Vicki Doudera

Final Settlement by Vicki Doudera has been sitting in my “to be read” bookcase for a couple of years. With the Texas heat continuing, the frozen scene on the cover has been beckoning me. Finally, I had some time and I am not disappointed.

I gave this book my highest rating not just because it is a good mystery with well-developed characters but it also taught me a piece of history. The author’s note just before the prologue said that the history of Unit 173 was real. So I laid the book down and checked the Internet about Unit 173. My husband, who emigrated from Taiwan knew all about it but I knew nothing of it. Everything he said was echoed by what I read on the Internet. Read the book and you learned in one of multiple mysteries in this book. Or better yet, research it now. When you read Final Settlement, you will see how the author had carefully added this piece of the mystery puzzle to this story.

This book is the fourth in the Darby Farr Mystery Series. It does well as a standalone. But since I loved the story so much, I will do some searching to see if any more in the series are available. Darby Farr is real estate expert who solves mysteries on her own. She is based in Southern California but she flies back for her sister’s wedding. She grew up in an island off of Main called Hurricane Harbor. When she arrives she hears the latest news that Lorraine Delvecchio, assistant to the police chief was found dead, tangled up in some lobster traps. It was later determined that she fell off an icy part of the lighthouse on the island. But things do not add up. She was wearing sturdy hiking boots. Actually, it would make more sense that she was pushed. But who would do that? Why?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to mystery readers who like to learn something while they try to figure out the mystery.… (més)

A House to die for is the first book in a mystery series. Darby Farr is a hotshot real estate agent in California. She is called home to the small Maine Island she left ten years ago when the Aunt who raised her is taken ill. Her last request is for Darby to close a real estate deal on the sale of the prestigious Fair View Mansion. Where Darbys former best friend Lucy used to live. But a dead body found on the grounds is not the worst problem Darcy has confronted with a desperate buyer, a dangerous local and a storm coming! Darby is fast running out of time to salvage the sale and prevent more people from dying.… (més)

“Final Settlement” by Vicki Doudera

Blizzards, below zero weather, murder, Darby Farr, romance, a wedding, murder, snow, ice, murder, Tina Ames, mayhem: are all part of the Final Settlement in Hurricane Harbor, Maine. Did I mention murder?

Having run away years ago from the island to San Diego, California, Darby comes back for her friend Tina’s wedding. But flowers and good cheer aren’t the only things Darby has to contend with. Because Darby knew (slightly) a murder victim from the island, Chief Dupont asks for her help. She gets entangled in the mystery, resolved to find out who killed quiet, mousy Lorraine Delvecchio and why. The more Darby investigates the more trouble she gets in. The more she learns of the reason for Lorraine’s death, the more she is intrigued. So much so that she gets too close to the truth and someone wants her dead and will do anything to accomplish that goal.

Suspects and suspense aplenty make for an entertaining, light-hearted mystery that is a great read for a cold night in front of a fireplace. Be sure to turn the heat up high because this novel will bring chills.

Reviewed by Starr Gardinier Reina, author of “The Other Side: Melinda’s Story”… (més)