Greetings from Ventnor City by Jane Kelly is the sixth book in the “Meg Daniels” traditional mystery series. Publisher: Plexus Publishing, Inc., January 14, 2020
Newly engaged Meg Daniels stays behind at the Artistical Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City while her fiancé returns to work securing their employer s Bahamian property from Hurricane Frieda. But she’s not alone for long. The talkative stranger with skinny white legs sticking out of wide Bermuda shorts turns out to be Xander Frost, rock idol and frequent Artistical guest, traveling incognito as part of his quest to learn how ordinary people live.
A woman recognizes Meg as the amateur sleuth who recently solved a mysterious disappearance from the 1960s, and asks for help in learning the fate of the sister she last knew as a 19-year-old who ran away from her Ventnor home in 1968. Xander persuades Meg to take the case, and the unlikely duo travel up and down the Jersey shore and beyond to interview the people who had known Sarah Johnson best. As they retrace her steps and Meg gets a taste of the rock star life they discover that there might be a sinister reason the trail has been cold for so long. Was she a rebellious teenager who got swept up in the counterculture and broke free of her restrictive family? Or did someone want her out of the way. . . permanently?
This was an intriguing drama with a mystery that consumed my reading time as I could not put this book down. The author did a great job in setting the stage with visually descriptive narrative, and engaging dialogue that told a story that would lead to a journey filled with deceit, revenge and mayhem. There were times when I thought I had a handle on things, but the author changed directions but there was one strategically placed twist that caught me unawares and I was like “whoa”, I did not see that one coming. Good job. The side story of Xander’s growth was an added bonus and I like how his experience led to changes for Meg. When all I was said and done, I enjoyed this book and look forward to more adventures with Meg and her friends.
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FTC Full Disclosure – I received a digital ARC of this book from the author.
This book sounds like an adventure that I’d like to be part of very soon. I am not familiar with this author or series so have some catching up to do.
Sounds like another intriguing mystery from a great author!