Welcome to Chatham Crossing, a cozy whaling village in New England . Join VENUS BIXBY, the owner of a retro-music store , as she tries to disentangle herself from the town's first murder in decades!
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Welcome to Chatham Crossing, a cozy whaling village in New England . Join VENUS BIXBY, the owner of a retro-music store , as she tries to disentangle herself from the town's first murder in decades!
Read Less
Add this copy of A Whale of a Murder: a Venus Bixby Mystery to cart. $12.00, very good condition, Sold by HPB Inc. rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2024 by Aspetuck Publishing.
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Add this copy of A Whale of a Murder: A Venus Bixby Mystery to cart. $12.70, new condition, Sold by Ingram Customer Returns Center rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from NV, USA, published 2024 by Aspetuck Publishing.
Add this copy of A Whale of a Murder: A Venus Bixby Mystery to cart. $16.16, like new condition, Sold by GreatBookPrices rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Columbia, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2024 by Aspetuck Publishing.
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Fine. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 358 p. In Stock. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Brand New, Perfect Condition, allow 4-14 business days for standard shipping. To Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. protectorate, P.O. box, and APO/FPO addresses allow 4-28 business days for Standard shipping. No expedited shipping. All orders placed with expedited shipping will be cancelled. Over 3, 000, 000 happy customers.
Add this copy of A Whale of a Murder: A Venus Bixby Mystery to cart. $16.32, new condition, Sold by GreatBookPrices rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Columbia, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2024 by Aspetuck Publishing.
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Seller's Description:
New. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 358 p. In Stock. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Brand New, Perfect Condition, allow 4-14 business days for standard shipping. To Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. protectorate, P.O. box, and APO/FPO addresses allow 4-28 business days for Standard shipping. No expedited shipping. All orders placed with expedited shipping will be cancelled. Over 3, 000, 000 happy customers.
Venus Bixby owns Oldies & Goodies, a music store and bakery popular with tourists. She has big plans for the 4th of July weekend beginning with a celebration of her 50th birthday in the gardens at the Sofia Silva Whaling Museum. Then she will be the Grand Marshall in the parade. Now that her husband has passed away it is her turn to shine. She has her sights set on a seat on the prestigious Town Committee.
But when Venus arrives at the museum to check out the setup for her birthday party she stumbles over a pair of orange platform heels. The shoes are attached to the manager of the museum's gift shop and she has clocked her last day of working there. Venus broke her thumb in the fall but after getting it taken care of she learns she is a suspect in the woman's murder. That is not good at all. It could destroy all her plans. She is going to have to sleuth out the real killer before she finds herself singing and dancing all the way to a jail cell.
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As the first book in the series, the author has a big job of introducing the setting, prominent places, her characters, and their relationships while unfolding an intriguing mystery. She used the first few chapters to do that which made for a clunky start. I think spreading this out more would have improved the flow at the beginning. The pacing was better as the story continued and the investigation got rolling.
The characters are an eclectic group. I enjoyed meeting Venus but it took me a few chapters to warm up to her. I think you would call her relationships with every person in her life as complicated. She knows what she wants and she is going to get it and she can be brusque. But so can her "best friend" Carole who has her own agenda. Chatham Crossing has its share of quirky residents. Several try to come together to do good things but there always seems to be a competitive undercurrent between them. That makes them interesting but not the type that gives off the cozy mystery feels.
Two characters jumped right into my heart. Sonny and Cher, two yellow tabbies Venus adopted to "guard" Oldies & Goodies from "Mickies and Minnies" found in old historic buildings. They are the store's mascots and get attention from the customers young and old.
The mystery is complex with many moving parts and suspects. Venus didn't know who she could trust with people close to her on her suspect list. She did share her findings with Detective Donovan, but he didn't usually reciprocate. Venus working with her sister on the Sisters' List of Suspects was very entertaining. They came up with some interesting theories. I liked the articles from The Chatham Crossing Chronicle interspersed throughout the story to share some details and put forth questions that moved the story forward. The way the reveal was set up was great and it led to a very satisfying conclusion.
The music store theme was fun and I appreciated the playlist at the end of the story. Even better you can find the A Whale of a Murder playlist on Spotify. There are also 12 recipes at the back of the book for cookies, bars, and bread.
A Whale of a Murder is a lighthearted mystery with curious characters. Now that we have met so many residents of Chatham Crossing I am intrigued to see what Ms. Taylor has planned for them next.
