Hurricane Sandy hit the United States, first landing in New Jersey on October 29, 2012. It was the deadliest hurricane that year from the Caribbean up through Canada. My grandmother, Rose Stanford, practically had to be dragged from her hundred-year-old Victorian Mansion in order to stay safe.

My name is Megan Stanford. I came back to New Jersey after losing my job in Detroit two years later. When I returned, I was shocked to see the amount of devastation the storm caused on the Jersey coast and more specifically to Misty Manor, the childhood home I grew up in with my grandmother. I immediately felt guilty that I hadn’t returned to check on her or the house when the storm hit. My grandmother was neglected and dying. I had been led to believe my ne’er-do-well father had hired help for her, but instead, the person he hired was too busy stealing what she could while Grandma Rose was incapacitated.

Grandma Rose raised me as best she could considering my absent parents. When I graduated college I left to pursue my career and didn’t look back, until I lost my job. But, I’m glad that happened ensuring that I returned and was able to take care of Grandma Rose before she died. I loved her and she loved me. That’s why she left her entire sizable estate to me, including our Grand Victorian home, Misty Manor.

I agreed to take her seat as the Chairperson of her various foundations and serve as benefactor to her many charities that ensured benefits for the town of Misty Point, NJ. She felt it was her duty to do so as she owned most of the town and wanted the community to thrive.

Since taking over, I’ve reconnected with friends from high school including Nick Taylor, the guy I turned down as a date to our high school prom. Nick is now an officer working with the Misty Point Police Department. We’ve become very close which is a good thing as I keep stumbling over dead bodies.

Nick worries about protecting me and gets upset when I work at solving mysteries on my own. I can’t help finding secrets and treasure as I try to return Misty Manor to it’s former grand beauty. I’m slowly uncovering the many secrets she’s held for a century. And now I’m working on discovering secrets in the community as well.

I have a lot of help from my friends. Georgie, who has made a career as a lifeguard at the Misty Point Beach and Amber, the friend who chose corporate life. They and their boyfriends, along with Nick and myself, have worked through quite a few mysteries. There is also an old friend named Marie. She helped take care of Grandma Rose and helps me maintain Misty Manor as well as take care of my fur babies, Dudley and Smokey.

We also have a caretaker for the lighthouse that was built on the estate in the early nineteen hundreds. The lighthouse holds secrets as well. The more I restore, the more I find. I hope you can spend some time and visit the Jersey Shore soon. Enjoy getting to know Misty Manor. Walk down to the beach and enjoy the warmth of the sand, the pull of the surf, the sea breeze and cries of the gulls as you discover some secrets as well.

Misty Revenge by Linda Rawlins, Misty Point Mystery #5
Genre: Cozy
Release: December 2020
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Megan Stanford and friends are busily arranging the next fundraiser for the Pure Horizons Environmental Group in Misty Point, NJ. While organizing the gala event, Megan meets with Fiona Cochran, the event planner at the Misty Point Country Club.

In another part of town, a private financial group threatens to build commercial real estate in the salt marshes of Misty Point, NJ. Megan Stanford and the Pure Horizons Environmental Group are determined to fight back and protect the town.

Both groups unwittingly meet when they are invited to the country club for a gourmet food tasting. The food is delicious, but the final course is murder. After the medical examiner is unable to make a proper death determination, things become more sordid as secrets begin to unravel – secrets which prove that revenge is a dish best served cold.

About the author
Linda Rawlins is an American writer of mystery fiction best known for her Misty Point Mystery Series, including Misty Manor, Misty Point, Misty Winter and Misty Treasure. She loved to read as a child and started writing her first unofficial mystery novel in fifth grade. She then went on to study science, medicine and literature, eventually graduating from medical school and establishing her career in medicine. Currently the 2020 President of Sisters in Crime – Central CJ, she is also an active member of Mystery Writers of America and Liberty States Fiction Writers. She is also known for her Rocky Meadow Mystery Series, as well as her medical paranormal mystery, Midnight Shift. Linda lives in New Jersey with her husband, family and spoiled pets. She loves spending time at the beach and mountains of Vermont.

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