as the limo that she is given whenever in port.
The one thing that made me laugh was when Patricia was told that as a suite passenger she was entitled to two free meals a day. Only two? LOL
When the ship arrives in St Kitts, where she expects to disembark and return home to try to work things out with Charles or possibly have him join her on the ship if he is willing (he has always refused her wish to cruise and gone to the same place every year), her husband does not recognize the new, improved her and she hops into the limo and heads back to the ship to resume her cruise.
Will Patricia get together with the handsome captain? -
Patricia Fisher is about to discover that her fifties is the perfect age for an adventure!
When her life is unexpectedly turned upside down, ginaholic housewife, Patricia, doesn’t react as most would. Instead, she empties the bank accounts and jumps on the first cruise ship available – it just happens to be the world’s largest and finest, the Aurelia.
Less than twenty-four hours later, the world throws her the next curveball and so begins a race against time to prove she’s not a killer.
She has help though:
Her butler – his perfect Downton Abbey accent and penchant for folding napkins correctly should be enormously helpful!
A pretty gym instructor – can balanced nutrition and perfect abs keep Patricia out of jail?
Her chances don’t look great, but in our most testing times, we truly find our inner strength. Join Patricia Fisher as she learns that you are never beyond discovering a new version of yourself. The world will always look a little different once you have seen it through Patricia’s eyes.
This is a brilliant deut novel to a fun new series.
I love the new characters already and can't wait to read more about them.
Loving the plot and story line.
So much fun to read!
Patricia is a blast!!!
Recommend reading!
I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. -
Super light and fluffy cozy read.
Patricia Fisher has just discovered her husband in bed with her best friend. She's not really thinking clearly, but she clears out their joint savings to the tune of some £750,000 and heads to Southampton to get on the first cruise ship that has a cabin for her. That ends up being a brand new ship with just one suite left -- the Royal suite -- which she quickly books for a 3 month around-the-world cruise for nearly the whole amount she has.
She finds herself sort of blubbering to everyone about her troubles and gets very drunk at dinner with a good looking fellow who introduces himself as jewel thief Jack Langley. Waking up the next morning, she remembers almost nothing of the evening, or how she got back to her room, but finds her purse and meager jewelry missing. Her butler (the suite comes with a butler!) shows her to Langley's suite where they find him dead. And she's further shocked when ship's security decides she's the one that did it and confine her to quarters.
Of course, she can't let it rest and with the help of her butler and a physical trainer, she starts some amateur sleuthing to discover not just what happened on the ship, but how it's connected to a 30 year old theft as well. Along the way, of course, she also discovers herself as she works out what to do about her marriage. -
A really fun, brilliant whodunnit that will keep you guessing.
Patricia Fisher, is on her own for the first time in her married life. She caught her husband in bed with her best friend, so she has hit back at him in the only way she knows will truly hurt him, she cleans out his bank account!
In a complete daze she drives to the nearest port and does something she has always wanted to do, she buys a ticket for an around the world cruise. But she is so hurt by her husbands betrayal she drowns her sorrows in the bar that very night.
The next morning Patricia wakes up and discover her wedding rings stolen and its only the first day!
When she goes to confront the person she believes took them, she finds him with a large knife sticking out of his back, very, very dead.
And within hours of this situation she is accused of his murder.
Confined to her cabin, she befriends the only two people who seem to believe she is innocent, her butler Jermaine, and her gym instructor Barbie, and with their help, she hopes against hope that she can somehow prove herself innocent.
Thus begins a really fun and brilliant story! I loved it. It was so full of twists and turns that it keep you thinking right up to the end. Well worth a read. -
Having unexpectedly discovered her husband of 30 years is having an affair with her best friend Patricia Fisher decides on a whim to take a 3 month long world cruise. On arriving at the cruise liner and discovering her suite comes complete with its own butler, Jermaine, Patricia accidentally finds herself in the middle of a murder enquiry, and the investigating ships officer is determined to ensure she is found guilty of the murder.
Equally determined to prove she is innocent Patricia teams up with Jermaine and his best friend, gym and personal trainer Barbie, and together the trio no only solve the original murder but also a 30 year old jewellery theft in which the main culprit had not only escaped by had taken the jewel with him.
Flushed with success Patricia decides to stay on board and finish her cruise, going off on a sight seeing tour of St. Kitts leaving her husband, who has flown out to see her convinced he can persuade her to reconcile, standing on the dock.
An excellent book and the series, which I admit to having purchased, is one I look forward to finishing. -
Patricia Fisher discovers her husband Charles in bed with her best friend Maggie. She is devastated and on impulse goes home packs her bags and cleans out the checking accounts. She decides to do something fun and books a world cruise on the first ship leaving Southampton. The only room open is the Royal Suite which comes with everything including a butler named Jermaine. The first night at sea she meets a handsome man claiming to be a jewel thief who gets her drunk and escorts her to her room. Next morning she wakes not remembering how she got back to her room. She realizes her purse is missing with her rings and credit cards. She goes to confront the jewel thief in his room only to discover he has been murdered. The officer in charge of security accuses Mrs. Fisher of the crime and proceeds to lock her in her suite disabling her phone and computer and taking her passport. So the task begins of solving the murder and clearing her name with the help of the Jermaine the butler and Barbie the personal trainer.
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This is a great start to what will be an amusing, fast-paced series. Patricia Fisher finds her husband in bed with her best friend. After draining their bank accounts, she drives until she sees a cruise ship preparing to leave the dock. After purchasing a ticket for an around-the-world cruise, using most of the marital funds, she heads off for what should be a cruise of a lifetime. But, after being accused of a murder she did not commit, she is held in her room under guard. With only the help of her butler, Jermaine, and her trainer, Barbie, Patricia must try to clear her name before she is put in jail for life.
An amusing story with humour, drama, and lots of action, Patricia Fisher Mysteries will definitely be on the top of my reading list.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy. -
Finding her closest friend and her husband in bed together leads Patricia to follow her wildest, long buried impulse to see the world. Having settled into being a doormat style house-cleaner, it's a big step into the only berth available on the liner--the royal Windsor Suite. But she finds the gumption and the savvy to fill the role admirably, and manages to solve some unexpected problems for her new friends among the crew, including her incredibly supportive butler and fitness trainer.
There's a rat on board who's willing to murder for a piece of shiny stone. The new, improved Patricia cannot let this go; it's too much like her materialistic estranged hubby for her to tolerate, especially when she's dined at the same table as the deceased.
Higgs continues the 'cozy mystery' genre in this unexpected and empowering new series with no loss of empathy for human variety. -
I keep telling myself not to read these traveling stories as the travel info tends to be so bad. Yes, the concept of Patricia's problems and what she does is good, but the whole aboard ship stuff isn't at all. First off, NO employee of any cruise company calls them 'rooms'. They are cabins unless they are suites, but this description is of a penthouse (when they had them) aboard oceanliners, which I thought this was from the description of the size But then in Funchal it was called a cruise ship. I'd like to know what company has 9 room 'suites' with kitchens and only offers 2 meals in their package.
The dining on ships is the most popular amenity and specialty restaurants are offered "if" you want to spend a little extra. EVERY thing you buy is charged to your cabin. I really had to skim. -
I bought the entire 10 book series. I needed something light and funny and highly entertaining at an anxious moment in my life. This was just the ticket. Patricia Fisher catches her husband in bed with her best friend. She cleans out the bank account and books herself on an around the world cruise in the Windsor suite, the only booking available. Treated to a butler and a personal trainer she embarks on her adventure. The very first night she meets a mysterious man who claims to be a retired jewel thief and after one, two, maybe a few more cocktails she wakes the next morning to find that he is dead snd she is the prime suspect. A fun plot, great characters and Mrs fisher slowly finding herself on a luxury cruise ship and discovering that part of that means finding the real killer. What a fun read!
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Patricia Fisher arrives at her best friend's house to go to a hairdresser appointment together on the wrong day and surprises Maggie in bed with Patricia's husband. Her anger and need to get away and contemplate her future lead her to withdraw all their bank accounts and head to the cruise terminal. The only available room is the Windsor Suite on a world cruise. She takes it. Being a fish out of water on the top floor with her own butler, she determines to figure things out and use the time to improve herself. But some of the people she meets are not what they seem and she ends up being a suspect in a murder and confined to quarters. But this doesn't stop her from trying to prove her innocence and some sleuthing follows. I liked the side characters because they are a bit over the top. However, having been on many cruises there were so many inaccuracies as to procedures that I was constantly thinking “that's not right” or “that couldn't happen”. So suspending belief and imagining a 30s screwball comedy I'm looking forward to more stops along the way.
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Patricia is married to Charlie Fisher. Imagine her surprise when she arrives at her best friends house and finds her husband there. Neither of them is exactly dressed either. She leaves in a hurry and transfers their banking, which Charlie never wants to take care of, to her own accounts. The next thing she knows, she books the last available room in a cruise. It just happens to be the best, most expensive room they have. Patricia is freaked out and doesn't know what to do next. Hey life is in an uproar, she's crying over Charlie and very nervous about money. Her Butler, that comes with the room, helps as much as he can. The next thing you know she is somehow accused of murder. There are fabulous hijinks and lot of laughs in this fun cozy mystery. I definitely recommend it!
