Cozy-style mystery with an amateur sleuth/Realtor named Regan McHenry. The series is set in Santa Cruz, California and does not need to be read in order.
Every community has a house that people walk by hurriedly, nervously peeking at it out of the corners of their eyes. Bonny Doon is no exception. A bloody double homicide occurred in the Murder House almost twenty years ago and the killer has eluded capture ever since. Recently the house was inherited and the new owner wants to sell.
The problem is no one wants to buy a house with a reputation and reports that it’s home to ghosts. The seller thinks Realtor Regan McHenry would make a perfect listing agent ― after all, with her penchant for playing amateur sleuth, she’s no stranger to murder.
This is the perfect mystery to read if you don’t believe in ghosts — and an even better mystery to read if you do.
Professional Reviews
A highly recommended cleverly crafted mystery, February 10, 2014
By Valerie Caraotta TOP 1000 REVIEWER
Format:Kindle Edition
The old saying "never judge a book by its cover" is certainly applicable for Nancy Lynn Jarvis's book The Murder House. As Realtor Regan McHenry takes on the task of creatively marketing the murder house where a double murder took place almost 2 decades ago, her initial cozy look and feel of the house would evaporate by a series of events and calamities.
As young eccentric Stevie purchases the house his relatives become evident most notably his murder victim father Roger Commons. Just who was the murderer years ago and could this be linked to the murder victim found buried near the property? This Bonny Doon home would serve a severe lesson also to any innocent victim willing to barge in uninvited. Realtor Regan McHenry will find herself moved in a detective type role where relationship dynamics will be uncovered and each layer will consistently confuse even the best of murder mystery solvers. Just when the evidence seems convincing will Jarvis throw a twist and more facts your way to keep you consistently off balance.
The murder mystery is "all in the family" inclusive and will get you wondering:
--Was it the demons that perpetrated vengeful killings...or was it troubled minds that took their free will choice to commit these horrible murders? You will discover Stevie's "Revenge Quest" war game did have glitches in the system that haven't been worked out...and now never will be. Whether it be repeated ghosts or neighbors strong imaginations-you will be left to decide when all is said or done.
Put on your murder mystery hat and be ready to get a full body workout. It will , like it did Regan, perhaps keep you up late at night. This clever Author has used her 25 year tenure as a Realtor in the Santa Cruz area to shape her scenarios with another fine book to her credit. Jarvis seemed to have made the best "move" of all leaving her full time realtor job to pursue her writing endeavors.
Excellent Read
By Ragen Mandell
Format:Kindle Edition
This was a very good book to read. If you love the mystery behind everything murder, Nancy Lynn Jarvis does it. You never know until the very end who the culprit really is. Really enjoyed it
Carpe Phasmatis. March 14, 2014
By Marti Freedman
Format:Kindle Edition
Murder, ghosts, real estate. What's not to like? Three of my fav subjects.
Regan McHenry is an experienced real estate agent. She is quite successful in the business she runs with her husband. So she gets a call to list a house that has been empty for twenty years. The young man who inherited it wants to get rid of the large property and get himself a condo. On the beach.
The only teeny tiny little snag is that two people were murdered in the house twenty years ago. The wife of the owner, up her her bedroom, and ..... get this! .... the listing realtor, found in the entry foyer. Holy Exclusive Listing, Batman. The husband of the murdered woman disappears, and everyone thinks he is the perpetrator of the crime and has escaped detection.
Not only were people murdered in the house, but neighbors have claimed over the intervening years to have seen a female ghost in the window of the bedroom where she was found, and mysterious blue lights in the wooded area behind the house.
Well, dang, this is going to be a hard sell. Mz. Regan puts on her thinking cap and comes up with the idea to market it as a house with ghosts, and fully disclosing the murders. Hey, could turn into a specialty niche for her -- crime scene houses. And darn if her ad doesn't reel in a young IT entrepreneur almost immediately, who is terribly excited about the house, because he loves the paranormal, and wants to use the extensive grounds to grow grapes. He can market them as Ghostly Grapes or the Grapes of Rage, or something. Well, her long time acquaintance in the real estate biz, Inez, close to retiring, also gets a bid, and feels she needs to view the house before taking her clients there, and later, she and the young owner who is selling the property, are found dead, Inez in the same place as the previous murdered realtor.
OK, people, if I were Regan, by this time I would be seriously reviewing my alternate career options, but our gal, brave soul that she is, continues on with the sale.
Really good mystery, and what with the skeleton and all .... oh, I didn't tell you about the skeleton?.... yeah, well there's a skeleton too. .. some interesting characters, and lots of fun facts about selling real estate, it was a really fun read.
This cozy murder mystery takes place aboard luxury liner, Queen Elizabeth II, as wealthy couple celebrate their silver wedding anniversary with family and friends.
The Reed’s faith, a mystery to some, will be tested like never before. Will it hold? Mark’s love for his wife and their intimate romance is shattered by Brandy, a barmaid.
