Death on a Winter Stroll by Francine Mathews (Austenprose PR Book Tour)

 

What is the last book you read that kept you up too late?  Death on a Winter Stroll is a gripping story that definitely kept me up too late on a work night.  I was so immersed in the story; I couldn’t put it down until I finished.

Do you go on any holiday strolls?  My community has a Christmas stroll even that occurs the weekend before Thanksgiving and this year included Thanksgiving weekend.  I would love to go, but unfortunately have not had the time to attend yet.  Maybe next year!

Nantucket has a beloved traditional Christmas Stroll.  Nantucket Police Chief Meredith Folger has her hands full with the community coming back for the stroll after the COVID-19 pandemic and also the Secretary of State visiting during this time.  There is also a new show being filmed at a Nantucket estate as well.  When first one and then two murder victims appear that were killed with the same type of weapon, Chief Folger and new Detective Howie Seitz are on the case.  How are the two cases related and who has the motive to want two very different people dead?

The start of this novel had a great build-up.  All of the characters were introduced and their various reasons for being on Nantucket. Nantucket itself was vividly described and may now be on my list of places I would love to visit at Christmas.  The two characters I found myself intrigued with were Ansel McKay and Winter Candler.  Ansel’s stepmother is the Secretary of State.  He is a troubled young man that has just gone through rehab and is trying to find his path forward in life.  He is able to slip off on his own to finally meet his biological mother.  He also meets Winter Candler.  Her father is a famous star filming his come back on the island.  Winter is struggling with her mother’s suicide and her own eating disorder.  She is trying to figure out what she wants to do with her life.  The two young people bond and have a great relationship.  I liked that two lonely people were able to make a great connection.

I enjoyed the mystery, and I wasn’t sure myself who the murderer was until the very end.  I kept thinking I knew the answer, but I was wrong.  I love when I can’t figure out the killer, but that it all does make sense once you know who it is.

Death on a Winter Stroll is the 7^th book of the Merry Folger Nantucket Mystery series.  This is the first one I have read in the series.  It worked as a standalone novel, but I do wonder about the history of Merry Folger and want to read more in the series.  I love the Being a Jane Austen mysteries series written by Francine Matthews under the pen name Stephanie Barron.

Review Copy from Soho Crime as part of the Austenprose PR Book Tour.  Thank-you! I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

QUICK FACTS

·       Title: Death on a Winter Stroll: A Merry Folger Christmas Mystery

·       Series: A Merry Folger Nantucket Mystery (Book 7)

·       Author: Francine Mathews

·       Genre: Traditional Detective Mystery, Holiday Reading

·       Publisher: ‎Soho Crime (November 1, 2022)

·       Length: (288) pages

·       Format: Hardcover, eBook, & audiobook 

·       ISBN: 978-1641292740

·       Tour Dates: November 14 – December 19, 2022

 

BOOK DESCRIPTION

No-nonsense Nantucket detective Merry Folger grapples with the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and two murders as the island is overtaken by Hollywood stars and DC suits.

Nantucket Police Chief Meredith Folger is acutely conscious of the stress COVID-19 has placed on the community she loves. Although the island has proved a refuge for many during the pandemic, the cost to Nantucket has been high. Merry hopes that the Christmas Stroll, one of Nantucket’s favorite traditions, in which Main Street is transformed into a winter wonderland, will lift the island’s spirits. But the arrival of a large-scale TV production, and the Secretary of State and her family, complicates matters significantly.
 
The TV shoot is plagued with problems from within, as a shady, power-hungry producer clashes with strong-willed actors. Across Nantucket, the Secretary’s troubled stepson keeps shaking off his security detail to visit a dilapidated house near conservation land, where an intriguing recluse guards secrets of her own. With all parties overly conscious of spending too much time in the public eye and secrets swirling around both camps, it is difficult to parse what behavior is suspicious or not—until the bodies turn up.
 
Now, it’s up to Merry and Detective Howie Seitz to find a connection between two seemingly unconnected murders and catch the killer. But when everyone has a motive, and half of the suspects are politicians and actors, how can Merry and Howie tell fact from fiction?
 
This latest installment in critically acclaimed author Francine Mathews’ Merry Folger series is an immersive escape to festive Nantucket, a poignant exploration of grief as a result of parental absence, and a delicious new mystery to keep you guessing.

 

ADVANCE PRAISE

• “This fast-moving mystery packs in a lot, but never too much, and will work for fans of coming-of-age stories, police procedurals, and romance.” —First Clue
• “Fresh, well-wrought prose brings the setting of Nantucket to life. Mathews consistently entertains.” —Publishers Weekly
• “Christmas and death come to Nantucket . . . Plenty of fascinating characters and myriad motives make for an exciting read.” —Kirkus Reviews
• “Mathews consistently places relationships at the forefront of her mysteries, and Merry's unique blend of tenacity and humanity makes her a heroine to root for.”—USA Today bestselling author Karen Odden, author of the Inspector Corravan mysteries

 

PURCHASE LINKS

AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | BOOK DEPOSITORY | BOOKSHOP | GOODREADS

 

AUTHOR BIO

Francine Mathews was born in Binghamton, New York, the last of six girls. She attended Princeton and Stanford Universities, where she studied history, before going on to work as an intelligence analyst at the CIA. She wrote her first book in 1992 and left the Agency a year later. Since then, she has written thirty books, including six previous novels in the Merry Folger series (Death in the Off-Season, Death in Rough Water, Death in a Mood Indigo, Death in a Cold Hard Light, Death on Nantucket, and Death on Tuckernuck) as well as the nationally bestselling Being a Jane Austen mystery series, which she writes under the pen name Stephanie Barron. She lives and works in Denver, Colorado.

 

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