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Maggie Dove #1
Maggie Dove
Susan Breen introduces a delightful new series heroine in this poignant and absorbing cozy mystery with a bite. Maggie Dove thinks everyone in her small Westchester County community knows everyone else’s secrets. Then murder comes to town.
When Sunday School teacher Maggie Dove finds her hateful next-door neighbor Marcus Bender lying dead under her beloved oak tree—the one he demanded she cut down—she figures the man dropped dead of a mean heart. But Marcus was murdered, and the prime suspect is a young man Maggie loves like a son. Peter Nelson was the worst of Maggie’s Sunday School students; he was also her late daughter’s fiancé, and he’s been a devoted friend to Maggie in the years since her daughter’s death.
Maggie can’t lose Peter, too. So she sets out to find the real murderer. To do that, she must move past the grief that has immobilized her all these years. She must probe the hidden corners of her little village on the Hudson River. And, when another death strikes even closer to home, Maggie must find the courage to defend the people and the town she loves—even if it kills her.
When Sunday School teacher Maggie Dove finds her hateful next-door neighbor Marcus Bender lying dead under her beloved oak tree—the one he demanded she cut down—she figures the man dropped dead of a mean heart. But Marcus was murdered, and the prime suspect is a young man Maggie loves like a son. Peter Nelson was the worst of Maggie’s Sunday School students; he was also her late daughter’s fiancé, and he’s been a devoted friend to Maggie in the years since her daughter’s death.
Maggie can’t lose Peter, too. So she sets out to find the real murderer. To do that, she must move past the grief that has immobilized her all these years. She must probe the hidden corners of her little village on the Hudson River. And, when another death strikes even closer to home, Maggie must find the courage to defend the people and the town she loves—even if it kills her.
206 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 14, 2016
About the author
Susan Breen
5 books170 followersSusan Breen is the bestselling author of the Maggie Dove mystery series. She is especially honored to have won the Westchester Library Association's Washington Irving Award for "readability, literary quality, and wide general appeal."
The Maggie Dove series is set in a small village in the Hudson Valley in New York. It's a beautiful place, but it does have its secrets.
Maggie Dove is an amateur detective. Drawn into solving a crime when her dear friend is accused of murder, she discovers she has a knack for it. Maybe it comes from her years of being a Sunday School teacher, which have taught her that most people are a mixture of good and bad. Sometimes she feels like being a detective is her way of figuring out the world.
Susan Breen is also the author of The Fiction Class and a lot of short stories. She teaches novel-writing at Gotham Writers. She lives in a small village in the Hudson Valley with her husband, two very spoiled cockapoo dogs, and two somewhat hostile cats.
The Maggie Dove series is set in a small village in the Hudson Valley in New York. It's a beautiful place, but it does have its secrets.
Maggie Dove is an amateur detective. Drawn into solving a crime when her dear friend is accused of murder, she discovers she has a knack for it. Maybe it comes from her years of being a Sunday School teacher, which have taught her that most people are a mixture of good and bad. Sometimes she feels like being a detective is her way of figuring out the world.
Susan Breen is also the author of The Fiction Class and a lot of short stories. She teaches novel-writing at Gotham Writers. She lives in a small village in the Hudson Valley with her husband, two very spoiled cockapoo dogs, and two somewhat hostile cats.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 348 reviews
June 15, 2016
Maggie Dove
Susan Breen
ARC received from NetGalley for an honest review.
I had a hard time putting down MAGGIE DOVE once I started reading. Maggie's story takes place in Westchester County N.Y., close to where I grew up and I can tell you that reading this made me feel like I was right back there. Susan Breen describes the location perfectly. Small town New York at its finest. If you have ever lived in small town America, you know how quickly gossip spreads and Susan describes it perfectly.
Maggie is the Sunday school teacher, which she has been doing for thirty years. Her neighbor, Marcus Bender, has been after her to cut down her oak tree which is blocking his view of the Hudson River. She is positive that Marcus is poisoning her tree and is determined to catch him in the act. One night, after threatening Marcus with death if he touches her tree, she sees a lump on her front lawn. Well well, seems Marcus picked that spot to drop dead! Peter, the town police officer and her daughter's ex boyfriend soon comes to investigate. He tells her Marcus had a heart attack but soon the tables are turned and Peter is the prime suspect. Maggie, who used to write mysteries takes it upon herself to find the real killer. The secondary characters that come into Maggie's search for the truth are funny and perfectly introduced so you have no trouble following along.
While reading MAGGIE DOVE I thought I knew who the killer was quite a few times. Each time I thought I had it figured out, Susan Breen threw a wrench in my theory and I was looking at someone else. She kept me guessing throughout this fast paced who dun it!
I love cozy mysteries and soon came to care about the people of this small town, as quirky as they are. It sounds as if MAGGIE DOVE is the beginning of a series and I hope that is true. I would love to continue reading about Maggie and her friends. I wasn't ready to say goodbye to them.
Susan Breen
ARC received from NetGalley for an honest review.
I had a hard time putting down MAGGIE DOVE once I started reading. Maggie's story takes place in Westchester County N.Y., close to where I grew up and I can tell you that reading this made me feel like I was right back there. Susan Breen describes the location perfectly. Small town New York at its finest. If you have ever lived in small town America, you know how quickly gossip spreads and Susan describes it perfectly.
Maggie is the Sunday school teacher, which she has been doing for thirty years. Her neighbor, Marcus Bender, has been after her to cut down her oak tree which is blocking his view of the Hudson River. She is positive that Marcus is poisoning her tree and is determined to catch him in the act. One night, after threatening Marcus with death if he touches her tree, she sees a lump on her front lawn. Well well, seems Marcus picked that spot to drop dead! Peter, the town police officer and her daughter's ex boyfriend soon comes to investigate. He tells her Marcus had a heart attack but soon the tables are turned and Peter is the prime suspect. Maggie, who used to write mysteries takes it upon herself to find the real killer. The secondary characters that come into Maggie's search for the truth are funny and perfectly introduced so you have no trouble following along.
While reading MAGGIE DOVE I thought I knew who the killer was quite a few times. Each time I thought I had it figured out, Susan Breen threw a wrench in my theory and I was looking at someone else. She kept me guessing throughout this fast paced who dun it!
I love cozy mysteries and soon came to care about the people of this small town, as quirky as they are. It sounds as if MAGGIE DOVE is the beginning of a series and I hope that is true. I would love to continue reading about Maggie and her friends. I wasn't ready to say goodbye to them.
April 20, 2016
Maggie Dove is so very human. She's basically a good person, long defined by the death of her young adult daughter, who has plenty of flaws and is willing (eventually) to recognize and admit them. When a hated next door neighbor and a loved but not always liked friend are both poisoned to death, Maggie is thrust into the mystery to protect a man who is like a son to her. This was a really good read--I kept picking it up to sneak in a few more pages, because I needed to know what happened next. A couple of the characters sort of merged together to me, but, overall, I loved getting to know the people in Maggie's town and Maggie herself. Can't wait to read the next one.
Review copy provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Review copy provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
June 14, 2016
Maggie Dove, Sunday school teacher, is a wonderful character in this exciting book.
When she finds her neighbor,Marcus Bender lying dead under her beloved oak tree, she assumes he died of a heart attack while out running. Marcus was indeed Maggie's enemy, he was bugging her to cut down her beautiful oak tree, but Maggie refused his request.
Unfortunately, Marcus didn't die from a heart attack and soon her good friend Peter, a DARE officer, is the prime suspect.
Maggie refuses to believe her friend is capable of murder so she sets off to investigate.
Her life takes some sudden turns and you won;t believe the nefarious goings on in this terrific book.
I look forward to reading more in this great series.
I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my fair and honest review.
When she finds her neighbor,Marcus Bender lying dead under her beloved oak tree, she assumes he died of a heart attack while out running. Marcus was indeed Maggie's enemy, he was bugging her to cut down her beautiful oak tree, but Maggie refused his request.
Unfortunately, Marcus didn't die from a heart attack and soon her good friend Peter, a DARE officer, is the prime suspect.
Maggie refuses to believe her friend is capable of murder so she sets off to investigate.
Her life takes some sudden turns and you won;t believe the nefarious goings on in this terrific book.
I look forward to reading more in this great series.
I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my fair and honest review.
May 5, 2016
MAGGIE DOVE marks the start of an amazing mystery series by the talented Susan Breen. When I finished this book, I had to pause for a moment at its emotional gravity. This is a mystery, and a fun one, but it's also a meaningful and moving book. Tell all your friends to read Susan Breen's wonderful new novel.
May 3, 2016
Maggie Dove, a brooding, character-driven mystery by Susan Breen, started slowly but ultimately I found it difficult to put down. I found Maggie Dove, the main character, difficult to like, especially at first. She is very proper, righteous, and has spent 20 years mourning the death of her daughter, effectively putting her own life on hold that entire period of time.
The book is set in a small town near Tarrytown, NY on east side of the Hudson River, north of New York City. Both the location and the atmosphere are keenly described to great effect. The book is well plotted with a wide cast of characters providing a host of suspects. I accurately guessed the identity of the murderer about halfway through, though I can't say why.
There are strong Christian themes throughout book. Not only has Maggie taught Sunday school for 30 years, but she frequently references Biblical passages and Christ's teachings to guide her. This isn't necessarily a negative, but some readers may not appreciate the continual religious overtones.
I can't honestly say I particularly cared for this book. Though there was much to like about it, Maggie was so sad and carried such baggage, that it was overpowering and made the book sad, dark and slow moving. There were other equally unhappy characters contributing to the overall sad feel of the book. This changed a bit as the book built towards its conclusion, which was tautly written and interesting. The ending had an underlying message of hope which did help some.
I was given this book by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
The book is set in a small town near Tarrytown, NY on east side of the Hudson River, north of New York City. Both the location and the atmosphere are keenly described to great effect. The book is well plotted with a wide cast of characters providing a host of suspects. I accurately guessed the identity of the murderer about halfway through, though I can't say why.
There are strong Christian themes throughout book. Not only has Maggie taught Sunday school for 30 years, but she frequently references Biblical passages and Christ's teachings to guide her. This isn't necessarily a negative, but some readers may not appreciate the continual religious overtones.
I can't honestly say I particularly cared for this book. Though there was much to like about it, Maggie was so sad and carried such baggage, that it was overpowering and made the book sad, dark and slow moving. There were other equally unhappy characters contributing to the overall sad feel of the book. This changed a bit as the book built towards its conclusion, which was tautly written and interesting. The ending had an underlying message of hope which did help some.
I was given this book by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
April 27, 2016
I love a good "Cosy" novel but this wasn't quite what I was expecting.
I found Maggie to be a difficult character to empathise with...in fact I found her annoying and prudish.
The mystery was good, although I guessed who the killer was, but not why.
The narrative jumped around, in both time and place, which broke my concentration, as did the introduction of random characters.
I was also put off by the religious elements.....but this is purely a personal reaction.
I received an ARC from the publisher, via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review. I doubt I'll read any more books in the series.
I found Maggie to be a difficult character to empathise with...in fact I found her annoying and prudish.
The mystery was good, although I guessed who the killer was, but not why.
The narrative jumped around, in both time and place, which broke my concentration, as did the introduction of random characters.
I was also put off by the religious elements.....but this is purely a personal reaction.
I received an ARC from the publisher, via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review. I doubt I'll read any more books in the series.
June 21, 2016
I love cozy mysteries, however, Maggie Dove did not do it for me. There were several things I didn't care about this novel. The characters were a bit outdated. I felt this novel was written for an older crowd. I also didn't really care for the character of Maggie. She was a Sunday school teacher, so at times, she sounded very judgmental and preachy for my taste. Overall, this is an easy read and the mystery is not that predictable. It just wasn't what I was expecting.
I'd like to thank NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
I'd like to thank NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
August 21, 2016
Rating: 2.5/5
(I received a free copy from the publisher, Alibi, via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.)
***Minor spoilers***
Maggie Dove has lived a life of love and loss. After losing both her husband and daughter, she's now settled down in her little town living her nice, quiet life. This is interrupted when her new neighbour insists that she moves the tree in her yard so that he can paint the river properly. Maggie's hatred for this man grows - until he is found dead under the very same tree. At first, everyone thinks it's a heart attack, but we learn that it was actually an overdose on ecstasy. Her late daughter's boyfriend is the prime suspect as the person most able to access the drug, since he is in charge of it at the police station. Since nobody feels the need to stick up for a man she considers family, she sets out on her own investigation in the hopes of finding the true murderer.
This was a nice, relaxing read however it did have a bit of a slow pace near the beginning. I didn't love it or anything but I was definitely entertained by it. I didn't rate this book higher because I found it quite easy to guess the murderer, simply because of the way readers usually go about a random guess.
I didn't feel any particular connection to any of the characters. I thought Peter was quite immature for a man who was supposed to be 40 - he acted more like someone who was 18 or maybe even younger. He always ran from his problems and didn't stand up for himself. I know that doesn't necessarily make him appear super young, but there were other things such as the way he spoke that made me feel like he was younger. I also couldn't connect with Maggie too much. I haven't lived a life the way she has, or experienced loss that close to me for be to feel empathetic. I'm definitely not complaining that I haven't felt the same grief, but it just made it hard to connect with her when so much of her character was about how she coped and moved on, and must cope with grief again.
Overall, this was an entertaining read for the cottage and I would recommend it for someone who is looking for a mystery that isn't too hardcore. I would warn that it is pretty predictable in terms of who the murderer is, but then again you also get to feel the satisfaction of guessing correctly. Also, it is slow in some parts so be aware of that before you read it. All in all, I don't regret reading this.
(I received a free copy from the publisher, Alibi, via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.)
***Minor spoilers***
Maggie Dove has lived a life of love and loss. After losing both her husband and daughter, she's now settled down in her little town living her nice, quiet life. This is interrupted when her new neighbour insists that she moves the tree in her yard so that he can paint the river properly. Maggie's hatred for this man grows - until he is found dead under the very same tree. At first, everyone thinks it's a heart attack, but we learn that it was actually an overdose on ecstasy. Her late daughter's boyfriend is the prime suspect as the person most able to access the drug, since he is in charge of it at the police station. Since nobody feels the need to stick up for a man she considers family, she sets out on her own investigation in the hopes of finding the true murderer.
This was a nice, relaxing read however it did have a bit of a slow pace near the beginning. I didn't love it or anything but I was definitely entertained by it. I didn't rate this book higher because I found it quite easy to guess the murderer, simply because of the way readers usually go about a random guess.
I didn't feel any particular connection to any of the characters. I thought Peter was quite immature for a man who was supposed to be 40 - he acted more like someone who was 18 or maybe even younger. He always ran from his problems and didn't stand up for himself. I know that doesn't necessarily make him appear super young, but there were other things such as the way he spoke that made me feel like he was younger. I also couldn't connect with Maggie too much. I haven't lived a life the way she has, or experienced loss that close to me for be to feel empathetic. I'm definitely not complaining that I haven't felt the same grief, but it just made it hard to connect with her when so much of her character was about how she coped and moved on, and must cope with grief again.
Overall, this was an entertaining read for the cottage and I would recommend it for someone who is looking for a mystery that isn't too hardcore. I would warn that it is pretty predictable in terms of who the murderer is, but then again you also get to feel the satisfaction of guessing correctly. Also, it is slow in some parts so be aware of that before you read it. All in all, I don't regret reading this.
June 30, 2016
Maggie Dove by Susan Breen is a wonderfully warm and entertaining cozy mystery that takes place in a small town in Westchester County. Maggie Dove is a former mystery writer and a Sunday school teacher. Her unlikeable next-door neighbor, Marcus Bender has been after Maggie to cut down her favorite oak tree that blocks his view of the river. Since she won’t cut it down, Marcus decides to poison the tree. All this makes Maggie consider what rather un-Christian like acts she can do to Bender. Only she finds him dead under the tree on her front lawn. Peter, her dead daughters former fiancée is accused of poisoning Marcus Bender. Peter has been like a son to Maggie since the accidental death of her daughter. He has a rather difficult past but Maggie swears he could not be the murderer. Like any small towns, this town is full of interesting people and gossips, all with their opinions on what has happened. Maggie sets out to clear Peter and discovers there are others who disliked and wished Bender dead. Soon victims of the murderer are piling up as Maggie races to find the answers and how all the seemingly unrelated murders are tied together.
This is a cute and simple mystery that kept me guessing until the end. Maggie’s character is so well developed that you think you know someone just like her. She is witty and fully acknowledges her flaws. Peter is a young man caught up in his grief without direction, the perfect fall guy. There is an underlying story of coming to grips with an unexpected loss and moving on with your life. That adds warmth to the story.
Overall, a great book for the summer.
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Alibi in return for a fair and honest review.
This is a cute and simple mystery that kept me guessing until the end. Maggie’s character is so well developed that you think you know someone just like her. She is witty and fully acknowledges her flaws. Peter is a young man caught up in his grief without direction, the perfect fall guy. There is an underlying story of coming to grips with an unexpected loss and moving on with your life. That adds warmth to the story.
Overall, a great book for the summer.
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Alibi in return for a fair and honest review.
June 18, 2016
Originally published at Reading Reality
If this cozy mystery were any cozier, it would knit itself a sweater. Or perhaps crochet an afghan. And as much as I occasionally love a good cozy (Marty Wingate’s Potting Shed AND Birds of a Feather series for example) this one just didn’t work for me.
In spite of the contemporary setting, there’s something slightly old-fashioned about both the heroine and the story. Although the story isn’t strictly first person singular, it is definitely written from protagonist Maggie Dove’s point of view. And a lot of the time her point of view is small and self-absorbed.
I don’t mean that Maggie is vain or egotistical. But her daughter died 20 years ago in an automobile accident, and Maggie has isolated herself in her house and her small town and her grief, and hasn’t ever moved on. Neither has her daughter’s boyfriend Peter, who was luckily thrown from that car all those years ago.
Peter is now the Assistant Police Chief, and in very big trouble. First a hated villager dies on Maggie’s lawn. Then a beloved old woman, and Maggie’s best friend, dies in a nursing home, both of the same cause – an overdose of Ecstasy that Peter has easy access to. And a substance that has gotten him in trouble before.
Maggie finally shakes herself out of her 20 year depression in order to prove Peter’s innocence, because he’s too sunk into his own morass of despond to take care of his own business his own self. But then that’s part of what his and Maggie’s functions are in each other’s lives. They take care of each other and they keep the memory of the late, lamented Juliet alive. So that neither of them has to move on.
Until Maggie is forced to make an irrevocable choice – either to surrender to the same forces that brought her best friend down, or to step forward and finally make something of the rest of her life.
Escape Rating C: This book is very slow going, right up until the end, then it’s a race for the finish. It’s also very clearly the setup for a series, as Maggie takes the entire book to make us wallow in her grief and passivity, introduce us to her town and her friends (and frenemies) and finally, finally get up and move on.
Maggie is a terribly nice person, but she also congratulates herself on her niceness just a bit too much, and beats herself up unmercifully when she acts or even merely feels human.
Also, part of Maggie’s persona and her self-judgement revolves around her faith and her attachment to her church and its activities. She’s been a Sunday School teacher there for years, and that has clearly provided a sense of stability and a circle of friends. Her faith is very important to her, and she thinks about it often. So often, in fact, that readers who are not expecting this story to have an inspirational tinge to it may wonder what they have wandered into.
But about the mystery. One of the things that is done well in this story is to peel back all the layers of everyone in this small town. No one is quite what they appear to be, and Maggie has been oblivious to much of what lies beneath the surface for many years. The investigation that she throws herself into is a big and much needed wake up call.
As far as the murderer goes, the author manages to scatter an entire net full of red herrings, and I did nibble at most of them. In the end, I figured out whodunnit right about the same time Maggie did, and only because there were no other suspects left. The author leads us readers on quite the chase. The last 10% wraps things up at a furious pace as Maggie and the reader finally see what has been successfully hiding in plain sight all along.
If this cozy mystery were any cozier, it would knit itself a sweater. Or perhaps crochet an afghan. And as much as I occasionally love a good cozy (Marty Wingate’s Potting Shed AND Birds of a Feather series for example) this one just didn’t work for me.
In spite of the contemporary setting, there’s something slightly old-fashioned about both the heroine and the story. Although the story isn’t strictly first person singular, it is definitely written from protagonist Maggie Dove’s point of view. And a lot of the time her point of view is small and self-absorbed.
I don’t mean that Maggie is vain or egotistical. But her daughter died 20 years ago in an automobile accident, and Maggie has isolated herself in her house and her small town and her grief, and hasn’t ever moved on. Neither has her daughter’s boyfriend Peter, who was luckily thrown from that car all those years ago.
Peter is now the Assistant Police Chief, and in very big trouble. First a hated villager dies on Maggie’s lawn. Then a beloved old woman, and Maggie’s best friend, dies in a nursing home, both of the same cause – an overdose of Ecstasy that Peter has easy access to. And a substance that has gotten him in trouble before.
Maggie finally shakes herself out of her 20 year depression in order to prove Peter’s innocence, because he’s too sunk into his own morass of despond to take care of his own business his own self. But then that’s part of what his and Maggie’s functions are in each other’s lives. They take care of each other and they keep the memory of the late, lamented Juliet alive. So that neither of them has to move on.
Until Maggie is forced to make an irrevocable choice – either to surrender to the same forces that brought her best friend down, or to step forward and finally make something of the rest of her life.
Escape Rating C: This book is very slow going, right up until the end, then it’s a race for the finish. It’s also very clearly the setup for a series, as Maggie takes the entire book to make us wallow in her grief and passivity, introduce us to her town and her friends (and frenemies) and finally, finally get up and move on.
Maggie is a terribly nice person, but she also congratulates herself on her niceness just a bit too much, and beats herself up unmercifully when she acts or even merely feels human.
Also, part of Maggie’s persona and her self-judgement revolves around her faith and her attachment to her church and its activities. She’s been a Sunday School teacher there for years, and that has clearly provided a sense of stability and a circle of friends. Her faith is very important to her, and she thinks about it often. So often, in fact, that readers who are not expecting this story to have an inspirational tinge to it may wonder what they have wandered into.
But about the mystery. One of the things that is done well in this story is to peel back all the layers of everyone in this small town. No one is quite what they appear to be, and Maggie has been oblivious to much of what lies beneath the surface for many years. The investigation that she throws herself into is a big and much needed wake up call.
As far as the murderer goes, the author manages to scatter an entire net full of red herrings, and I did nibble at most of them. In the end, I figured out whodunnit right about the same time Maggie did, and only because there were no other suspects left. The author leads us readers on quite the chase. The last 10% wraps things up at a furious pace as Maggie and the reader finally see what has been successfully hiding in plain sight all along.
May 10, 2016
A woman who has spent the last 15-20 years in mourning for her lost daughter. The boy who was with the daughter when she died. And many others in the community who are in some kind of limbo or transition within their lives.
I liked the book. It had a good flow, the writing worked well, and the mystery (and increasing body count) was interesting. Though there were nods to God and religion in the book (she's been a Sunday School teacher for decades), they were not over the top. (And that's saying something coming from me.) I would definitely read another by this author.
Some of my favorite pieces:
"The one great virtue of being 62 years old was that you could drive a bright red car and almost never be pulled over by the police. In an older person, speed is endearing or a sign of dementia."
"The river shimmered in front of her like a dream. Every color was as carefully delineated as a needlepoint: here silver blue; there midnight blue; here sky blue. Everything so clear. She couldn't get over the beauty of this river, its timelessness. It was impossible to own, to understand; it could only be appreciated."
"'Listen, I've done a lot of reading about poisoners...(T)he thing is that poisoners are a specific type of person. They're patient. They've manipulative. They like playing games. You are the opposite of a poisoner...(y)ou're more of a meat cleaver kind of guy.'"
"Helen had the war-torn look of a woman who's spent the afternoon with a sociopath. Or a child."
"She put on WQXR and there was Mahler. Ninth Symphony. The answer to a prayer. Thank God for Mahler. Did anyone understand grief the way he did? She lay back on her bed and let the music soothe her, Mahler's great farewell to the world, written after he lost his own daughter. The music wept for her. Maggie closed her eyes and let Mahler carry her along, the wail of the trombones, the French horns, the ominous pounding of the bass drums....She waited for her favorite part, which came in the last movement, when it seemed like Mahler let everything in the world pour through him. When it was over she closed her eyes and slept for a while and when she woke up she felt better, though tender."
"Of the seven deadly sins, anger is possibly the most fun, Maggie thought. One of Frederick Buechner's most famous lines."
I liked the book. It had a good flow, the writing worked well, and the mystery (and increasing body count) was interesting. Though there were nods to God and religion in the book (she's been a Sunday School teacher for decades), they were not over the top. (And that's saying something coming from me.) I would definitely read another by this author.
Some of my favorite pieces:
"The one great virtue of being 62 years old was that you could drive a bright red car and almost never be pulled over by the police. In an older person, speed is endearing or a sign of dementia."
"The river shimmered in front of her like a dream. Every color was as carefully delineated as a needlepoint: here silver blue; there midnight blue; here sky blue. Everything so clear. She couldn't get over the beauty of this river, its timelessness. It was impossible to own, to understand; it could only be appreciated."
"'Listen, I've done a lot of reading about poisoners...(T)he thing is that poisoners are a specific type of person. They're patient. They've manipulative. They like playing games. You are the opposite of a poisoner...(y)ou're more of a meat cleaver kind of guy.'"
"Helen had the war-torn look of a woman who's spent the afternoon with a sociopath. Or a child."
"She put on WQXR and there was Mahler. Ninth Symphony. The answer to a prayer. Thank God for Mahler. Did anyone understand grief the way he did? She lay back on her bed and let the music soothe her, Mahler's great farewell to the world, written after he lost his own daughter. The music wept for her. Maggie closed her eyes and let Mahler carry her along, the wail of the trombones, the French horns, the ominous pounding of the bass drums....She waited for her favorite part, which came in the last movement, when it seemed like Mahler let everything in the world pour through him. When it was over she closed her eyes and slept for a while and when she woke up she felt better, though tender."
"Of the seven deadly sins, anger is possibly the most fun, Maggie thought. One of Frederick Buechner's most famous lines."
May 12, 2016
SHOULD BE 3-1/2 STARS!
I wanted to fall in love with this book about a woman who is mourning her dead daughter.
Juliet was a high school student who had her entire life in front of her. Her death was more than 20 years ago.
Maggie lives in a small town in rural New York. She is a widow, a former cozy mystery author, a Sunday School teacher and a woman who has never gotten past the loss of her daughter.
Maggie is not a very warm and likable character. She has been judgmental about everyone she knows since she was a high school student. Her opinions have not changed since then. As this story progresses, she finds that much of what she thinks to be true, is not true. Many of the people who have earned her low opinion are not deserving of that low opinion.
Her best friend since high school, Winifred, is a vicious and mean woman, and yet Maggie continually talks about how much she loves her. When Maggie cares about someone, she is a very devoted friend.
Maggie's next door neighbor is found dead on Maggie's front lawn. At first, it appears to be a heart attack, but in reality, it is discovered to be a murder.
When Peter, Juliet's high school boyfriend, is moved to the head of the line of suspects, Maggie wants to protect him and prove him innocent. Peter is a policeman who has never gotten along with the new police chief. Now, the police chief seems to be unable to consider anyone except Peter as the murderer.
The plot is interesting. I felt there was too much information thrown in. Very complete detailed descriptions of some things did not elevate the atmosphere for me. It just seemed to interfere with the flow of the story.
We get to know everyone, including Maggie, in depth. At times, I felt it was too much depth. Sometimes inner thoughts should remain inner.
I liked the book. I think the premise of a newly formed investigative group sounds very promising. I hope to be able to read the next book in this new series. Ms Breen wrote an interesting cozy. I hope that the next book in the series will be written a little more tightly.
I received this book from the publisher through NetGalley in the hope that I would write a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.
I wanted to fall in love with this book about a woman who is mourning her dead daughter.
Juliet was a high school student who had her entire life in front of her. Her death was more than 20 years ago.
Maggie lives in a small town in rural New York. She is a widow, a former cozy mystery author, a Sunday School teacher and a woman who has never gotten past the loss of her daughter.
Maggie is not a very warm and likable character. She has been judgmental about everyone she knows since she was a high school student. Her opinions have not changed since then. As this story progresses, she finds that much of what she thinks to be true, is not true. Many of the people who have earned her low opinion are not deserving of that low opinion.
Her best friend since high school, Winifred, is a vicious and mean woman, and yet Maggie continually talks about how much she loves her. When Maggie cares about someone, she is a very devoted friend.
Maggie's next door neighbor is found dead on Maggie's front lawn. At first, it appears to be a heart attack, but in reality, it is discovered to be a murder.
When Peter, Juliet's high school boyfriend, is moved to the head of the line of suspects, Maggie wants to protect him and prove him innocent. Peter is a policeman who has never gotten along with the new police chief. Now, the police chief seems to be unable to consider anyone except Peter as the murderer.
The plot is interesting. I felt there was too much information thrown in. Very complete detailed descriptions of some things did not elevate the atmosphere for me. It just seemed to interfere with the flow of the story.
We get to know everyone, including Maggie, in depth. At times, I felt it was too much depth. Sometimes inner thoughts should remain inner.
I liked the book. I think the premise of a newly formed investigative group sounds very promising. I hope to be able to read the next book in this new series. Ms Breen wrote an interesting cozy. I hope that the next book in the series will be written a little more tightly.
I received this book from the publisher through NetGalley in the hope that I would write a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.
June 17, 2016
In Maggie Dove, author Susan Breen weaves an entertaining and fast-paced cozy mystery set in a small village in Westchester County, NY, that follows the amateur sleuth adventures of Sunday School teacher Maggie Dove. Maggie is investigating the murder of her hateful next-door neighbor, Marcus Bender, who was found lying dead under her beloved oak tree. The prime suspect is Maggie's young friend Peter Nelson, and she is determined to prove his innocence and find the real killer, even when danger lurks around the corner.
Maggie Dove is a great debut to the Maggie Dove Mystery Series. This well written story has enough quirky characters, intrigue, suspense, humor, and drama that easily draws the reader into Maggie's amateur sleuth adventures, and it will keep them interested and guessing the identity of the real killer until the surprising conclusion. You can't help but love Maggie and feel compassion for her loss, while also cheering for this spunky church lady turned amateur sleuth, who is determined to solve the murder mystery. I look forward to reading the next installment of Maggie Doves' investigative adventures!
I really enjoyed the author's usage of her hometown to provide the reader with a rich description of the scenic Hudson River Valley setting in Westchester County, NY, it definitely makes me want to visit the area the next time I go to NYC.
Maggie Dove is a delightfully eccentric whodunit tale that cozy mystery fans will want to add to their reading list!
Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the author / publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review and participation in a virtual book tour event hosted by Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours.
http://jerseygirlbookreviews.blogspot...
Maggie Dove is a great debut to the Maggie Dove Mystery Series. This well written story has enough quirky characters, intrigue, suspense, humor, and drama that easily draws the reader into Maggie's amateur sleuth adventures, and it will keep them interested and guessing the identity of the real killer until the surprising conclusion. You can't help but love Maggie and feel compassion for her loss, while also cheering for this spunky church lady turned amateur sleuth, who is determined to solve the murder mystery. I look forward to reading the next installment of Maggie Doves' investigative adventures!
I really enjoyed the author's usage of her hometown to provide the reader with a rich description of the scenic Hudson River Valley setting in Westchester County, NY, it definitely makes me want to visit the area the next time I go to NYC.
Maggie Dove is a delightfully eccentric whodunit tale that cozy mystery fans will want to add to their reading list!
Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the author / publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review and participation in a virtual book tour event hosted by Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours.
http://jerseygirlbookreviews.blogspot...
June 18, 2016
Maggie Dove
By
Susan Breen
What it's all about...
This was one of the sweetest cozy mysteries I have read in a long time. I loved it! Maggie...widow...blocked mystery writer...and Sunday school teacher...is trying to deal with a hateful neighbor...a neighbor who wants to kill her beloved oak tree...so...of course...Maggie is the one who finds him dead under her beloved tree. There is another murder and lots of suspicious characters and a fun and fascinating plot.
Why I wanted to read it...
I love cozy mysteries with quirky characters and this mystery had it all. It takes place in a sweet little town on the Hudson River, too...it kind of reminded me of Murder She Wrote and Cabot Cove!
What made me truly enjoy this book...
I loved Maggie! She was the star of this book. The author did a lovely job of making her significant and real!
Why you should read it, too...
Readers who love cozy mysteries with quirky characters should love this book! I did!
By
Susan Breen
What it's all about...
This was one of the sweetest cozy mysteries I have read in a long time. I loved it! Maggie...widow...blocked mystery writer...and Sunday school teacher...is trying to deal with a hateful neighbor...a neighbor who wants to kill her beloved oak tree...so...of course...Maggie is the one who finds him dead under her beloved tree. There is another murder and lots of suspicious characters and a fun and fascinating plot.
Why I wanted to read it...
I love cozy mysteries with quirky characters and this mystery had it all. It takes place in a sweet little town on the Hudson River, too...it kind of reminded me of Murder She Wrote and Cabot Cove!
What made me truly enjoy this book...
I loved Maggie! She was the star of this book. The author did a lovely job of making her significant and real!
Why you should read it, too...
Readers who love cozy mysteries with quirky characters should love this book! I did!
June 14, 2016
The first in a new series featuring Maggie Dove. She is a retired author and has been teaching Sunday School 30 years. An oak tree planted by her daughter is growing on her ground. The daughter was the victim in the automobile crash. She love's her daughter's fiancee, Peter Nelson like a son. Her new neighbor says the tree is blocking his view of the river and wants to cut it down. Maggie refused to move or cut the tree down. One night she finds the neighbor dead on her lawn. The new police chief feels Peter Nelson is the primary suspect in the murder. Maggie sets out to explore the facts of the case to prove Peter is not guilty. The plot has enough turns to hold your interested. I will read the next book.
Disclosure: I received a free copy from Alibi through NetGalley for an honest review. I would like to thank them for this opportunity to read and review the book. The opinions expressed are my own.
Disclosure: I received a free copy from Alibi through NetGalley for an honest review. I would like to thank them for this opportunity to read and review the book. The opinions expressed are my own.
July 11, 2019
Quirky but fun! Maggie is a delightful 60 year old, who has experienced the death of her husband and daughter and basically withdrawn from her previous life. Her one outlet is as a Sunday School teacher until a much despised neighbor dies under her favorite tree in her yard. Maggie decides to launch an investigation to ease her guilt over wishing ill on her neighbor. This was a very humorous read, light but solid enough to keep reading.
June 14, 2016
Synopsis:
Susan Breen introduces a charming new series heroine in this poignant and absorbing cozy mystery with a bite. Maggie Dove thinks everyone in her small Westchester County community knows everyone else’s secrets. Then murder comes to town.
When Sunday School teacher Maggie Dove finds her hateful next-door neighbor Marcus Bender lying dead under her beloved oak tree—the one he demanded she cut down—she figures the man dropped dead of a mean heart. But Marcus was murdered, and the prime suspect is a young man Maggie loves like a son. Peter Nelson was the worst of Maggie’s Sunday School students; he was also her late daughter’s fiancé, and he’s been a devoted friend to Maggie in the years since her daughter’s death.
Maggie can’t lose Peter, too. So she sets out to find the real murderer. To do that, she must move past the grief that has immobilized her all these years. She must probe the hidden corners of her little village on the Hudson River. And, when another death strikes even closer to home, Maggie must find the courage to defend the people and the town she loves—even if it kills her. (Amazon)
Synopsis:
This cozy is very different from most of the other cozies that I have read. Most of those cozies are light hearted and humorous and make you feel like you would like to visit the home town and the characters. This cozy was much darker and sad. I do like the fact that it was unique in this way.
The characters are well developed and well rounded, but none of them are very likable. This is only my opinion and other readers may find the characters more likable than I did. Maggie is mourning the loss of her daughter 20 years ago and she is a rather bitter person. She complains about everybody and has a very negative outlook on life. She even fights and argues with her supposedly best friend, Winifred, who is mean and argumentative and I did not really believe that they were friends. It was hard for me to believe that she was a Sunday School teacher because she had such uncharitable thoughts about everyone. At time she felt bad about those thoughts and tried to think more positively about others, but she kept failing at that. I do give her credit for trying to be more positive.
The author is very talented in her descriptive writing. Whether reading about the characters or the small town atmosphere, I felt like I was right there as part of the story. The Westchester County community was a typical small town with gossiping and busybodies and people getting into other’s business, which I enjoyed reading about.
The mystery is carried on well throughout the entire book. There are enough suspects, clues and twists and turns to keep this reader guessing throughout the whole book.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a different type of cozy, with a darker side and an older protagonist. I will read the next book in the series already knowing that things are not sunshine and rainbows in Maggie’s life.
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I would like to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Alibi for the opportunity to read and review this book.
Susan Breen introduces a charming new series heroine in this poignant and absorbing cozy mystery with a bite. Maggie Dove thinks everyone in her small Westchester County community knows everyone else’s secrets. Then murder comes to town.
When Sunday School teacher Maggie Dove finds her hateful next-door neighbor Marcus Bender lying dead under her beloved oak tree—the one he demanded she cut down—she figures the man dropped dead of a mean heart. But Marcus was murdered, and the prime suspect is a young man Maggie loves like a son. Peter Nelson was the worst of Maggie’s Sunday School students; he was also her late daughter’s fiancé, and he’s been a devoted friend to Maggie in the years since her daughter’s death.
Maggie can’t lose Peter, too. So she sets out to find the real murderer. To do that, she must move past the grief that has immobilized her all these years. She must probe the hidden corners of her little village on the Hudson River. And, when another death strikes even closer to home, Maggie must find the courage to defend the people and the town she loves—even if it kills her. (Amazon)
Synopsis:
This cozy is very different from most of the other cozies that I have read. Most of those cozies are light hearted and humorous and make you feel like you would like to visit the home town and the characters. This cozy was much darker and sad. I do like the fact that it was unique in this way.
The characters are well developed and well rounded, but none of them are very likable. This is only my opinion and other readers may find the characters more likable than I did. Maggie is mourning the loss of her daughter 20 years ago and she is a rather bitter person. She complains about everybody and has a very negative outlook on life. She even fights and argues with her supposedly best friend, Winifred, who is mean and argumentative and I did not really believe that they were friends. It was hard for me to believe that she was a Sunday School teacher because she had such uncharitable thoughts about everyone. At time she felt bad about those thoughts and tried to think more positively about others, but she kept failing at that. I do give her credit for trying to be more positive.
The author is very talented in her descriptive writing. Whether reading about the characters or the small town atmosphere, I felt like I was right there as part of the story. The Westchester County community was a typical small town with gossiping and busybodies and people getting into other’s business, which I enjoyed reading about.
The mystery is carried on well throughout the entire book. There are enough suspects, clues and twists and turns to keep this reader guessing throughout the whole book.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a different type of cozy, with a darker side and an older protagonist. I will read the next book in the series already knowing that things are not sunshine and rainbows in Maggie’s life.
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I would like to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Alibi for the opportunity to read and review this book.
June 20, 2016
A week or so ago, the electric company came out to do some tree trimming because the trees were interfering with the power lines. Luckily there were only smaller trees to be cut. If they had tried something with our trees that have been around for hundreds of years, they might've had a fight on their hands! So I can understand Maggie Dove's sentimental attachment to the oak tree in her yard. And if 'someone' afterwards tried to poison the tree, and not subtly at that, to use the words of the immortal Bugs Bunny...,"You realize, of course, this means war!"
I don't think Maggie was ever seriously a suspect, but the guy did die in her yard, at the base of the tree that was in dispute, and she had threatened to kill the next member of that family that came into her yard...and she was sitting inside watching out a window that night with a rock in her hand. Initially the prime suspect is a young man that had been engaged to Maggie's deceased daughter. Peter had applied for the sheriff's job when the old sheriff retired. But some city-boy ex-finance guy comes in and swoops the job out from under Peter, with no law enforcement experience. And Maggie's neighbor, Bender, had been going to go to the sheriff to get Peter fired.
Bender was not a popular man. He had a brusque manner and a definite sense of entitlement, what I call a 'holier-than-thou' type. So there were no shortage of possible suspects: the secretly pregnant 2nd wife (who would be thrown out penniless if she should bear a child according to the pre-nup), the terminally ill 1st wife ... and just about anybody who did business with Bender. He liked to throw his weight around and that can really irritate a lot of people.
I liked that Maggie had internal debates with herself, questioning if she was taking the best course of action according to her spiritual heritage and practice. In my opinion, no matter the religion, if more people did that, the world would be a better place.
There was a certain 'je ne sais quoi' to Susan Breen's Maggie Dove. I can't quite describe it (I know, like that helps in a review, right?) but it was a sense of homeyness, of satisfaction, maybe even belonging. Maggie cared about the people in her town, and they cared about her. Even the prickly sheriff was calling her 'my dear' by the end of the book. I can see myself kicked back on the front porch on a summer evening, maybe with an ice-cold glass of sweet tea, enjoying a breeze and the shade of our maple tree, re-reading Maggie Dove.
(Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.)
I don't think Maggie was ever seriously a suspect, but the guy did die in her yard, at the base of the tree that was in dispute, and she had threatened to kill the next member of that family that came into her yard...and she was sitting inside watching out a window that night with a rock in her hand. Initially the prime suspect is a young man that had been engaged to Maggie's deceased daughter. Peter had applied for the sheriff's job when the old sheriff retired. But some city-boy ex-finance guy comes in and swoops the job out from under Peter, with no law enforcement experience. And Maggie's neighbor, Bender, had been going to go to the sheriff to get Peter fired.
Bender was not a popular man. He had a brusque manner and a definite sense of entitlement, what I call a 'holier-than-thou' type. So there were no shortage of possible suspects: the secretly pregnant 2nd wife (who would be thrown out penniless if she should bear a child according to the pre-nup), the terminally ill 1st wife ... and just about anybody who did business with Bender. He liked to throw his weight around and that can really irritate a lot of people.
I liked that Maggie had internal debates with herself, questioning if she was taking the best course of action according to her spiritual heritage and practice. In my opinion, no matter the religion, if more people did that, the world would be a better place.
There was a certain 'je ne sais quoi' to Susan Breen's Maggie Dove. I can't quite describe it (I know, like that helps in a review, right?) but it was a sense of homeyness, of satisfaction, maybe even belonging. Maggie cared about the people in her town, and they cared about her. Even the prickly sheriff was calling her 'my dear' by the end of the book. I can see myself kicked back on the front porch on a summer evening, maybe with an ice-cold glass of sweet tea, enjoying a breeze and the shade of our maple tree, re-reading Maggie Dove.
(Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.)
June 20, 2016
Well. I must say that Maggie Dove was not a book I would normally pick up and read on my own. It is pretty far out of what I would normally read.
Maggie Dove is a cozy mystery about...Maggie Dove. She lives in a small town, is a widow, and her daughter died young as a result of a car accident. Maggie Dove is one of those ladies that is a strong member of the community. She knows and talks to everyone. She once upon a time was a murder mystery author (she gave it up when her daughter died). She had few grievances with other members of her community, save her neighbor.
Her neighbor wanted her to move a much beloved tree in her yard because it was in his view from his house of the Hudson river - and he wanted to paint the river without the tree in his way. And that is where the story starts. Maggie's neighbor took it upon himself to try to poison her tree because she wouldn't move/remove the tree. And then, shortly after, he was found dead underneath her tree seemingly from a heart attack.
Now, as I have already stated, this is a book that I normally reach out and grab. While I like mysteries, I do tend towards those meant for younger audiences - YA, NA, MG...or I like them to have some sort of paranormal aspect to them. Maggie Dove was none of the above. The main character was 62 years old, much older than characters that I normally read and I found it hard to connect to her. She and I had little in common, so I wasn't able to relate to her very well.
Also, the story line seemed rather one dimensional. We followed along with Maggie as she was trying to figure out what happened to her neighbor. I felt like we were categorically looking at each individual character in the story. One at a time. And I would have liked a few more twists and turns in the story....and that the ones that were in it...I wish they had been more twisty and turnier. The whole story just felt like it was on the same pace the whole way through.
While I found it pleasant enough to read, I also don't think I would have finished it except for the part where I wanted to know the "who done it and why." I had committed enough time to it, that I decided that I needed to know and I didn't want to cheat to find the answer. And while I wasn't surprised, I still was at the same time. So I will give Maggie Dove that.
My Rating
3 Stars
This review was based on an eARC copy provided by the publisher through House Party/Chatterbox in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Find more of my reviews here:
http://readingwithcupcakes.blogspot.com/
June 22, 2016
I keep hoping that I'll get a good mystery book to read as part of the Monthly Mystery package through Chatterbox. So far, I got one that was okay because the author imitated Stephanie Plum.
This is yet another mystery through Chatterbox that I can't bring myself to recommend to anyone. The plot itself was okay, but it wasn't enough to save this book. A 60-something-year-old woman has a disagreement with her neighbor about her oak tree and the neighbor ends up dead. Then, one of her closest friends also ends up dead and the autopsy reports show that both of them died of the same cause.
The biggest problem I had with this book is that the main character, Maggie Dove, was judgmental, hypocritical, and just all around annoying. She was a Sunday school teacher and tried to convince herself that she was a good person, but she didn't seem to get along with anyone, even the people to whom she was supposedly closest. For example, she constantly argued with one of her closest friends, Winifred. The way the arguments unfolded in the book revealed how Maggie was both prissy and judgmental. She claimed to love "Peter" but basically described him as a troublemaker. She was constantly above everyone else. She describes another "friend," Agnes, whom she was cruel to when she was younger. When another character compared her to Agnes, she became offended and the reader was subjected to a paragraph about how she was so much better looking than Agnes. The author made was very clear that Maggie was part of the popular crowd when she was younger and she is much more beautiful than her friends. Of course, she's rich, too. This is the character that has it all - looks, money, "friends," - she's better than all of us! Quite frankly, the more I read, the less I liked Maggie, not because of the author's generous endowments, but because of the little that she did with those endowments and her petty mindedness, which the reader was subjected to for over 200 pages . Agnes and Winifred seemed like much more interesting (and likeable) characters.
There were a few interesting characters in this book so it wasn't a total loss. It's just too bad that the focus was on the annoying one rather than the interesting ones.
This is yet another mystery through Chatterbox that I can't bring myself to recommend to anyone. The plot itself was okay, but it wasn't enough to save this book. A 60-something-year-old woman has a disagreement with her neighbor about her oak tree and the neighbor ends up dead. Then, one of her closest friends also ends up dead and the autopsy reports show that both of them died of the same cause.
The biggest problem I had with this book is that the main character, Maggie Dove, was judgmental, hypocritical, and just all around annoying. She was a Sunday school teacher and tried to convince herself that she was a good person, but she didn't seem to get along with anyone, even the people to whom she was supposedly closest. For example, she constantly argued with one of her closest friends, Winifred. The way the arguments unfolded in the book revealed how Maggie was both prissy and judgmental. She claimed to love "Peter" but basically described him as a troublemaker. She was constantly above everyone else. She describes another "friend," Agnes, whom she was cruel to when she was younger. When another character compared her to Agnes, she became offended and the reader was subjected to a paragraph about how she was so much better looking than Agnes. The author made was very clear that Maggie was part of the popular crowd when she was younger and she is much more beautiful than her friends. Of course, she's rich, too. This is the character that has it all - looks, money, "friends," - she's better than all of us! Quite frankly, the more I read, the less I liked Maggie, not because of the author's generous endowments, but because of the little that she did with those endowments and her petty mindedness, which the reader was subjected to for over 200 pages . Agnes and Winifred seemed like much more interesting (and likeable) characters.
There were a few interesting characters in this book so it wasn't a total loss. It's just too bad that the focus was on the annoying one rather than the interesting ones.
June 20, 2016
Maggie Dove is a Sunday school teacher who lives in the Hudson Valley. She is a widow who lost her only child, Juliet, in a car accident 20 years before. Her professor husband left her well-provided for and she is also still receiving royalties from some mystery novels she wrote a while ago. She is something of a surrogate mother to the policeman Peter, who was her daughter's boyfriend. Peter's life, as well as Maggie's, has basically been on hold since Juliet's death. The book opens with Maggie in conflict with her neighbor, Marcus Bender. Maggie's beloved tree, planted by her father, is blocking Bender's view of the river, and he insists it has to go. This has led to a frosty relationship between the neighbors. It comes as a shock when Bender is found dead under Maggie's tree. At first everyone assumes it was a natural death, but it soon is discovered that Bender was poisoned.
Maggie frequently visits her lifelong friend Winifred, who is suffering from Parkinson's Disease and lives in a nursing home. While Maggie struggles with her lingering grief over her daughter and worry about a killer being on the loose, another death hits close to home. While Maggie tries to figure out if there is a connection between the two deaths, she has to deal with Peter spiraling out of control.
I sort of felt that the identity of the killer was pretty obvious from the beginning, even if the motives took a while to be revealed. I was also confused about Maggie's name. Sometimes she's called Maggie, sometimes Dove and sometimes Maggie Dove. It turns out Dove was her married last name. So why some of her closest friends would call her by her last name was a mystery that was never explained. Other than that, the book was a pretty general mystery. I wasn't that interested in the characters or the resolution of the case, but it was a pleasant enough story.
I received an electronic copy of this book in exchange for this review.
Maggie frequently visits her lifelong friend Winifred, who is suffering from Parkinson's Disease and lives in a nursing home. While Maggie struggles with her lingering grief over her daughter and worry about a killer being on the loose, another death hits close to home. While Maggie tries to figure out if there is a connection between the two deaths, she has to deal with Peter spiraling out of control.
I sort of felt that the identity of the killer was pretty obvious from the beginning, even if the motives took a while to be revealed. I was also confused about Maggie's name. Sometimes she's called Maggie, sometimes Dove and sometimes Maggie Dove. It turns out Dove was her married last name. So why some of her closest friends would call her by her last name was a mystery that was never explained. Other than that, the book was a pretty general mystery. I wasn't that interested in the characters or the resolution of the case, but it was a pleasant enough story.
I received an electronic copy of this book in exchange for this review.
June 22, 2016
Received this book from net gallery and am a chatterbox participant for an honest review. The mystery and story were intriguing and I enjoyed that part of the book. I also thought the description of grief and losing a child by the author was well-timed. I did however have problems with some parts of the book and was surprised that it editor would not pick up on the inconsistencies in the storytelling.
Without any spoilers just from the top of my head I think it's odd that everyone calls Maggie- Maggie dove even her closest friends. Most times you're not called by your full name. There's also a part in the book where Winnifred calls her Maggie dove when they're in high school and that's not even her name before she is married.
Her daughter died 20 years ago and their favorite TV shows to watch seemed like reality competition shows like fear factor and the biggest loser but those shows didn't exist 20 years ago.
In the beginning of the book Maggie describes the neighbors daughters as young girls. When the AP teacher gets fired she is surprised bender cared about him because his children weren't in high school yet. Then later the music teacher says Lorelei is in the marching band which is a high school activity. I know it seems picky but if it's moments like this all through the book that were very Distracting.
I also find it odd that Maggie and Winnifred as children grew up next-door to each other and then they both ended up in their childhood homes as adults. So next-door should be a very familiar home however when Maggie goes over to talk to Noelle she is surprised at how much higher their home is then hers as if she's never been upstairs at what used to be Winifreds home where she used to play as a child all the time.
I wouldn't mind reading more by this author because I think the outline of the mystery was well done just the details need some work #RHMysterypack #Sponsored
Without any spoilers just from the top of my head I think it's odd that everyone calls Maggie- Maggie dove even her closest friends. Most times you're not called by your full name. There's also a part in the book where Winnifred calls her Maggie dove when they're in high school and that's not even her name before she is married.
Her daughter died 20 years ago and their favorite TV shows to watch seemed like reality competition shows like fear factor and the biggest loser but those shows didn't exist 20 years ago.
In the beginning of the book Maggie describes the neighbors daughters as young girls. When the AP teacher gets fired she is surprised bender cared about him because his children weren't in high school yet. Then later the music teacher says Lorelei is in the marching band which is a high school activity. I know it seems picky but if it's moments like this all through the book that were very Distracting.
I also find it odd that Maggie and Winnifred as children grew up next-door to each other and then they both ended up in their childhood homes as adults. So next-door should be a very familiar home however when Maggie goes over to talk to Noelle she is surprised at how much higher their home is then hers as if she's never been upstairs at what used to be Winifreds home where she used to play as a child all the time.
I wouldn't mind reading more by this author because I think the outline of the mystery was well done just the details need some work #RHMysterypack #Sponsored
June 11, 2016
This cozy is a breath of fresh air. I enjoyed the storyline and characters in the small town of West Chester,NY. Loved the undertones of hope and friendship above all else throughout the book. I also really enjoyed the Christian based themes that were cleverly placed in this story.
Maggie Dove hasn't had it easy. Her daughter pasted away 20 years ago and she has been on hold since. She does have wonderful friends that are there to support her like Winifred who used to be her neighbor and Peter Nelson. Peter is the Assistant Chief of Police for the village of Darby-on-Hudson who was her daughters best friend and love of her life. Winifred her other friend now lives in a nursing facility due to progressive Parkinson's. They are always there to lend an ear. Especially since Maggie has Marcus Bender (Satan) as a neighbor.
Marcus is out for one person and that is Maggie because her beloved Oak tree blocks his view of the Hudson River. She finds poison under the tree and goes to confront him. She has been a Sunday School teacher for 30 years but this man is pushing her buttons. After leaving his house she tries to stay awake to make sure he doesn't come back but sadly falls asleep. Next thing she knows she sees something under the tree and finds that it is Marcus DEAD!!!
Things go from bad to worse when they find out he was poisoned! Who and why would someone do this? Peter is determined to help Maggie until things go topsy turvy and Peter becomes the prime suspect. Maggie will do anything for Peter because he has always been like a son to her. Will she be able to help before she becomes the next victim???
I recieved this book from NetGalley for an honest review.
Maggie Dove hasn't had it easy. Her daughter pasted away 20 years ago and she has been on hold since. She does have wonderful friends that are there to support her like Winifred who used to be her neighbor and Peter Nelson. Peter is the Assistant Chief of Police for the village of Darby-on-Hudson who was her daughters best friend and love of her life. Winifred her other friend now lives in a nursing facility due to progressive Parkinson's. They are always there to lend an ear. Especially since Maggie has Marcus Bender (Satan) as a neighbor.
Marcus is out for one person and that is Maggie because her beloved Oak tree blocks his view of the Hudson River. She finds poison under the tree and goes to confront him. She has been a Sunday School teacher for 30 years but this man is pushing her buttons. After leaving his house she tries to stay awake to make sure he doesn't come back but sadly falls asleep. Next thing she knows she sees something under the tree and finds that it is Marcus DEAD!!!
Things go from bad to worse when they find out he was poisoned! Who and why would someone do this? Peter is determined to help Maggie until things go topsy turvy and Peter becomes the prime suspect. Maggie will do anything for Peter because he has always been like a son to her. Will she be able to help before she becomes the next victim???
I recieved this book from NetGalley for an honest review.
July 16, 2016
I liked Susan Breen's writing style. Her characters, though, were lacking for me. I didn't find a single one very likeable. Breen was so focused on making them realistically flawed, she missed out on making them lovable. Maggie Dove, the lead, is a 60-something-year-old widow who teaches Sunday School. Dove has been through some loss, and this (at least) really resonated with me. Having lost someone young to a tragic accident 8 years ago, I felt Breen really nailed the emotional journey of that. I believe Dove was supposed to come off as an every-day hero, someone who would get down to business and sleuth out the answers, even when the police failed. But Dove appeared sort of hysterical to me, a busy body who "reluctantly" got involved in drama and secretly liked it. The murderer in this book (no spoilers!) was obvious from the start. There's one glaring outlier and he/she did it. Also, the mode of death (spoiler!) was Ecstasy and I could tell the author had no genuine experience with the substance. Ecstasy is a crap murder weapon - it's expensive, it creates side-effects that would be obvious before being fatal, and it expands the pupils to cartoonish proportions (which would be a dead giveaway during autopsy).
July 5, 2016
No matter how you rate this complicated mystery you will agree it has five star moments.
What I liked most about it was that if you paid attention, there were many small clues thrown in leading up to the surprising climax.
Maggie has strong ties to the past and if you have ever lost a loved one too soon, you understand that a part of your spirit is forever tied to that era of time. Moving forward is necessary but never simple or easy.
Change comes slowly to smaller communities and is oh so difficult to accept when that change seems to be forced upon you by outside forces or people with no connection to the history and meaning of a place. People in their youth thrive on change and attention. As a senior, one's perspective often changes.
Maggie has a wonderfully suspicious mind. She is a talented writer who can no longer contain her thoughts in book format. She is also a loyal and trusting soul who wants to believe in the good in people. While she could see no redeeming traits in her angry, self centered neighbor, after his death she did accept a different view.
The writing is skilful, the characters multi layered. The mystery complicated and enthralling.
I did receive this book for review purposes.
What I liked most about it was that if you paid attention, there were many small clues thrown in leading up to the surprising climax.
Maggie has strong ties to the past and if you have ever lost a loved one too soon, you understand that a part of your spirit is forever tied to that era of time. Moving forward is necessary but never simple or easy.
Change comes slowly to smaller communities and is oh so difficult to accept when that change seems to be forced upon you by outside forces or people with no connection to the history and meaning of a place. People in their youth thrive on change and attention. As a senior, one's perspective often changes.
Maggie has a wonderfully suspicious mind. She is a talented writer who can no longer contain her thoughts in book format. She is also a loyal and trusting soul who wants to believe in the good in people. While she could see no redeeming traits in her angry, self centered neighbor, after his death she did accept a different view.
The writing is skilful, the characters multi layered. The mystery complicated and enthralling.
I did receive this book for review purposes.
June 22, 2016
Fell in love with Maggie Dove! I enjoyed the well thought out story line and the many twists and turns it took. The characters were very vibrant and leapt off the pages - they also were very representative of residents you would expect to meet in a small town. It really kept you guessing right to the end, who the killer was...which I love.
Maggie Dove proved to be a tenacious character who would not surrender her conviction of Peter's innocence, even though innuendo and gossip made it appear differently. She tackled the clues and methodically worked away at solving the murders that took place. Loved the self-reflection she displayed in certain interactions with the various characters in the book. She constantly struggled with the person she should be versus the person she had become because of the deaths of her husband and daughter, over 20 years earlier. I love a good christian read that isn't overly preachy or judgmental and this fit the bill perfectly.
Looking forward to seeing Maggie Dove and the other characters in the future. I received this book as part of a Chat Pack from #HouseParty to read as a Chatterbox™ participant in exchange for a review.
Maggie Dove proved to be a tenacious character who would not surrender her conviction of Peter's innocence, even though innuendo and gossip made it appear differently. She tackled the clues and methodically worked away at solving the murders that took place. Loved the self-reflection she displayed in certain interactions with the various characters in the book. She constantly struggled with the person she should be versus the person she had become because of the deaths of her husband and daughter, over 20 years earlier. I love a good christian read that isn't overly preachy or judgmental and this fit the bill perfectly.
Looking forward to seeing Maggie Dove and the other characters in the future. I received this book as part of a Chat Pack from #HouseParty to read as a Chatterbox™ participant in exchange for a review.
October 15, 2017
Maggie Dove is a page turning cozy mystery set in a small town in Westchester, NY. It’s also a powerful and touching story about coping with grief. It’s well worth reading!
The story opens with Maggie Dove finding a neighbor she hated dead under her oak tree. Someone she loves is being investigated for the murder. Maggie knows in her heart that he didn’t do it and gets involved in trying to solve the murder.
Maggie is an interesting and well developed character. She loves her small town, she is a Sunday School teacher and she has faced challenges in her life. Maggie has suffered the loss of her husband and the loss of her daughter at a young age. As the story unfolds, we learn more about Maggie’s journey through grief and the help her church and small community provided to her at her time of need.
I loved the writing and imagery. I also enjoyed the author’s sense of humor.
This was the first book in the Maggie Dove series. I look forward to reading the next book!
The story opens with Maggie Dove finding a neighbor she hated dead under her oak tree. Someone she loves is being investigated for the murder. Maggie knows in her heart that he didn’t do it and gets involved in trying to solve the murder.
Maggie is an interesting and well developed character. She loves her small town, she is a Sunday School teacher and she has faced challenges in her life. Maggie has suffered the loss of her husband and the loss of her daughter at a young age. As the story unfolds, we learn more about Maggie’s journey through grief and the help her church and small community provided to her at her time of need.
I loved the writing and imagery. I also enjoyed the author’s sense of humor.
This was the first book in the Maggie Dove series. I look forward to reading the next book!
June 20, 2016
I am a member of House Party and Chatterbox and I was given this free copy of Maggie Dove in exchange for my honest opinion. Just could not get interested in this book. Maggie Dove has got to be the slowest most agonizing book I have read in a while. I just was not thrilled to read this. For me not only was it overly "Preachy" with Bible verses peppered throughout the book, but just plain boring. I did not like Maggie Dove as a character. In fact I wasn't impressed with any of the characters. Maggie was my least favorite, with her prudy, prissy, self righteous and judgemental demenor. I just couldn't stand her. I was hoping "she" might be the killer's next victim. If only to save "me" from reading the rest of this annoying book. If I were to have a chance to pick this one to read on my own. I would have definitely passed it by. If I wanted someone to preach to me I would go to church. Not read this supposed "cozy" mystery. I won't be checking out any of Susan Breen's books again. #RHMysteryPack #Sponsored
June 15, 2016
I received this book for free through Houseparty.com for a fair and honest review. This is the first book by Susan Breen that I have read. I feel that this book was designed to fill a gap in the mystery market: Christian fiction. The main character, Maggie Dove, is a religious woman who is dealing with 20 years of grief. She struggles with behaving the way God teaches while still being very upset by her neighbor who keeps wanting her to move/chop down the tree that reminds her of her family history. When that neighbor is found dead at the base of that tree and a family friend is accused of the murder, she jumps in to clear his name. Throughout, she goes through a lot of self analysis. The plot was good and the writing style was nice. I just couldn't connect with the main character. While I enjoyed the story, it isn't one I would go back to. I would recommend it to a Christian fiction reader as a gentle entry into the mystery genre.
June 20, 2016
I received a copy of this for free through Random House's Monthly Mystery Chatterbox program.
This is marketed as a cozy mystery, but it is about the darkest cozy I have ever read. The entire book is very brooding. I had a hard time finding any sympathy for the main character, Maggie. A devout Sunday school teacher, she is also quite judgmental and even mean at times. Yes, her general demeanor is related to the death of her daughter, but honestly after the third or fourth time that is brought up and dissected to death, I was over hearing about it. The book also has a very strong Christian theme to it and I grew tired of being preached at. The mystery itself is okay. Not fabulous, but not the worst I've read. But between the unlikable main character and the overly religious aspect, I will not pick up another book by her.
This is marketed as a cozy mystery, but it is about the darkest cozy I have ever read. The entire book is very brooding. I had a hard time finding any sympathy for the main character, Maggie. A devout Sunday school teacher, she is also quite judgmental and even mean at times. Yes, her general demeanor is related to the death of her daughter, but honestly after the third or fourth time that is brought up and dissected to death, I was over hearing about it. The book also has a very strong Christian theme to it and I grew tired of being preached at. The mystery itself is okay. Not fabulous, but not the worst I've read. But between the unlikable main character and the overly religious aspect, I will not pick up another book by her.
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