A Murderous Marriage is a Cozy Mystery in the Admiral Shackleford Mysteries, by Beverley Watts. It is the second in this three book series.
Plot
Admiral Charles Shackleford and his much put upon best friend and former Master At Arms Jimmy Noon have achieved local celebrity status since becoming Dartmouth’s answer to Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson.
When an old naval friend, Barney Bennett, dies in an unexpected car accident, the Admiral can’t help but wonder at the likelihood of the brakes failing in a top of the range sports car – especially when he discovers that Barney’s much younger widow has already buried two previous husbands in mysterious circumstances. With no evidence to suggest otherwise, the police record a verdict of accidental death, but the Admiral remains unconvinced that Barney wasn’t given a bit of a helping hand exiting this mortal coil.
Enlisting Jimmy’s help to investigate, the duo soon discover that Barney’s demise may well be the tip of the iceberg as they follow a trail of deceit and betrayal leading back seven years. Is Birdie Bennett simply very unfortunate, or is she a Black Widow, living under their very noses?
Review
As with the other title in the series that I read, this book was easy to read and quick to finish.
This is an ensemble piece although the main character of the series is
The main character is retired Admiral Shackleford, a pompous group leader who always seems to get his best friend and former master at arms, Jimmy Noon, involved in his hair brained investigations. This time the Admiral suspects that their former friend has been helped on his way to the afterlife. Did he really die in a car accident? Or did his wife have a hand in his demise? after all, barney was the third husband she had buried!
With Mabel and Emily sent to investigate the widow, the two men plan some daring investigations of their own. Ones that include wearing disguises and scaling ramparts…..
Worth a shufti. A Murderous Marriage is available from Amazon
The Admiral Shackleford Mysteries
The Admiral Shackleford Mysteries can be read as standalone stories. Which is good as I appear to be reading them in reverse order!
The first book, A Murderous Valentine, sees Admiral Charles Shackleford trying to reignite his love life with Mabel. Alas, things are not going to plan, so he decides to gatecrash his best friend’s Valentine idea and ends up in the middle of a murder mystery weekend where someone is really murdered! Stranded in a hotel with an unknown killer, the Admiral and Jimmy have no option but to join forces in an attempt to uncover the Murderous Valentine.
A Murderous Marriage is book 2 of the trilogy. This time Admiral Shackleford and Jimmy Noon investigate the death of their old friend, Barney. In the process they uncover secrets about his widow and her previous husbands.
The final book is A Murderous Season. Surprisingly this was the book I read first. Possibly because I picked it up around Christmas and the book is set just before. Mabel wins a competition for four to stay in a lighthouse on the north Devon coast a week before Christmas. The Admiral is less than enthusiastic about the trip but soon he is heading off to the lighthouse with Mabel and their friends Jimmy and Emily Noon, plus Pickles the dog. When they arrive, the Admiral discovers that a young girl jumped to her death from the very same lighthouse only a couple of weeks earlier. And that her mother had been missing for five years…The Admiral promptly decides that fate has sent them to uncover the truth.
A Murderous Season – Review can be found at https://itmgames.co.uk/blog/?p=3108
The final book in the trilogy is A Murderous Season available from Amazon