Death in St. George's: An Intrepid Traveler Mystery

by M A Monnin

Overview

When Stefanie and Thomas meet in Bermuda for time alone away from the demands of the Artifact Retrieval Team that Thomas heads, their romantic rendezvous is waylaid after an archaeologist requests their help to recover an emerald bracelet that's been stolen from his site.

Thomas is reluctant, but Stefanie can't resist the lure of buried Spanish treasure. Then one of the archaeologists is murdered, and they find themselves on the suspect list. Spanish gold isn't the only thing uncovered. Secrets can be deadly, and Stefanie and Thomas must find the killer before it's too late.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781685126483
Publisher:	Level Best Books
Publication date:	05/14/2024
Series:	An Intrepid Traveler Mystery , #3
Pages:	264
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

M. A. Monnin is the Agatha Award-nominated author of the Intrepid Traveler Mystery series and numerous short stories. Like her heroine, Stefanie Adams, Mary loves the adventure of foreign travel. If there's the chance to check out an archaeological site, so much the better for this avocational archaeologist and trustee of the Kansas City Archaeological Society. An Air Force veteran, Mary is a member of Mystery Writers of America, International Thriller Writers, Sisters in Crime, and the Short Mystery Fiction Society. She lives in Kansas City, Missouri, with her husband, Bob, and Siberian huskies.

Editorial Reviews

2024-06-20
In Monnin’s series mystery, two vacationing Interpol agents investigate a murder while searching for a missing bracelet.

Stefanie Adams and Thomas Burkhardt are on a romantic getaway in St. George, Bermuda, taking a break from their work in the cultural heritage department of Interpol. Thomas’ main job is retrieving stolen artifacts, and Stefanie is part of his retrieval team; she also writes a travel blog. They’re renting a bungalow from archeologist Jeffrey Fitzsimmons, who enlists their help in trying to locate a missing gold and emerald bracelet. The artifact had initially been found at Fitzsimmons’ dig site at the Carmichael House, where the affluent Marlene and Lawrence Carmichael were hoping to place a designer garden. Stefanie and Thomas quickly begin posing questions to the rest of the team: Allan Ingram, a University of Virginia professor; Hunter Renko and Daphne Pasinski, Ingram’s students; and Beryl Swan, Fitzsimmons’ assistant. Other possible suspects include landscape architect Nathaniel Dimon and Fabiola Ortiz of the Spanish Cultural Ministry. Later, Stefanie and Thomas find a member of the team dead, and another is arrested for the murder; then the Carmichaels experience a break-in. Stefanie and Thomas race to find the culprit and the missing piece of jewelry, and their prime suspect changes with every new piece of information. Monnin’s story has echoes of Agatha Christie’s work, making the most of a large group of suspects and red herrings galore. The romance between Thomas and Stefanie, though only briefly developed, effectively adds another dimension to the tale (“What she really wanted was to decide on their future living situation. There was no question that they would be together”). However, the story is very much a slow burn, and the characters aren’t engaging enough to warrant such pacing. There are a few significant plot turns, but the story is mainly made up of Thomas and Stefanie questioning other characters and offering their opinions on who’s the most suspicious among them. The action picks up a bit toward the end, but the unsatisfying ending falls somewhere between a bang and a whimper.

An engaging mystery premise that’s let down by plodding pacing.

Kirkus Reviews