Book Review: Scone Cold Dead by Karen MacInerney (Gray Whale Inn #9)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Strong characters and story

Cons: I’m not cold hearted enough to list any cons

The Bottom Line:

Lobstermen in stew

As conflict leads to murder

Always great visit

Can Natalie Find a Scone Cold Killer?

It’s always a pleasure to return to Cranberry Island.  Karen MacInerney has expertly brought it to life through the eyes of Natalie Barnes, the owner of the Gray Whale Inn bed and breakfast.  Of course, the island does seem to have a murder problem, as evidenced by the fact that Scone Cold Dead is the ninth book in the series.

It’s late spring, and trouble is once again brewing on the island.  There is tension boiling over in the lobster community as people are being accused of trying to skirt the laws to harvest more lobsters and therefore gain more money.  Since Natalie’s new nephew-in-law is one of the lobstermen, this naturally concerns her.  But when a dead body turns up, things get even worse.

Meanwhile, bookings at the inn have been down, and Natalie is hoping to gain some publicity by entering a scone recipe competition a newspaper on the mainland is holding.  And her niece, Gwen, has recently opened an artist’s commune on the island.  Will this distract Natalie from figuring out the latest murder?

As you can see, there are several sub-plots in this book, and they weave in and out of the main plot quite skillfully, sometimes influencing each other in the bargain.  The story is always moving forward, and I devoured the book as quickly as possible because I had to know what was happening.  The climax made perfect sense when we reached it, and it was very suspenseful.

I already stated I love the location, but one huge reason for that is the characters.  Natalie’s world is filled with characters we’ve all come to consider friends over the course of the series, and it was great to spend time with them again here.  A couple of the sub-plots directly involve them, and that helped pull me into the book faster than the murder would have all by itself.  Of course, the suspects are just as strong and compelling, making it hard to figure out what exactly is happening until Natalie pieces it all together.

There are several delicious sounding recipes at the back of the book.  Given this book’s theme, I’m sure it is no surprise that three of them are scone recipes.

Scone Cold Dead is another winning book from Karen MacInerney.  Grab your favorite scone and settle in to see what Natalie and the rest of the gang are up to now.

Be sure to book more time on Cranberry Island with the rest of the Gray Whale Inn Mysteries.

NOTE: I received a copy of this book