Shawn McGuire

I really enjoyed reading the Whispering Pines Mystery series. So many times reading through these books, I couldn’t help but want to be a part of that community. Each book had some different and unique issues following a very Wiccan culture and how they all fed into most of the residents lives who lived there. This series takes you from the beginning and how this community came to be, and also how it doesn’t matter how tight knit these villagers might be, that everyone and anyone has their own secrets.… (meer)

I read book 1 and had my doubts about trying any others since I absolutely, positively hated the main character. I know that's not good advertisement for a series...but Jane is pushy, judgmental and downright obnoxious. Every other character in the books except Jayne is fine...but I don't think you can build a series on secondary characters. I became fed up with her browbeating witnesses and the suspects alike, she's a police officer and should have had better training. Maybe she was absent the day that protocol was taught:). SHE knows everything and does it better than anyone else, from investigating to brewing coffee. Oh...and let's not forget how she excels above everyone else because she is the only person in the entire precinct...maybe the entire town... who can solve a murder! I thought it was funny and wanted to hit her upside the head with my book when she questioned why another character in the story didn't like her. Really??? Could it possibly be because you accused this person of killing her own daughter in the first book! The solution to the murder in this book was farfetched, rushed. I did like how the author respectfully portrayed people that are gender fluid and those with disabilities. Thank you for that. For those reasons alone, I will more than likely try Book 3....but please, with the royalties from the two books in this series, could you give Jane a personality transplant.… (meer)

Lucy’s husband Keven has a contracting firm and utilized his architectural expertise and talent to build an extraordinary home for his family in Northern Wisconsin. As the home in the evergreen woods is isolated, Keven welcomed the idea that Dulcie and her young daughter Briar be invited to live with Lucy and young son Dillion as with Keven’s firm a 5-hour trip one-way he was happy for his wife and son to have company during his absences. It’s an exciting time for everyone as this will be their 1st Christmas together in this beautiful woodland setting.

A seasonal and atmospheric novella welcoming the reader to awaken all of one’s senses to imagine living in an exquisitely designed new home amid 2,000 acres and preparing for Christmas. There’s a mystery in the woods discovered during one of the woodland excursions, and that’s only the beginning of the delights within this story.

Reviewer’s Note: I discovered the title as part of the short mysteries and enjoyed it as a stand-alone. I was unaware until adding my review on various platforms that it is also considered Book 11.5 in the Whispering Pines Mystery Series. I enjoyed the author’s writing and am eager to read the other short mysteries.… (meer)

Jayne O'Shea has gone back to Wisconsin to her grandparents' home to put the house on the market. She's unprepared for what she finds when she arrives, as the house has been turned upside down. To make matters worse, there's a body in the backyard... that of a young woman. Jayne had been a cop, so she was smart enough to know how to preserve evidence and protect the crime scene. It always amazes me how with a dead body lying in the yard, how unconcerned the local police often are in these stories. I guess that opens the way for the main character to carry out their own investigation...which will go over like a lead balloon with those same unconcerned police. Being a small town shouldn't automatically...that this is going to be the case, but I'm finding this happening more and more in these genera of books. Jayne sees that the womans body has tats that may indicate an interest or her involvement in Wiccan. About this same time Jayne discovers that her grandmother wasn't home baking cookies all the time...she was also involved in the cult. The little town is filled with strange people with unusual "talents." Some folks evidently can see death coming...some of the younger folks are interested in learning spells...Happy Halloween year-round here:) It's a well written story and the characters are interesting...I just didn't find it particularly believable, but I would be willing to try another by this author.… (meer)