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The Harmony Duprie Mysteries #1
The Marquesa's Necklace
Harmony Duprie enjoyed her well-ordered life in the quiet little town of Oak Grove--until her arrest for drug trafficking. Cleared of all charges, she wants nothing more than to return to the uneventful lifestyle of a historical researcher she once savored.
But when her beloved old car "George" is stolen and explodes into a ball of flames, it sets off a series of events that throws her plans into turmoil. Toss in a police detective that may or may not be interested in her, an attractive but mysterious stranger on her trail, and an ex-boyfriend doing time, and Harmony's life freefalls into a downward spiral of chaos.
Now she has to use her research skills to figure out who is behind the sinister incidents plaguing her, and why. And she better take it seriously, like her life depends upon finding the right answers.
Because it might.
But when her beloved old car "George" is stolen and explodes into a ball of flames, it sets off a series of events that throws her plans into turmoil. Toss in a police detective that may or may not be interested in her, an attractive but mysterious stranger on her trail, and an ex-boyfriend doing time, and Harmony's life freefalls into a downward spiral of chaos.
Now she has to use her research skills to figure out who is behind the sinister incidents plaguing her, and why. And she better take it seriously, like her life depends upon finding the right answers.
Because it might.
- GenresMysteryCozy Mystery
286 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2014
14 people are currently reading
50 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
December 12, 2018
This is four and a half stars. It’s a wonderful romp and you don’t put the pieces together until the end, which is a bonus.
Certainly good holiday reading.
Recommended
Certainly good holiday reading.
Recommended
May 5, 2017
Harmony Duprie is such a fabulous character. She'll quickly becomes one of your best book friends. She's a strong, clever, modern, independent woman, who is also caring vulnerable and courageous. Caught up in a mystery that's not of her own making, bad guys are after her looking for something they think she has. She doesn't know why and she doesn't know what. She's got to put the clues together quick and find out what they want before she are someone she cares about gets hurt ...or worse.
This is a fresh, well written, page turning adventure with heart warming moments and humor. I highly recommend The Marquesa's Necklace. .
This is a fresh, well written, page turning adventure with heart warming moments and humor. I highly recommend The Marquesa's Necklace. .
February 12, 2015
To get through these cold, snowy winter nights, there's nothing better than curling up by the woodstove with a nice cozy mystery, which is just what I did with THE MARQUESA'S NECKLACE. It didn't disappoint.
What a fun read! Harmony Duprie, the main character, (and I absolutely love that name) leapt off the page with her intelligence and wry sense of humor. She's an independent woman who, for a living, does research for writers. The men in her life are quite unique. There's the mysterious "ghost" she encounters at the library, an amorous detective who has the distinction of once being her arresting officer, and a former lover, now in prison.
Despite that color, her life seems to be moving along rather smoothly, but then, out of the blue, someone blows up her car! From that point on you cannot put this book down. Full of quirky characters and unexpected twists and turns, this is one of the best of this genre I have read in a long time. MacLayne's writing is crisp and clean and I can't wait for another Harmony Duprie mystery to appear on my bookshelf. Highly recommended.
What a fun read! Harmony Duprie, the main character, (and I absolutely love that name) leapt off the page with her intelligence and wry sense of humor. She's an independent woman who, for a living, does research for writers. The men in her life are quite unique. There's the mysterious "ghost" she encounters at the library, an amorous detective who has the distinction of once being her arresting officer, and a former lover, now in prison.
Despite that color, her life seems to be moving along rather smoothly, but then, out of the blue, someone blows up her car! From that point on you cannot put this book down. Full of quirky characters and unexpected twists and turns, this is one of the best of this genre I have read in a long time. MacLayne's writing is crisp and clean and I can't wait for another Harmony Duprie mystery to appear on my bookshelf. Highly recommended.
July 3, 2014
Harmony Duprie is such a fabulous character. She'll quickly becomes one of your best book friends. She's a strong, clever, modern, independent woman, who is also caring vulnerable and courageous. Caught up in a mystery that's not of her own making, bad guys are after her looking for something they think she has. She doesn't know why and she doesn't know what. She's got to put the clues together quick and find out what they want before she are someone she cares about gets hurt ...or worse.
This is a fresh, well written, page turning adventure with heart warming moments and humor. I highly recommend The Marquesa's Necklace. .
This is a fresh, well written, page turning adventure with heart warming moments and humor. I highly recommend The Marquesa's Necklace. .
October 2, 2019
3.5 stars
It was a very good read. I especially liked it up until about the halfway point. I was not a fan of the parts after Harmony went to stay at the hotel with Eli, Scotty, and Lando. I actually wasn’t a fan of Scotty or and Lando in general. Other than that plot point, I found the story very engaging and fun. Harmony’s character was developed really well, but it did get a bit annoying when she would talk to the audience (“yes, this is what happened” or “I know what you’re thinking” type dialogue). The mysterious aspects of the story were not predictable and you really had to work to figure them out. I realize that the story was self published, but the grammatical errors I found showed that a more careful eye needed to go over the writing. Overall, it was an enjoyable read. I actually got to meet PJ MacLayne at a ComicCon so the story was even more special to me given what I heard about her writing process. I’m definitely glad I read it and I look forward to the next book!
It was a very good read. I especially liked it up until about the halfway point. I was not a fan of the parts after Harmony went to stay at the hotel with Eli, Scotty, and Lando. I actually wasn’t a fan of Scotty or and Lando in general. Other than that plot point, I found the story very engaging and fun. Harmony’s character was developed really well, but it did get a bit annoying when she would talk to the audience (“yes, this is what happened” or “I know what you’re thinking” type dialogue). The mysterious aspects of the story were not predictable and you really had to work to figure them out. I realize that the story was self published, but the grammatical errors I found showed that a more careful eye needed to go over the writing. Overall, it was an enjoyable read. I actually got to meet PJ MacLayne at a ComicCon so the story was even more special to me given what I heard about her writing process. I’m definitely glad I read it and I look forward to the next book!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 1, 2019
What a fun ride! Okay, there were three great things for me about this book.
First, the mystery. The main character is a fun, book loving lady who happened to be tossed into a mystery curtesy of her ex. The main mystery kept me going, but there were also smaller mysteries along the way that had me wanting to know just as much as the larger mystery!
Second, there's a handsome ghost in the library. What's more fun than that?
Third, there's a unique pull between the main character and her ex, a cop who thought her guilty of crime in the past, the ghost dude in the library, and a surprise near the end. I found myself curious about each man, even the ex, who (spoilers!)...
Oh, and the car. The car was an excellent character. You'll see what I mean if you give the book a try!
First, the mystery. The main character is a fun, book loving lady who happened to be tossed into a mystery curtesy of her ex. The main mystery kept me going, but there were also smaller mysteries along the way that had me wanting to know just as much as the larger mystery!
Second, there's a handsome ghost in the library. What's more fun than that?
Third, there's a unique pull between the main character and her ex, a cop who thought her guilty of crime in the past, the ghost dude in the library, and a surprise near the end. I found myself curious about each man, even the ex, who (spoilers!)...
Oh, and the car. The car was an excellent character. You'll see what I mean if you give the book a try!
September 2, 2015
This was the first book I've read by author PJ MacLayne and I was not disappointed. Ms. MacLayne has a solid and intriguing story line making this book a page turner. Solving the mystery of--as you might guess from the title--a missing necklace is not the only interesting part of this novel. The characters are so well developed and are 'mysteries' in and of themselves adding an indescribable and unexpected charm to the story line.
Harmony Duprie, one time almost owner of the missing necklace, offers up delightful dialogue interspersed with cheeky humor. When asked, 'have you made any new enemies lately?' (when you read the book, you will learn that Harmony has a few in her not so distant past), she responds: " I think Larry, the florist, is ticked off that I'm not receiving flowers anymore. And Bart at the grocery story yelled at me last weekend when I went through the ten items or less line with fourteen items."
Ms. MacLayne recently released the sequel to this book, Her Ladyship's Ring (Oak Grove Mysteries Book 2), and I've already purchased it! I can't wait to see what Harmony DuPrie is up to next.
Kudos Ms. MacLayne!
Harmony Duprie, one time almost owner of the missing necklace, offers up delightful dialogue interspersed with cheeky humor. When asked, 'have you made any new enemies lately?' (when you read the book, you will learn that Harmony has a few in her not so distant past), she responds: " I think Larry, the florist, is ticked off that I'm not receiving flowers anymore. And Bart at the grocery story yelled at me last weekend when I went through the ten items or less line with fourteen items."
Ms. MacLayne recently released the sequel to this book, Her Ladyship's Ring (Oak Grove Mysteries Book 2), and I've already purchased it! I can't wait to see what Harmony DuPrie is up to next.
Kudos Ms. MacLayne!
May 21, 2015
What a great, clean cozy mystery this is!! An unassuming researcher who helps authors (prior to that she was a librarian) made one major mistake--she fell for the wrong guy! Although she was exonerated from any wrong doing--someone is out to get her--her old car is fire bombed and she is being followed and all kinds of strange things and people start to come into her prior very quiet and serene life! Can she, with the help of some rather wacky characters figure out who is behind all this and why? And that necklace that she wore for exactly an hour--can she figure out where her ex hid it before she is murdered?
I read this one straight through-it was really good--I have no idea where I saw this first but I am certainly glad I took a chance and bought it--now I have to go look into Book #2!!
The Marquesa's Necklace
I read this one straight through-it was really good--I have no idea where I saw this first but I am certainly glad I took a chance and bought it--now I have to go look into Book #2!!
The Marquesa's Necklace
May 3, 2015
The Marquesa's Necklace is a fun, lighthearted read from P.J. MacLayne. The story is filled with quirky humor that will have you breaking a smile every now and then, when you read the antics of the main character, Harmony Duprie. Trouble seems to follow Harmony, but she shrugs it off and keeps on going. When her old car, George, got blown up, she didn't miss a beat; she promptly bought herself, cash, a red Jag, that she named Delores. Then when her boyfriend, Jake, got locked up, she took up with a mysterious strange, Eli. Nothing stops Harmony for long. She is now using her skills as a history researcher to solve the mystery of the lost Marquesa's Necklace, will she succeed? We’ll have to wait to find out what the indomitable Harmony will do next. Very interesting character. Mystery lovers will enjoy this book.
July 8, 2014
I beta read this book for PJ. I loved that Harmony named her cars. There was just enough action and suspense to keep me entertained. I can't wait for to read Harmony's next adventure.
August 7, 2014
good read
I enjoyed this book very much....I will be watching for the next one I also read Wolves Pawn..also a very good read
I enjoyed this book very much....I will be watching for the next one I also read Wolves Pawn..also a very good read
May 3, 2015
Depth.
Enjoyed,but the narrator mainly had too many "situations" in the too many superficial characters novel.Really didn't become involved with more needed main protagonist.
Enjoyed,but the narrator mainly had too many "situations" in the too many superficial characters novel.Really didn't become involved with more needed main protagonist.
November 7, 2015
A very fun book to read
This book was a fun read to pass s cold rainy day. Loved how all the characters flowed so easily with the story.
This book was a fun read to pass s cold rainy day. Loved how all the characters flowed so easily with the story.
April 20, 2017
The Marquesa's Necklace by P. J. MacLayne is a fantastic cozy mystery. As this was the first time reading MacLayne, I went in not expecting anything. I was intrigued from the very first page and there were a few twists and turns to make this a true mystery. The characters were delightful and I look forward to reading the next book in the series.
My Rating: 4 stars
My Rating: 4 stars
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews