Book 13, 2025

Death in the Ancient City by Mary Bowers

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


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I finished an ebook last night. It was Death in the Ancient City, which is the 16th book in the "Tropical Breeze" series by author Mary Bowers. Typically, the main character is Taylor Verone, but this particular installment followed several different characters.

Sisters Jeannette and Lettice Fortrell are trying to reinvent and reignite their once lucrative workout empire, which was based off their famous father's dietary book. They plan to launch their comeback in St Augustine, FL. But, when participating in a ghost walk triggers a paranormal attack on Lettice, they find themselves in the midst of a paranormal tug-o-war. Two women who came rushing to the sisters' aid summon their friend, medium Taylor Verone, who brings her friend, psychic investigator Edson Darby-Deaver. In the meantime, another pair of psychic investigators, the Pendragons, get wind of the events happening at the hotel and try to crash the paranormal party. Lettice is fragile and easily influenced; therefore her sister moves her out of the hotel and into Edson's home, temporarily. Several of their entourage accompany them as they continue making plans for the launch of their (re)brand. When someone winds up dead on the beach, Lettice is convinced the evil entity followed her from the hotel and committed murder from beyond the grave. Now it's up to Edson to disprove a haunting, while Taylor lends her talents to the more mundane homicide investigation.

This story had layers upon layers, but it all meshed together neatly. The plot was fast-paced and kept my attention. I was disappointed, however, that Taylor was somewhat in the background and that her cat, Bastet, barely appeared at all.

Favorite lines:
♦ "If nobody feeds me soon, I'm going to get dangerous."
♦ "I suppose I've committed myself to helping you, even if my cat can't be bothered." // "Bastet has refused?" // "She did everything but blow a raspberry at me."
♦ "I told Michael I was spending the night." // "How did he take it?" // "He told me to keep my hands off you."
♦ "Unhealthy food always tastes divine."
♦ "These days I try to avoid explosive situations."
♦ "I was eating a burrito while they were conspiring."

I would love to give this 4.5 stars. It's better than a 4, but not quite up to a 5. Hm, let's call it 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5.