🐏🗝️🏞️ “Copper Waters” (Annalisse Series #4) (2022) 🏞️🗝️🐏 – Book Review
Book Title: Copper Waters - A New Zealand Mystery (Annalisse Series Book 4) by Marlene M. Bell
Category: Adult Fiction (18 +), 340 pages
Genre: Mystery-Suspense
Publisher: Ewephoric Publishing
Release date: October, 2022
Content Rating: G. Book is for general audiences. No profanity. No graphic scenes. Crimes described briefly after-the-fact. Mild and limited romance
Annalisse Drury and Alec Zavos find themselves on opposing sides when an ex-lover from Alec’s past introduces him to his alleged son. With Alec distracted and their future engagement in limbo, Annalisse accepts a key to her dream cottage—situated on a picturesque sheep station on South Island, New Zealand—only this time, she travels alone.
But not long after her arrival she’s confronted by two peculiar deaths—either accidental, or the deliberate acts of a psychopath.
Local investigators are closing the cases too quickly and want Annalisse to exit the country before she reveals the town’s darkest secrets.
Will she return to Alec, or sacrifice their future together to expose it all?
Amazon
Thank you in advance to the author, Marlene M. Bell, for providing a complimentary review copy through iRead Book Tours. A positive review was not required nor requested, and all words are my own.
While this is the fourth book in the series, this is the third book I’ve read. I read books #2 (Spent Identity) and #3 (Scattered Legacy) through Prism Book Tours, and as this is a series where events are referred to in subsequent books, I purchased the first book – Stolen Obsession. I still have to find some time to read that book though. However, the event in that book only has a minor mention.
That said …
This book does tend to go over some of the events in books #2 and #3 a few times to help readers understand the connections or why the characters act the way they do. And, as the previous book left off on a cliffhanger – I HAD to read this book to get the conclusion.
Three of the main characters from the series return. One who went missing shows up, another is alluded to. Some return from only one previous book (either #2 or #3).
🚗 Alec
📿 Annalisse
📿 Generosa (Alec’s mother;
mentioned, does not appear)
🔎 Bill Drake (detective)
🐏 Ethan (had worked for
Anna’s aunt/mother)
📿 Kate (kind of “missing”,
Anna’s biological mother; mentioned only)
🧒🏻 Noah (Alex’s “son”)
Copper Waters literally picks up where book #3 left off and takes readers to New Zealand this time around.
Bell introduces readers to:
👩🏻🦳 Ellen
Hyde (formerly Fawdray) (Ethan’s mother)
👧🏻 Sutton Hyde
(Ellen’s youngest daughter)
👩🏻 Olivia Hyde
(Ellen’s daughter)
🏛️ Finn Hyde (Ellen’s
current husband)
🚓 Commissioner Karena (Temuka
Police)
👨🏻🦳 Alastair
McGregor (owned shop Olivia works at)
🐏 Cooper Dunn (worked at the Fawdray/Hyde sheep station)
And, readers get several story arcs in this book:
🔎 Anna looking for Kate
🔬 Two homicides (or
suspicious deaths)
💵 Political Corruption
🧬 Alex’s Potential Paternity of Noah
There is only a “slight” reference to bad language – a reference to the “b” word (female dog) which Noah directs to Anna. There is an allusion to a “psychotic” child. There is no intimacy, so this is a fairly clean read.
Like the first three books – this is told in first person format only from Annalisse’s POV.
It begins with Anna and a bug – she’s braver than I am – I’d have squished it.
Anna is also thinking about Alec’s proposal, but there is now another issue – his “son”, Noah. Or is Noah his son? Anna can’t plan the future without knowing the truth and Alec’s plans regarding the kid.
Anna is also worried about Kate – a woman who she thought was her aunt, but is her biological mother. Anna also is warned to not try to find her birth father as he doesn’t know about her. And, Ethan has invited her to visit his family’s “sheep station” (sheep farm) in NZ.
Given the situation with Alec, as well as Kate, Anna sees this as an opportunity to head down the NZ without Alec. Though Bill ends up accompanying her on the trip. (Like Anna, I kind of have a fear of flying).
At the airport, they meet someone sent by Ethan – Alastair McGregor. The man has an interesting story to deal – and meets an interesting death. Which, like all the previous books it seems – puts Anna right in the middle of a mystery.
They arrive at the sheep station and stay in the Fawdray/Hyde guest cottage.
Before long, they discover the Fawdray/Hyde family has a connection to Alastair. The police don’t seem to eager to want to solve what looks like a targeted killing. Alastair also has a tragic background so it seems that the police aren’t too interested in solving the case on that note.
But, all is not what it seems. A little girl, Sutton, seems to take to Anna – and Sutton has her own secret too.
Anna also discovers who her biological father is and her connection to Ellen. But, there is also a problem – Ellen’s current husband is a politician, and a seemingly corrupt one at that.
It isn’t long until there is another “death”, this time it is one of the men who works at the sheep station.
It soon becomes clear to Anna and Bill that the police, or rather Karena, is up to his neck in something.
When Anna falls victim to a poisoning and is hurt, Alec soon rushes to NZ, and the investigation heats up and more evidence comes to light – but with it, the spotlight also falls on the police as well. The suspect and motive aren’t revealed until the very end, and it is a bit shocking.
The title comes from the “tea” that is poisoned with copper and the suspect was definitely a bit – alarming. It doesn’t have anything to do with the cover that is for certain. Though, like the Twilight Series – a simple cover doesn’t mean a bad story, sometimes it is a ruse to lure readers in.
This was definitely a bit suspenseful with the murder mysteries as well as the family drama, family secrets, and obvious corruption. It was definitely a bit hard to put down and the author’s use of short chapters as well as a fast-paced storyline certainly helped.
One thing I did sort of have to skip over – a lot of sheep farming information as well as some historical background that often felt like a geography lesson. It did seem to drag the story around a bit. For the most part, the story is wrapped up neatly by the last chapter, though there are blurbs rather than perhaps full explanations or any kind of “resolutions”. There is a conclusion about Noah, which was interesting.
To be honest, the ending seemed a bit abrupt, and like books #2 and #3 – this has an open end with the mention of Kate wanting to see both Anna and Alec, in addition to other things. Though, like she usually does, the author may have left it like that to segue into the next book.
As a result, I definitely want to read the next book in the series and see where Anna and Alec go next.
Those who’ve been reading the series won’t want to miss this installment. Those who enjoy lighter mysteries will also enjoy this as well.
RATING:
4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ /5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Goodreads
4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ /5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Bookbub
4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ /5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
– Personal Rating (see rating explanation in this blog: https://readingexcursions.blogspot.com/2020/01/rating-system-2020-changes.html;update https://readingexcursions.blogspot.com/2022/07/what-goes-into-my-reviews-2022-edition.html)
Book Title: Stolen Obsession (Annalisse Series Book 1) by Marlene M. Bell
Category: Adult Fiction (18 +), 296 pages
Genre: Mystery-Suspense
Publisher: Ewephoric Publishing
Release date: March 2018
Format available for review: print - softback, e-book (mobi file (for Kindle), ePub, PDF), audiobook (audible download)
Will send print books out: USA
Content Rating: PG. Subtle romantic interludes. No profanity.
People die, but legends live on.
New York antiquities appraiser Annalisse Drury's best friend was murdered. The killer’s identity may be linked to her friend’s expensive missing bracelet—a 500-year-old artifact that carries an ancient curse, one that unleashes evil upon any who dare wear the jewelry created for the Persian royal family.
Weeks later, Annalisse sees a matching necklace at a Manhattan gallery opening. She begs the owner to destroy the cursed piece, but her pleas fall on deaf ears—despite the unnatural death that occurs during the opening. With two victims linked to the jewelry, Annalisse is certain she must act. Desperate, Annalisse enlists the gallery owner’s son to help—even though she’s afraid he’ll break her heart. Wealthy and devastatingly handsome, with a string of bereft women in his wake, Greek playboy Alec Zavos dismisses Annalisse’s concerns—until his parents are ripped from the Zavos family yacht during their ocean voyage near Crete.
Annalisse and Alec race across two oceans to save his parents, feared kidnapped or even dead. When the killer changes tactics and goes after Alec behind Annalisse’s back, can her plan to rescue Alec’s mother save them all?
Book Title: Spent Identity (Annalisse Series Book 2) by Marlene M. Bell
Category: Adult Fiction (18 +), 378 pages
Genre: Mystery-Suspense
Publisher: Ewephoric Publishing
Release date: Nov 2019
Format available for review: print - softback, e-book (mobi file (for Kindle), ePub, PDF), audiobook (audible download)
Will send print books out: USA
Content Rating: PG-13+M. Main Character is accosted and fights an assailant in one chapter. Mild profanity.
Antiquities appraiser Annalisse Drury drives to her family farm in upstate New York to consult with Aunt Kate about her troubled relationship with Greek tycoon, Alec Zavos. When Annalisse arrives, she learns the beloved farm she expects to inherit is for sale.
That same morning, they find a stranger's body decaying in the barn. Then her aunt vanishes.
In Spent Identity, Annalisse and Alec join forces for the second time. They must find the mastermind behind her aunt's abduction before Kate's health issues worsen. Was the corpse in the barn a coincidence or a warning? The clock ticks for Annalisse to find her aunt and repair what she has left with the man she loves.
Book Title: Scattered Legacy (Annalisse Series Book 3) by Marlene M. Bell
Category: Adult Fiction (18 +), 352 pages
Genre: Mystery-Suspense
Publisher: Ewephoric Publishing
Release date: Oct 2021
Format available for review: print - softback, e-book (mobi file (for Kindle), ePub, PDF)
Will send print books out: USA
Content Rating: PG+M. Brief kissing/romance. mild use of profanity like "damn." No F Bombs. Some violence and talk of an attack by villain that doesn't materialize.
To outsiders, the relationship between Manhattan antiquities assessor Annalisse Drury and sports car magnate Alec Zavos must look carefree and glamorous. In reality, it’s a love affair regularly punctuated by treasure hunting, action-packed adventure, and the occasional dead body.
When Alec schedules an overseas trip to show Annalisse his mother's birthplace in Bari, Italy, he squeezes in the high-stakes business of divesting his family’s international corporation. But things go terribly wrong as murder makes its familiar reappearance in their lives – and this time it’s Alec’s disgraced former CFO who’s the main suspect.
Accompanied by friend and detective Bill Drake, Annalisse and Alec find themselves embroiled in a behind-closed-doors conspiracy that threatens the reputation and legacy of Alec’s late father – linking him to embezzlement, extortion, and the dirty business of the Sicilian Mafia. The search for the truth sends the trio straight into riddles, secrets, and an historic set of rosary beads. Annalisse leads Alec toward a discovery that is unthinkable, and events that will change their futures forever.
Scattered Legacy is the third in Marlene M. Bell’s thrilling Annalisse series, which weaves romance, crime, and historical mystery into addictive tales to instantly captivate fans of TV show Bones or Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code.
Amazon
Marlene M. Bell is an eclectic mystery writer, artist, photographer, and she raises sheep in beautiful East Texas with her husband, Gregg, three cats and a flock of horned Dorset sheep.
The Annalisse series has received numerous honors including the Independent Press Award for Best Mystery (Spent Identity,) and FAPA— Florida Author’s President’s Gold Award for two other installments, (Stolen Obsession and Scattered Legacy.) Her mysteries with a touch of romance are found at marlenembell.com. She also offers the first of her children's picture books, Mia and Nattie: One Great Team! Based on true events from the Bell’s ranch. The simple text and illustrations are a touching tribute of compassion and love between a little girl and her lamb.
connect with the author: website ~ website ~ twitter ~ facebook ~ instagram ~ goodreads
My! A great review with so much detail. Thank you for reading and reviewing the Annalisse series. The ending is indeed a segue into the 5th installment. Enjoy the rest of the series!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your informative review of Copper Waters, this sounds like an excellent book and series and one that I am looking forward to reading
ReplyDeleteI would love to read this
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like an amazing series!! Love the covers! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your review!
ReplyDelete