Pelican Bay

A Maggie Skerritt Mystery #1

by Charlotte Douglas

Witty and irreverent homicide detective Maggie Skerritt likes her quiet, sleepy workdays. Violence in Pelican Bay, Florida, was rarely an issue, and Maggie certainly wasn't itching for the tide to change.

Maintaining a professional distance had always been Maggie's M.O., but the more she learned about the homicide victims, the less sleep she got. Each woman had started to get her life back on track - something Maggie had been meaning to do for years. It was a wake-up call - and Maggie was more determined, once she solved the case, to reevaluate her own life. Especially her relationship with a certain former police detective...

Genres: Mystery, Chick Lit

304 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2005

About the author

CHARLOTTE DOUGLAS has loved a good story since she learned to read at the age of three. After years of teaching that love of books to her students, she now enjoys creating stories of her own. Often her books are set in one of her three favorite places—Montana, where she and her husband spent their honeymoon; the mountains of North Carolina, where she has a summer home; or Florida, near the Gulf of Mexico on Florida’s west coast, where she’s lived most of her life.

Reviews

[Linda Langford · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a mystery (not cozy). The author did an amazing job of fooling me as to who the murderer was. Great story! I enjoyed the Florida setting, but the hours and the pace these detectives have to keep up is grueling.

[Marty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although there is a strong female lead, I would not call this a “cozy” mystery, but a regular one. –Good story. Maggie Skerritt is a 20 year veteran police officer now a Detective on the Pelican Bay force. Pelican Bay is a small west Florida town without much crime.. just the way Maggie likes it. Things change, however, when 2 members of a group belonging to a Diet Doctor’s practice wind up poisoned. Will there be more?

[Lola · Rating 3 out of 5]

When members of a group of obese people are murdered, Maggie Skerritt is hot on the trail, losing sleep, and getting no where fast. Soon another murder occurs. While working overtime, she is also trying to juggle her male friend, a retired detective, and accommodating her mother, a society woman.

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

a new mystery author to me. an action moving novel, full of suspense and many details of mystery. More reading from this author in my future.

[Brooke Fradd · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm surprised at how much I liked this one. I've had the paperback on my shelves at home forever so I don't remember how/why I came to own it. Quick fun mystery I finished in just 2 sittings.

[DebbieG · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pleasant detective story set in Florida.

[Claire - The Coffeeholic Bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maggie Skerritt knew she had big shoes to fill, especially in her career, now that her boss had wanted her to fail her assignment/investigation of Edith Wainwright's murder. Edith was quite heavy on the weighing scale, and her death was somehow related to her chocolate addiction, despite taking weight-loss classes. When another girl died of cyanide poisoning, Maggie believed that Pelican Bay Weight Management counselor got a hand on these murders.

Could Maggie prove that female police detectives like her were as determined and great as their male counterparts? Could she unearth the mysteries surrounding Pelican Bay?

I liked that this book is focused more on the 3Ms - mysteries, murders and Maggie. There wasn't much romantic scenes in the book, which was just right for my taste. The characters are likeable and fun once you get to know them. I gave myself three chances to guess the killer, but I didn't succeed until the end. I was quite surprised with the twists and turns. A light and quick-paced story, this is a perfect mystery read for an afternoon siesta.

[Courtney Anderson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think it is just not my style. Other than many grammer problems, like using winded instead of wound, It just was really predictable. not much suspense at all.

[Marielle Jian Aspa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Compelling, A series of twists and turns. Douglas is great when it comes to mystery and the like.

[Anne Marshall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite well written but the crime angle wasn’t fleshed out enough.