by Kathleen Costa

Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win a copy of A Fatal Folly, and a link to purchase it from Amazon.

P’town’s “Resident Solver of Mysteries”
It’s Provincetown, Massachusetts, located on the tip of Cape Cod, and Sydney Riley is the wedding and events planner for the Race Point Inn, one of the town’s most prestigious hotels, and during the off season months she also works at the local gallery. Sydney has an interesting relationship with her mother in many ways defined by their stereotypical mother-daughter disagreements, but for day-to-day challenges she relies on the support of friend Thea, great in a crisis, friend/visual artist Mirela, originally from Bulgaria, boyfriend/ICE agent Ali, a second generation Lebanese-American Muslim, and a host of friends all over town and at the Inn. Tourists flock to this New England resort town enjoying a variety events, festivals, and celebrations galore that make Sydney very busy. However, she has found an interesting talent for investigating murder as P’town’s “resident solver of mysteries.”

Sydney Riley Mystery series
Death of a Bear (2017)
Murder at Fantasia Fair (2017)
The Deadliest Blessing (2018)
A Killer Carnival (2019)
A Fatal Folly (2019)
The Matinée Murders (coming spring 2020)

A Fatal Folly earns 5/5 Sunken Ships…Engaging Entertainment!

“The problem, of course, is that I’m not really a detective. Things seem to happen to people around me and I try and figure things out, but most of the time I stumble around from one clue to the next and occasionally get lucky. As a detective, I behave as though I were in a pinball machine, bouncing around to whatever is shiny in my path.”
—Sydney Riley, A Fatal Folly

It‘s November, it’s cold, it’s very early, and it’s “Ma” on the line…Sydney is not amused. With an “I’d rather give up a kidney than go home for Christmas” attitude, she feigns a busy schedule, which isn’t entirely true since it is the winter season with few events to manage at the Inn. There is also the upcoming annual Holly Folly, an unabashed LGBTQ holiday celebration, with a variety of traditional and not so traditional activities encompassing the entire town. She should have just said…sorry, and talked about the weather, but “Why don’t you come here?” popped out of her mouth. Things get worse when at the Stop & Shop her “Little Green Car” is hit, hard, requiring immediate mechanic attention and introducing her to a salvage/research expert “Guy.” Things perk up when one friend shows her an extraordinary beach find and another presents her with a mystery to take her mind off her boyfriend’s undercover danger and the impending arrival of her mother. Page turning drama accompanies stories about centuries-old pirate lore, sunken ships, Christmas festivities, and a cold case surrounding a long ago murder and missing family…mystery is once again afoot!

Happy Holidays! Jeannette de Beauvoir has penned an entertaining fifth book starring Sydney Riley. I am new to the series starting with the fifth book, and although I missed out (save for later) character developments, there were a plethora of references to connections and previous felonies to keep me engaged (no spoilers, just teasers). The mystery was clever and complex seemingly going one direction than another highlighting greed, violence, and betrayal and tying to all the drama legends of pirates, a fascinating cold case, family angst, and Christmas. There was so much going on needing one’s close attention, but the actual crime and subsequent investigation took more time to get to than I prefer. The characters were realistic and varied with well-defined personalities, but I was taken aback by some of Sydney’s snarky attitudes. I enjoyed A Fatal Folly tremendously and recommend it!

Be a Big Jeannette de Beauvoir Fan!
Jeannette de Beauvoir touts herself as a storyteller writing novels “to share the stories I think are important. I believe fiction tells the greatest truths, and that we can learn about ourselves through stories.” Along with this cozy-style mystery Sydney Riley series and historical fiction novels, she helps others share their stories through a “boutique writing agency” editing manuscripts (from simple copyediting to more substantive work) and teaching writing at Jeannette de Beauvoir Academy with directing writing workshops and retreats, both online and onsite. “I’d be very happy to help you with your writing projects!”

Facebook—Jeannette de Beauvoir
Website—Jeannette de Beauvoir Sign up for her newsletter.
Jeannette de Beauvoir Writing Courses & Workshops

To enter to win a copy of A Fatal Folly, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “folly,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen March 21, 2020. US only, and must be 18 or older to enter. If entering via email and requesting a print copy be sure to include your mailing address in case you win-emails will be deleted when the contest is over. You can read our privacy statement here if you like.

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Kathleen Costa is a long-time resident of the Central Valley, and although born in Idaho, she considers herself a “California Girl.” Graduating from CSU-Sacramento, she is 35+ year veteran teacher having taught in grades 1-8 in schools from Sacramento to Los Angeles to Stockton to Lodi. Currently Kathleen is enjoying year 2 of retirement revitalizing hobbies along with exploring writing, reading for pleasure, and spending 24/7 with her husband of 26+ years.

Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.