Book 46, 2019

[chez_jae]

The Gallery of the Dead by Mary Bowers

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Last night, I finished reading The Gallery of the Dead, which is the third book in Mary Bowers' "Tropical Breeze" mystery series. I'd like to say it features Taylor Verone, who runs the local animal shelter, but this book did not. Hm.

Unlike the previous two books in the series, which were written in first person pov (in Taylor's pov), this book "opened at the close" (which I hate) and was told in a series of journal entries by Edson Darby-Deaver (whom we met in book 2) and via interviews with Terry Force (whom we also met in the previous book).

Following their adventures at Cadbury House, Edson has reluctantly joined forces with Teddy for a new paranormal reality show, in which Teddy will investigate alleged hauntings, while Ed, the skeptic, will search for a more pragmatic explanation of things. Their first show is to be filmed at The Royal Palm in Tropical Breeze, site of a tragic suicide exactly 100 years ago. Ed feels out of his depth. Teddy overwhelms him, and the other members of the crew are equally mystifying, including Carmilla, the vamp, and Porter, the obnoxious bulldog. However, Ed has signed a contract, and he intends to see this farce through. Adding to his list of concerns is the fact that Teddy has revealed a psychotic stalker is after him. When the woman manages to get a job at The Royal Palm and lunge at Teddy with a knife, it's Misty, the owner of the Palm, who ends up falling over the gallery railing to her death, much like the century-old suicide.

Now, the focus isn't on ghosts so much as it is finding a killer before she can strike again. Ed relies on his contacts in Tropical Breeze, including Taylor, her cat Bastet, and Bernie, who runs the local paper. Will he put the clues together in time to prevent another murder?

This story was...confusing.
- I hate it when a book begins where the story ends and foreshadows what's to come. It's a huge spoiler!
- I was taken aback that the format of this book was so different than the others. I give the author credit for trying something different, but I didn't like it.
- If Misty was the target all along, why concoct such an elaborate charade of Teddy having a stalker? That made zero sense.
- Misty didn't recognize her own daughter-in-law, even though she was in disguise?
- If all of these recountings (journal entries, interviews, etc) were published in Bernie's paper, does that not mean that now everyone in Tropical Breeze will be aware that Taylor communes with the goddess Bastet?
- There was nothing in Edson's journal entries to indicate how he was putting two and two together, which meant the reader had no chance to do so along the way.
- The ending was like a big Scooby Doo reveal, wherein Ed wrapped it up, but I was still scratching my head.

Favorite line: I do not have all the answers, but I am not afraid of the questions.

I was very "meh" about this book. Average score, and that's being generous.