Caffeinated Reviewer | Murder Will Out by Jennifer K. Breedlove
16th Feb
Murder Will Out by Jennifer K. Breedlove takes readers to Little North Island, off the coast of Maine, and delivers a light, gothic murder-mystery, and into the Cameron House with its unusual residents.
Murder Will Out
by Jennifer K. Breedlove
Genres: Mystery
Source: Publisher
Purchase*: Amazon | Audible | Libro.fm *affiliate
Rating: 
Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Award winner Jennifer K. Breedlove brings coastal Maine to life in Murder Will Out, a lighter, modern gothic mystery that’s as atmospheric as it is heart-warming.
Come for the memories. Stay for the murder…
Little North Island, off the coast of Maine, is so beautiful it could be a postcard. Organist Willow Stone cherishes her memories of childhood summers spent on the island with her godmother Sue… even though her visits ended abruptly, and she hasn’t seen or heard from her godmother in over fifteen years. Until a letter from Sue—and word of Sue’s death—brings Willow back to the picturesque island.
The islanders rarely mention Sue without also bringing up Cameron House, and the controversy around Sue’s unexpected inheritance of the sprawling mansion. When Willow overhears someone threatening the next heir to the property, she starts to question whether Sue’s death was really an accident, and can’t help but wonder whether someone on this sleepy island is willing to stop at nothing—even murder—to claim Cameron House for their own.
Through Willow’s eyes, as well as those of others on the island, a mystery unfolds that keeps drawing Willow back to Cameron House and the very real ghosts that walk its corridors.
Organist Willow Stone returns island and the memories of summers spent with her beloved godmother Sue, before her parents abruptly stopped sending her. Willow receives a letter informing her of Sue’s death and a letter from Sue herself, the first she has received in fifteen years.
What begins as coming for closure soon turns into a mystery when a series of accidents and a murder point to something sinister happening on the island, and it all centers on Cameron House.
The islanders were surprised when Sue inherited Cameron House, as it has always been owned by a Cameron. When Willow overhears the next heir being threatened and he ends up in the hospital, she investigates along with some residents. We have the librarian, Sue’s finance, Nick the local law, and Finn, the adorable corgi.
The story that unfolded very much felt like a small-town cozy mystery with supernatural elements. The beginning hooked me, and I felt like the middle struggled a little, but then things picked up again as we got answers to the murder-mystery and Cameron House, but also about Sue and Willow.
If you are looking for a light gothic cozy with supernatural elements set in a small coastal town, Murder Will Out is a fine pick from your local library.
About Jennifer K. Breedlove
Jennifer has been writing stories since she was in preschool, when she delighted in crafting tales of magic and adventure; she wrote and illustrated them with her 64-box of Crayolas, stapled the pages together, and waited for fame and riches to come calling. (They did not.) When her parents insisted that she pursue a career more secure than fiction writing, she decided to be a musician instead. This was not what her parents had in mind when they said “more secure,” but they were wonderfully supportive nonetheless. Jennifer holds degrees in piano, choral conducting, and theology; she is on the music faculty at Loyola University in Chicago and serves as an assistant conductor for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Chorus. Jennifer has worked as a church musician, educator, and editor and is a prolific composer of choral music; her compositions, as well as her nonfiction books and articles, are available through several major publishers. A frequent visitor to Downeast Maine since childhood, she has an enduring affection for the wild beauty of the coastal islands and the warmth of the people who make their homes there. Her debut novel, Murder Will Out, won the Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Award, and was also a finalist for the Killer Nashville Claymore award. She lives in the western suburbs of Chicago with her husband, two dogs, and two kids currently attending college. Demonstrating once again the cliché about apples and trees, her son is a music major, and her daughter plans to be a writer.
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About Kimberly
Kimberly is a coffee loving book addict who reads and listens to fictional stories in all genres. Whovian, Ravenclaw, Howler and proud Nonna. She owns and manages Caffeinated PR. The coffee is always on and she is ready to chat.
