Shadows on the Coast of Maine

Rating:
Summary: Good atmosphere and characters; slow, contrived plot
Review: I enjoyed listening to this on CD, but doubt that I would have completed it in book form. Too slow. Hardly anything happens in the mystery and too much time is given to excessive details about the main character's antique print business. I liked the main character and the atmosphere, but the mystery itself was laughable. It was all wrapped up in a few pages at the end. The killer had good reasons for the deed, but one aspect of the plot which I won't reveal here, was totally unbelievable.

Rating:
Summary: I enjoyed reading this book but the plotting isn't great
Review: It almost doesn't matter -- who cares about the plotting when you have the coast of Maine in August in a fabulous old house that's being rehabbed and some antiquing to boot? To be honest, I can hardly remember the plot -- oh yes, some woman is killed and while everything else is going on, the police are investigating the murder (which occurs on the grounds of the fabulous old house and connects to the house). Our antiquing amateur sleuth only gets involved towards the end, of course managing to solve a case that the police couldn't crack. There's a drawing room confrontation with the accused at a gathering of all the suspects -- the sleuth has invited the police to attend as she unmasks the killer.

Yeah, the plot is hokey, but I really enjoyed the book anyway -- it's a lot cheaper than an actual trip to Maine in August and you can really imagine yourself there. I intend to read more books by this author.

Rating:
Summary: Cozy summer read
Review: Maggie Summer, community college professor and anitque print seller, visits her college roommate and her husband in Maine. The Douglasses are outsiders and not truly welcomed when they buy a house that had been in the Brewer family since 1774. Amy Douglass desperately wants a baby to the point that she already has a completed nursery. When the teenage helper is found murdered behind the barn, everyone becomes a suspect, including Maggie. Will Brewer, also an antique seller, a member of the family who had once owned the house, and friend of Maggie's joins her in the search for the murderer. Maggie must determine who is making the wee hours hang-up calls and why do they hear a crying baby in the dead of the night. Maybe a little too much information on antiques but if you are a fan of the Antiques Roadshow this is the mystery for you. The Antique Print series has possibilities but since the next one is in hardback, I'll wait for it in paperback. It is a fun read but not at hardback prices.

Rating:
Summary: Wait Tops a Fine Opener With Her Second "Shadows" Caper
Review: The Agatha Award nominated "Shadows at the Fair" was a fine first effort, and Lea Wait's "Shadows on the Coast of Maine," more than fulfills that early promise.

Wait's sleuth, Maggie, is developing into an interesting character as her creator seems more assured in her handling of complexities, romantic and ethical. As in "Shadows at the Fair," there is a wealth of interesting peripheral detail. Wait is moving toward getting the balance right. Maggie and the situation are more interesting in the second book than the first.

No sophmore slump here! Maggie is in for a long ride, I think. This is someone you'll enjoy getting to know.

Rating:
Summary: Cozy summer read
Review: The Agatha Award nominated "Shadows at the Fair" was a fine first effort, and Lea Wait's "Shadows on the Coast of Maine," more than fulfills that early promise.

Wait's sleuth, Maggie, is developing into an interesting character as her creator seems more assured in her handling of complexities, romantic and ethical. As in "Shadows at the Fair," there is a wealth of interesting peripheral detail. Wait is moving toward getting the balance right. Maggie and the situation are more interesting in the second book than the first.

No sophmore slump here! Maggie is in for a long ride, I think. This is someone you'll enjoy getting to know.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent amateur sleuth mystery
Review: When Maggie Summer's old college roommate and close friend begs her to come visit her in her new home in Madoc, Maine, she drops everything to see Amy Douglas. Her husband and Amy left their high powered jobs in New York City and bought an old Colonial home built in 1774, which they intend to restore to it's former glory.

The move hasn't worked well for the Douglas' as Amy tells Maggie the moment she enters the home. Sounds of a baby crying disturb their sleep as do phone calls with nobody at the other end. A fire breaks out in a room where nothing is combustible and shingles fall off the roof even when the roofer has fixed them. Matters take a more serious turn when Amy's part-time helper is murdered and her husband gets into a car accident because the brake line is cut. As Maggie starts putting the pieces of the puzzle together, she realizes that there are two separate groups at work with different aims and only one of them intended actual harm.

SHADOWS ON THE COAST OF MAINE is a picturesque amateur sleuth mystery that is perfect beach or pool reading material. Readers are treated to life in a small Maine village in which the same families have lived near each other for generations and an outsider is considered anyone whose gene pool hasn't resided there for over a century. Lea Wait has written a complex, multi-layered who done it that is fun to read and difficult to solve, leading to readers waiting anxiously for the author's next novel.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Excellent amateur sleuth mystery
Review: When Maggie Summer's old college roommate and close friend begs her to come visit her in her new home in Madoc, Maine, she drops everything to see Amy Douglas. Her husband and Amy left their high powered jobs in New York City and bought an old Colonial home built in 1774, which they intend to restore to it's former glory.

The move hasn't worked well for the Douglas' as Amy tells Maggie the moment she enters the home. Sounds of a baby crying disturb their sleep as do phone calls with nobody at the other end. A fire breaks out in a room where nothing is combustible and shingles fall off the roof even when the roofer has fixed them. Matters take a more serious turn when Amy's part-time helper is murdered and her husband gets into a car accident because the brake line is cut. As Maggie starts putting the pieces of the puzzle together, she realizes that there are two separate groups at work with different aims and only one of them intended actual harm.

SHADOWS ON THE COAST OF MAINE is a picturesque amateur sleuth mystery that is perfect beach or pool reading material. Readers are treated to life in a small Maine village in which the same families have lived near each other for generations and an outsider is considered anyone whose gene pool hasn't resided there for over a century. Lea Wait has written a complex, multi-layered who done it that is fun to read and difficult to solve, leading to readers waiting anxiously for the author's next novel.

Harriet Klausner