The Angel Whispered Danger

Augusta Goodnight #4

by Mignon F. Ballard

When Kate McBride returns to her hometown of Bishop's Bridge, North Carolina, for a family reunion, she expects questions about her husband's conspicuous absence. What she doesn't expect is murder.

Soon after arriving, Kate finds her great uncle's housekeeper, Ella Stegall, badly injured and incoherent, at the bottom of a wooded ravine after an apparent fall from a ledge. But moments before losing consciousness, Ella whispers she was pushed--not surprising, considering that Bramblewood, Uncle Ernest's woodsy estate, is no stranger to murder and intrigue.

Could Ella's accident be connected to Bramblewood's mysterious past, or was her claim just the rambling of a delirious old woman? Poor Ella slips away before leaving more clues to her death.

Now Kate must come to terms with disturbing doubts about close family members while coping with her troubled young daughter. Luckily for Kate, guardian angel Augusta Goodnight has dropped by to help, this time with a bumbling young apprentice in tow. With fresh baked goods and sound, heavenly advice, Augusta helps Kate investigate Ella's untimely demise--and a few other unsolved mysteries along the way.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Cozy Mystery, Fantasy

288 pages, Hardcover

First published December 31, 2000

About the author

Mignon Franklin Ballard grew up in a small town in Georgia, and now lives in Fort Mill, South Carolina.

Reviews

[Coralee Hicks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Augusta Goodnight is back. This time she has an apprentice, Penelope, one who is new to the role of guardian angel but well versed in animal trust and love. The two are assigned to help Kate. She is feeling lost, struggling with a detached husband, mourning a miscarriage, and dealing with an angry 10 year old. Kate brings her daughter, Josie to the annual family reunion at Bramblewood. She anticipates answering or dodging questions regarding her missing husband. She does not anticipate
dealing with the death of Ella, the long time housekeeper. Her suspicions mount as a skeleton is unearthed next to Bramblewood. Could a murderer be a family member? To make matters more difficult, Josie runs off in a fit of temper and is lost in the nearby woods. How Augusta and her charge assist does show that Angels do not necessarily perform obvious miracles.. perhaps subtlety is how it works.
A gentle good read for mystery readers who also enjoy fantasy.

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is "an Augusta Goodnight Mystery." Augusta is a guardian angel. Sometimes she substitutes for a person's "real" guardian" angel, as in this book. Augusta also has an apprentice - Penelope. Penelope is accident prone, tries hard and forgets to make herself invisible. These books are
"gentle" reads and yet there is nothing gentle about this mystery. Several people die and the protagonist, Kate, and her husband are having marital problems after Kate has a miscarriage. Augusta and Penelope have their hands full trying to keep Kate, her daughter and her great uncle safe from a surprising murderer. A fast read, this book would be good for a rainy afternoon.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Angel Augusta Goodnight is sent to help Kate McBride, a mother who just lost her baby. Kate's marriage is on rocky ground. Kate has gone to the family reunion in NC, while her husband is speaking at a convention in CA. Will their marriage survive? Meanwhile at the reunion there are strange happenstances, and dead bodies, a fall - an accident or was she pushed? Augusta and her angel apprentice Penelope, help guard, guide and protect them through the ordeal. A perfectly charming tale.

[Moriah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A melancholy-feeling, slow-paced tale. Not my typical read, but it was good.

[Paschalis]

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[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

An angel (Augusta Goodnight) appears to help Kate McBride as she travels to a family reunion with her daughter, Josie who is going through a difficult time as she tries to understand the increasing distance between her parents. Kate, too, is dealing with mixed emotions because her husband has grown more and more distant since the miscarriage of a second child and has gone to a conference on the other side of the country. Soon after arrival at their destination, Kate's uncle's elderly housekeeper is found at the bottom of a ravine and whispers to Kate that she was pushed, but falls into a coma and can reveal nothing more about her accident before she dies.

Augusta, along with her young apprentice, Penelope, helps Kate investigate and solve the housekeeper's death as well as some deaths that occurred many years ago.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I grabbed this book at the library because this month we have to make suggestions for this year's mystery book read & I had never read this author. It was easy & quick reading. I have an angel collection, and fascination with angels in general. And two angels made an appearance in this book. It was light entertainment.

[Betsy · Rating 2 out of 5]

If I had read this Augusta Goodnight first, I would never have read anymore of them. This is the worst one that I have read. The characters were totally uninteresting. There was nothing "cozy" about it, and introducing all the drama which comes very close to melodrama into the story really detracts from the mystery. I kept waiting for the last page,and it seemed to take forever.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was a cute premise - a guardian angel named Augusta Goodnight appears to help those she has appointed to help in times of trouble. This story contains a wife separated from her husband, murder of an old housekeeper, and some mildly eccentric relatives gathered for a family reunion.

[Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good book. I guessed the murderer early but there was a twist to it that was unexpected. This is a light mystery. I have read others by this author and plan to read more from the Augusta Goodnight series.

[Diane · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mystery "lite" with artificial sweeteners added.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good cozy mystery featuring an Angel and her apprentice. A nice, light read

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one of the series was interesting with the family history interwoven in the mystery. I had figured out "whodunit" but there was an unexpected twist. Fun.

[Dallas Hayden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book. I enjoyed the back story and the way in which the concept of angels was handled. Definitely a lot of mysterious elements which kept me engaged.

[Khrystie · Rating 3 out of 5]

People are not always who they seem to be. This was a good book.