Sandra Orchard: Over Maya Dead Body

By Kelly Bridgewater

FBI Special Agent Serena Jones arrives on Martha's Vineyard with her family, ready for a little bit of R&R and a whole lot of reminiscing as they celebrate the engagement of an old family friend. But crime doesn't take a vacation, and she's soon entangled in an investigation of a suspicious death tied to an antiquities smuggling ring.

When her investigation propels her into danger, Serena must stay the course and solve this case before anyone else dies. But just how is she supposed to do that when the two men in her life arrive on the scene, bringing with them plenty of romantic complications--and even a secret or two?

From Amazon

My Thoughts:

Romantic suspense is a great genre filled with a little bit of romance between the hero and the heroine and a non-stop action story usually filled with a hunt for a murder or justice. With Sandra Orchard's story Over Maya Dead Body, she brings in repeatable characters like Serena Jones and her two sidekicks Nate and Tanner who both choose to like Serena. The romance picks up as the story moves along, bringing me along for the ride as Serena has to choose between two men who make her heart thump. One more than the other.

As for the plot, it is different by the type of mystery it is. It is predictable in the romance and the mystery solving aspect. I knew there would be a point where Serena's life would be in danger about ninety-five percent into the novel. The man she choose would be the one that she would be excited that saved her. The plot is very formulaic for this type of novel, which is fine because a lot of readers like their story to fit a certain formula when reading a novel. The plot read like a mystery with Serena hunting for clues and interviewing different people to try to solve the mystery, but the art aspect didn't seem to be all the important to the story, at least in my humble opinion.

The spiritual element really isn't there either, even though it is published under the Christian genre, so if a reader is scared away by the title of Christian fiction, this isn't one of those books that the reader can shy away from.

Overall, with an original mystery and a predictable romance, the repeatable characters of Serena Jones will capture the hearts of Orchard's story with an ending begging to go forward with a fourth installment. I believe fans of cozy mysteries and romantic suspense would enjoy this novel. If you are a fan of Irene Hannon or Terri Blackstock, I believe you would enjoy this novel too.

I received a complimentary copy of Over Maya Dead Body by Sandra Orchard from Revell Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Sandra Orchard: A Fool and His Monet

By Kelly Bridgewater

Description (From Amazon):

Serena Jones has a passion for recovering lost and stolen art--one that's surpassed only by her zeal to uncover the truth about the art thief who murdered her grandfather. She's joined the FBI Art Crime Team with the secret hope that one of her cases will lead to his killer. Now, despite her mother's pleas to do something safer--like get married--Serena's learning how to go undercover to catch thieves and black market traders.

When a local museum discovers an irreplaceable Monet missing, Jones leaps into action. The clues point in different directions, and her boss orders her to cease investigating her most promising suspect. But determined to solve the case and perhaps discover another clue in her grandfather's murder, she pushes ahead, regardless of the danger.

With spunk, humor, and plenty of heart-stopping moments, Sandra Orchard gives readers an exciting string of cases to crack and a character they'll love to watch solve them.

From Amazon

My Review:

I have read a number of Sandra Orchard’s Love Inspired Suspense and enjoyed them, so when she started to write longer novels for Revell, I itched to read them. She does a good job at creating characters that I enjoyed spending a long time with. Her newest book A Fool and His Monet didn’t really hit the mark for me.

First, there were moments in the story that didn’t make any sense. For instance, Serena was in a situation where she was in a faceoff with Stan, a brother of a suspect, and Matt, a fellow police officer, and they followed her to her apartment. She parked around back. Orchard allowed another man to checking out her house, so he got jumped by Tanner, her teacher. Orchard ended the chapter and moved on without showing me what happened with Stan and Matt who were waiting in the front of her apartment building. I was upset that Orchard didn’t finish that train of thought.

I really didn’t like the plot. Serena spent a lot of time doing things like traveling to the shady part of East St. Louis, but because she believed her FBI badge would stop the bad guys from harming her, Serena went anyways. If this was reality, Serena’s badge would mean nothing to the bad guys, so it was realistic. Yes, being an avid mystery reader, I wanted to know who did it, but the story didn’t move along fast enough. At times, the story dragged, and I wanted to put the novel down.

As for the character of Serena, Orchard made her to irresistible for the male species. For the majority of the book, men were falling over Serena, wanting to date her, but she wanted to find her grandfather’s killer and do her job, so she really didn’t pay much attention to the multitude of men falling at her feet. Orchard should have left the men population to two or three then it would have been more believable for me, but the story is told in Serena’s perspective, so maybe she just thinks every male wants her.

The story idea is original and unpredictable. I didn’t see the ending coming or who the bad guy was. I even found the bad guy totally unbelievable because the bad person didn’t show some of the psychological issues until the end of the novel. Orchard should have shown some hints of the issues to make it more believable for me.

Not one of my favorite mystery books, Sandra Orchard created a lackluster plot with an inflated heroine who believed all men wanted her. While the mystery was different, Orchard lost me in places as her story led me places and then changed to something else. If you enjoy cozy mysteries like Lorena McCourtney and Christy Barritt, then this is a book you might want to try.  

I received a complimentary cop of A Fool and His Monet from Revell Publishing and the opinions stated are all my own. 

My Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

Purchase A Fool and His Monet

Sandra Orchard: Desperate Measures

By Kelly Bridgewater

From Amazon

Back Cover Copy: 

Kate won't be safe until all of Port Aster's secrets are revealed

Researcher Kate Adams has finally pinpointed the supposed "miracle plant" that tore apart her family years ago. She's certain that discovering its secrets is her only hope of solving the mystery surrounding her father's disappearance. She's willing to risk anything to find the truth, including her relationship with Detective Tom Parker. But with so many people in pursuit of the plant, going it alone might be a fatal mistake.

My Thoughts:

I had never read anything by Sandra Orchard, but I love mysteries, so I jumped at the chance to read Desperate Measures when the opportunity came. Inside the dark and menacing covers lies a mystery filled with a mysterious heroine that set places in Port Aster.

Desperate Measures does exactly what a third book in a series should do: it dives deeper into the overarching mystery and ties up loose ends that were presented in the first two books. I haven’t read the first two books, so I can’t comment on what happened in the first two books, but Orchard does allude to the climactic moments in the first two books, grabbing my curiosity even further. The mystery starts in the first chapter, grabbing my attention instantly. Orchard satisfies my love with enough action to hold my attention throughout the whole book. The conflict rang true, but I had a problem with the villain just appearing out of nowhere.

Detective Tom Parker and Kate Adams, herbal research scientist, relationship is explored deeper as the story progresses. I felt more connected with Tom because we understood his struggles and emotions for Kate as the story moved along, but Kate tried to keep a secret from Tom, so Orchard wrote her, in my opinion, as standoffish to the audience. Kate was scared, nervous, and always looking over her shoulder. While Tom, as a detective, had a lot of cases on his plate, so he was juggling those while trying to fight his overpowering emotions for Kate. The romantic tension was one-sided. With the happily-ever-after resolution, I felt it was too fast for my taste.

Orchard’s research into plant research appeared to be right on. It sounded natural for Kate and her friend, Patti, to discuss the care and product of the amendoso plant. All the technical terminology did not detract from the story; it flowed naturally, allowing me to lose myself in the action.

Orchard created a beautiful, yet mysterious setting in Port Aster. Orchard explained the setting when it was needed to fill the audience in on what was happening, but there were times the scene left things to my imagination.

Since this is a mystery, there is harrowing actions affecting Kate and those close to her, but there was nothing violent or graphically described. This book will appeal to fans of a good mystery with non-stop action and a little bit of romance like Christy Barritt, Lorena McCourtney, Margaret Daley. As for the spiritual content, Orchard really did not include much. I remember only one scene that mentioned God, and it wasn’t long at all. Nothing too preachy.

In short, fans of mysteries will be swept up in the non-stop action in Sandra Orchard’s ending to her Port Aster trilogy. Desperate Measures has a hero who really shines in chivalry, exciting tension, and a familiar setting for those who have read the first two books in the series. Desperate Measures made me want to read the first two books in the series to catch up on what occurred to Tom and Kate before this volume.

I received a complimentary copy of Desperate Measures from Revell Publishing and the opinions stated are all my own.  

My Rating:  4 out of 5 stars