Uneasy, that's how I feel. It seems like in the last twenty-four hours my stable life has become unstable. What I thought I knew, I don't. My life feels stripped bare of the assumptions I've made. Now I feel I need to question everything, everyone. I don't know who to trust, what to believe, who's lying, pretending to be something they're not.
Who Killed Patrick? by Syl Waters is the first book in a Mr Bob Murder Mystery. It features the most unusual detective duo - Tarah and Mr Bob. What's so unusual about them, you might ask. Well, Mr Bob is a guinea pig.
We first encounter Tarah, bored with her life and annoyed with her job. She hates being stuck in the office, working for a wage which barely covers the cost of living. She tells herself, "I don't want this anymore. I want something else. I want a life. I want to feel like I'm alive."
On the spur of the moment, she books a one-way ticket to Fuerteventura. And thus her new adventures begin.
She is offered a job, dealing with tourists in the complex of apartments, and she takes on this job with a great enthusiasm. Tarah is happy in her new job, "I'm not sure how or where the days slip by, but effortlessly one sunrise leads to another sunset and another day closes... Life is bliss".
Tarah also has got a new companion. It's a fluffy, tortoiseshell guinea pig called Liliana. Only Liliana is not a she, but a he, and thus the guinea pig becomes known as Mr Bob.
The life of bliss ends abruptly, when one of their guests dies. Patrick's death isn't a straight-forward heart attack, as everyone has presumed at first. The holiday complex is under threat, as the unknown source posts a vicious gossip on the website. Jorge's Place is turning into a potential crime site and that is negatively affecting the reputation.
At the same time Tarah discovers that her guinea pig has a talent for sniffing out trouble. Apparently he has the sixth sense and is able to suspect foul play.
With the help from Mr Bob and Diego the plumber, Tarah turns into a modern-age Miss Marple, conducting an investigation of her own and collecting the clues.
"Solving who killed Patrick is about everyone and our existence here on our lazy, contented, sleeping dinosaur of a perfect isle. I don't know how I'm going to do it, but I have to prove what happened to Patrick. The future of our beautiful, happy home depends on it".
Will they be able to solve the crime before it's too late?
If you're looking for a thrilling, exciting summer read, this is the book for you.
There is a whole pleiad of secondary characters, from the local vet who talks to animals in a coochie-coochie coo way that makes you shake your head in disbelief, to a local Lothario who serves the tables in the Italian café.
The guests are a random bunch, including among the others, two businessmen, Patrick and Mick, with their partners, Pauline and Tamika. Patrick and Mick are hoping to do the biggest deal of their career.
Tamika is an influencer, whose Insta channel is property porn. She is a caricature, but portrayed not without a fair amount of observation. Her Insta account is something I would avoid like a plague, but she has thousands of followers, and considers herself a big star.
The pool of suspects is very narrow, and it's not hard to figure out the motive for the murder and who's done it. You will also feel sorry for Patrick, who appears to be very likable.
The plot is very much a cozy mystery, without gore and forensic investigation.
This post is part of the blog tour for Who Killed Patrick?
Many thanks to Syl Waters, Eleftheria and Rachel's Random Resources for my copy of the book!
Purchase Links
UK –https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08BJ4RPTS/
US - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08BJ4RPTS/
Sign up to Syl Waters newsletter receive a free copy of The Little Book Of Curiously Fascinating Facts about Guinea Pigs - http://www.sylwaters.com/
Author Bio –
Most people know crazy cat ladies are a ‘thing’, but I’m a proud crazy guinea pig lady! I love fun in the sun and plenty of cocktails. My happy place is flip flops. I write stories to keep me company - my characters ensure I’m never lonely and always smiling (when I’m not tearing my hair out!)
Social Media Links –
www.sylwaters.com
Twitter: @waters_syl
Insta: @mrbob.guineapig
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/syl.waters.54
I'm ending my post with a lovely photo of two cute guinea pigs, courtesy of Sarah from MumofThreeWorld blog (check out her post Introducing Henry the guinea pig to find out more).
I regularly read Sarah's blog, and her guinea pigs feature prominently in the weekly photo posts.
This sounds like a really fun read and I'm always interested to hear from a fellow crazy guinea pig lady! Thank you for sharing my photos and for the mention of my blog.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sarah, when I was reading the book, I thought of your little guys. Thanks again for letting me use your photo! :)
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