Murder in Bermuda (Murder in Paradise #1) by Penelope Sotheby #bookreview #mystery
Title: Murder in Bermuda
Author: Penelope Sotheby
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Publication Date: June 5, 2015
Page Count: 108
My rating: 2 stars
About the book:
Event planner, Anna Winters, wants nothing more than to ensure the wedding reception for millionaire Tony Giovani and his beautiful new bride, Meadow, proceeds without a hitch. So far, things have gone exactly as planned. The happy couple’s friends and family have gathered at the Grand Palatial, a posh hotel in Bermuda which caters exclusively to the rich and famous, and are anxiously awaiting the cutting of the cake.
Murder in Bermuda is the first book in the cozy Murder in Paradise mystery series. The series features Anna Winters who is a destination wedding planner who has turned sleuth when a murder happens at her latest wedding.
In this first book Anna is busy making sure everything around her at the wedding is going off without a hitch when someone slips some poison to the groom. With Anna’s job on the line she vows that she is going to find this killer but doesn’t expect to be threatened to be next in line.
Ok, looking at the title of this novella you would think that it would be right up my alley. I love cozy mysteries and I love destination reads to take a little virtual vacation. However, the first things I notice when reading, there’s really not much to even show that it’s set in Bermuda so disappointment number one.
As for the rest of the book I would almost expect to get to the end and think it needed a bit of this or a bit of that with it being a novella but I would hope to still have a good story. However, this one was shaky at best, the dialogue often felt a bit off and the story is barely surface level making this one just not my cup of tea.
About the author:
For many, the thought of childhood conjures images of hopscotch games in quiet neighbourhoods, and sticky visits to the local sweet shop. For Penelope Sotheby, childhood meant bathing in Bermuda, jiving in Jamaica and exploring a string of strange and exotic British territories with her nomadic family. New friends would come and go, but her constant companion was an old, battered collection of Agatha Christie novels that filled her hours with intrigue and wonder. Penelope would go on to read every single one of Christie’s sixty-six novels–multiple times–and so was born a love of suspense than can be found in Sotheby’s own works today. In 2011 the author debuted with “Murder at the Inn”, a whodunit novella set on Graham Island off the West Coast of Canada. After receiving positive acclaim, Sotheby went on to write the series “Murder in Paradise”; five novels following the antics of a wedding planner navigating nuptials (and crime scenes) in the tropical locations of Sotheby’s formative years. An avid gardener, proud mother, and passionate host of Murder Mystery weekends, Sotheby can often be found at her large oak table, gleefully plotting the demise of her friends, tricky twists and grand reveals.
Carries Book Reviews 
Thoughtful review, Carrie! Kudos to you for finishing, and I hope you love your next one! Happy Friday!
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Thanks Jennifer! 🙂
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Ouch, nice honest review Carrie. Probably not my cup of tea either. Better luck next book.
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Thanks Carla! This had to be a freebie at some point but I don’t think it’s even available as an ebook now so that probably tells you how great it was right there. LOL
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