Mercury Rising

Tin Can Mysteries, Book 1

By: Jerusha Jones

Narrated by: Carrie Coello

When a body bumps against the dock just a few feet from Eva Fairchild’s floating house on the night of her welcome party at the marina, she begins to wonder if her recent move across the country was such a good idea.

Combine the resulting murder investigation with mysterious nighttime kayak trips, politicians run amok, nosy neighbors, and culinary lessons for her blue-haired teenage tagalong Willow Ratliff, and Eva has her hands full. It doesn’t help that the police detective on the case is handsome, annoying, and more than willing to match her snide remarks with witticisms of his own.

Soon, Eva is a walking repository of other people’s secrets. It’s not a role she ever asked for, and it just might prove lethal.

©2016 Jerusha Jones (P)2021 Jerusha Jones

Fun characters, vibrant setting, solid mystery

Mercury Rising features a colorful cast of characters, a vibrant setting, and a thoroughly engaging mystery. Eva has just taken up residence in a houseboat, and the quirky neighbors waste no time in making her one of their own. When the body of a local activist floats to her home, Eva is drawn into the intrigues of the political and environmental issues surrounding her new home. The story is very well-written with a plot that keeps your attention until the end. The audio narration is excellent. Highly recommended!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book for free and am voluntarily leaving a review. All opinions are my own.

ok

Mercury Rising is an ok cozy mystery. The story is ok and the characters engaging. I might get the next book.

Simple Cozy

4/5 Stars: Mercury Rising by Jerusha Jones

Narrated by Carrie Coello

Run Time: 7 hrs and 23 mins



Summary:

Typical cozy mystery with a likable if somewhat bumbling main character. Eva Fairchild moves across the country to settle down by her sister. She lives on a houseboat made from old shipping containers, which is where the series name comes from.

Additional Comments:

- Eva’s likable. Kind of a people magnet. People confide in her pretty easily. She’s nosy but not stupidly so.

- There are suitable side intrigues to fill in the space.

- Random mentions of the main love interest smelling good.

- Eva’s sister’s family is cute. They have a nice, hunky dory sort of relationship.

- It would have helped if I cared more about the victim, but he’s presented as a womanizing environmental crusader. That’s a double-edge sword that also reads meddling whack-job.

- The bad guys are development companies and crooked politicians. Who doesn’t love to dump on politicians? The presentation of progress being all about money at the detriment of the environment was a pretty heavy-handed, preachy message in here, but as long as you concentrate on the characters and their charms, it’s easy to ignore.

- There’s enough small town sort of charm and intrigue to keep me from mentally screaming: MAKE SOMETHING HAPPEN, which is sometimes the case with cozy mysteries.

- Distinct lack of cats in the story. I think it’s made up for by meddlesome mother figures and people in love with their hair dye.

- Willow’s cool. She’s a good excuse for the MC to have random side adventures.

- Performance is decent. I’ve got to hunt up some other books by Carrie Coello or I’m going to type cast her as always playing this sort of character – sweet but slightly clueless.

Conclusion:

Okay cozy. Worth a listen.
*I received a free copy. I have chosen to review the book. All thoughts are my own.

Light listening

This was a great book to listen to while I was driving or folding laundry. The story was interesting and I always looked forward to finding out what happened next, but not so twisty I lost track between listening sessions. The recording artist did a great job of differentiating voices and her expressiveness brought them all to life.

An enjoyable cozy

A dead body wasn’t quite the welcome Eva wanted or expected, but it happened. Eva then found herself in the position to help solve the mystery surrounding the discovery.

I really enjoyed this cozy by Jerusha Jones. I found the characters to be quirky, fun, and quite likable. The mystery was well presented and kept me guessing until the end.

I have had the pleasure of listening to some of Carrie Coello’s other narrations, and this one was was just as enjoyable. She really knows how to bring out the characters personalities.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and I have voluntarily left this review.