Valentine’s Day is Murder
by Carolyn Arnold
It ‘s a mystery fast to read but very exciting, set in a beautiful place like Jamaica: splendid sea, fantastic beaches, tempting cocktails and lots of sun.
~LibriAmoriMiei
This was a quick, enjoyable read. Fast paced, beautiful setting of Ocho Rios, Jamaica,
~Tea and A Book
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Valentine’s Day is Murder
(McKinley Mysteries series Book 8)
Cozy Mystery
E-Book File Size: 527 KB
Print Length: 117 pages
ASIN: B00OO729NQ
My Review
The story takes place in exotic Ocho Rios, Jamaica. I’ve always wanted to go there, but until I do, I’ll visit vicariously through this fun cozy mystery.
Sean and Sara will soon be celebrating their One year Anniversary and this will also be their first Velentine’s Day as a married couple.
Their plans will have to be put on hold when they receive a phone call from Meredith, their dear friend Jimmy’s new girlfriend, that he’s disappeared. They drop everything and fly to Ocho Riosto find him.
Sara and Sean are both former police officers and now own their own private investigation company and put these talents to work as soon as they land. All is not sunny and welcoming in Jamaica and they have to move fast to save Jimmy, protect Meredith, and stay alive themselves.
When I reached the finale and discovered the culprits, it came as a complete surprise. I’m wondering if their story was told in a previous book from this series.
This is the eight book in the McKinley Mystery Series but I had no trouble reading this before the other books. The author focused on this mystery and introduced the characters in a way that made them quickly become familiar and easy to engage with.
Sean and Sara are still in the newlywed mode and share some sweet moments. They are a bit gushy with their endearments, hence the mention of the newlywed mode.
I came away from this happy with the ending and eager to go to the beginning and get to know the characters better. To explore how they came to be where they were in this book.
A fun, fast read, that will bring me back for more of this series.
4 Stars
~~~
Synopsis
From bestselling author Carolyn Arnold…
Strap in for an adventure that will take you to the beautiful island of Jamaica and have you wanting a piña colada.
Jimmy finally takes a vacation–and a chance on love–only to be abducted. His female companion originally thinks he had cold feet about their relationship, but Sean and Sara know there’s more to it. Jimmy isn’t the type to just up and disappear, let alone leave a lady stranded.
Setting out on their private jet, Sean and Sara reach the tropical paradise of Ocho Rios, Jamaica with sightseeing as the last thing on their minds.
With a gold coin being their initial tie to Jimmy’s kidnapper, Sean and Sara even speculate about the involvement of pirates. Yet as the hours pass, and there’s no word from Jimmy’s captors, Sean and Sara will need to figure out the real motive before it’s too late.
With help from their friend, Adam, back in Albany, the pieces come together and not a moment too soon.
8th in the Amazon Bestselling McKinley Mystery Series
Enjoy this glimpse inside!
From Chapter 4
Pineapples & Alibis
“There was no answer in her room. She may be out by the pool.” The front desk clerk lowered the phone’s receiver and gestured toward a wall of windows that faced a pool, and, beyond that, the sea.
“Thank you,” Sean said.
“No worries.” The clerk smiled and flipped some papers over that she had been working on when they had approached her to call up to Meredith’s room.
Tourists, clad in bathing suits in a spectrum of colors, dotted both the poolside and the beach. It had Sara wishing all she and Sean had to do was enjoy the scenery.
The sun was beating down, the warmth all-encompassing, but thankfully, the humidity wasn’t extreme. Sara still wished to slip out of her dress to reveal the bikini she wore underneath. The thought of the rays kissing her skin was almost too much to dismiss from her mind.
She scanned the horde of vacationers and spotted Meredith lying out on a lounge chair. She sat up as if she sensed Sara watching.
“There she is, Sean.” Sara nudged her head toward Meredith.
“She doesn’t look too upset, does she?”
Sara put a hand on Sean’s shoulder. “We’re not going to assume she’s behind this.”
He stayed put. “She’s not behind this and yet she’s new to his life and he’s never gone missing before.”
“We promised on the flight we would give her the benefit of the doubt, unless something came up to convince us of her involvement.”
“I’m starting to rethink that decision.”
“If Jimmy trusted her—”
“Yes, then we should too.”
“That’s right.” Sara pressed her lips, hoping she conveyed more conviction than she felt at times—this being one of those times.
~~
Purchase Links
Amazon ~ Amazon UK ~ Barnes & Noble ~ iTunes ~ Kobo
About This Author
CAROLYN ARNOLD is the bestselling author of the Madison Knight series, the Brandon Fisher series, and the McKinley Mysteries. Her love for writing dates back to her teen years, but her passion was reignited in 2006 when a fellow employee said “tell me a story.” Since then Carolyn has never looked back.
Her writing has since been compared to New York Times Bestsellers such as JD Robb, Mary Higgins Clark, Sue Grafton, Michael Connelly, Tess Gerritsen, and more.
Carolyn was born in 1976 in a rural town of Ontario, Canada, and she currently lives with her husband and two beagles in a city near Toronto.
For more information on the author visit https://carolynarnold.net/
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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew!
Since childhood I’ve been an artist and worked as a graphic designer in the corporate world and for newspapers for twenty-three years before I quit to write full time. But I’d already begun writing novels at 21, over forty-three years ago now, and have had twenty-one (nine romantic horror, two horror novels, two romantic SF horror, one romantic suspense, one romantic time travel, one historical romance, two thrillers, and three murder mysteries) previous novels, two novellas and twelve short stories published from Zebra Books, Leisure Books, Avalon Books, The Wild Rose Press, Damnation Books/Eternal Press; and I’ve self-published my last six novels with Amazon Kindle Direct and my dinosaur novels and Spookie Town Mysteries are my best-sellers.
That song is stuck in my head!
