Everything is right on track for Danielle as she prepares for the grand opening of her bed and breakfast. All that changes when her cousin, Cheryl, shows up to claim her share of the inheritance—housemate Lily figures out there is a ghost in the house—and the million dollar necklace goes missing.
There is blood on someone’s hands and if Danielle isn’t careful she’ll be moving from Marlow House to the Big House.
The Ghost Who Loved Diamonds Haunting Danielle Series, Book 2 By: Bobbi Holmes, Anna J. McIntyre Narrated by: Romy Nordlinger This is another great little cozy haunted house story. Danielle's annoying cousin comes to town, only because she wants money. She wants the famous necklace that Danielle found. There is a robbery, a murder, and then now Danielle is accused! A real good read/listen. The narrator does it again but keeping this book fun and going strong.
This is a fairly intricate little mystery, more of the cozy type than hard core. While it's probably not for those who favor intense suspenseful mysteries, this story has enough twists and turns for the most dedicated mystery reader, so if you can get past the fact that many of the clues come through ghosts, you should enjoy it. My only problem with the book is that one of the characters is so very annoying and I disliked her so much that it almost put me off the book altogether. In the end though, I found the book not only readable but enjoyed being surprised at exactly "whodunnit."
4 Stars… Things are getting complicated for Danielle Boatman when her snooty cousin Cheryl shows up and contests her aunt's will demanding her half of Marlow House... When Cheryl and the Thorndike necklace go missing Danielle falls under suspicion of foul play and must use her ghostly connections to solve the mystery... A fun read filled with an intriguing "Who Done It" mystery that twists and turns the story until the very end:)
I was disappointed deeply with this book in comparison with the first of this series. Perhaps because I had so thoroughly enjoyed the unencumbered lightness of the first book, my expectations were too high and I set myself up to be let down from the beginning. The first half of The Ghost Who Loved Diamonds spent building up the odoriferous caricature of one of the main characters- so much so that I nearly put the book down. The second half of the book took a turn for the better after a major event- the constant focus on the blackguard finally relaxed and the rest of the story developed. However, the story remained so predictable that the only reason I finished it was for my own satisfaction of completion (I really hate abandoning books unless I really must). Too much romantic focus for my taste, and the constant animosity between two characters that suddenly changed without development IMO made this book too flat for me. I'm not sure that I will continue to follow this series since the trajectory of the plot seems to be more romance with a mystery thrown in and I am really looking for a nice cozy mystery without the tangle of amorous relationships.
This is the second book in a cozy mystery with ghost and such and for once I've read it from beginning. It was entertaining and I liked the audiobook but I loved the first one with a passion and I didn't enjoy this quite as much. Will continue on with the series though as I've started to enjoy the ghost element even though I'm terrible afraid of ghosts in real life. (having a ghost cat at night is enough excitement for me haha)
I enjoyed the first book, but this one, no. The author made the cousin, Cheryl, so dislikeable I couldn't stand her. There were also too much in Cheryl's point of view. I finally stopped at chapter 18 and skipped through the rest of the story. I'll read at least the next two simply because I bought a four book set.
I enjoyed the first one in this series, thought it was cute. This one was annoying. The cousin was super obnoxious and Dani kept making dumb decisions not thinking about how they would be perceived. Also you couldn’t tell a difference between the female characters based on how the narrator was reading them.
I was disappointed in this follow up to the first book. The author spent almost two-thirds of the book on showing us how awful one character was that by the time the murder mystery began I was ready to put the down and not finish it.
This book also changes some characters in extreme ways throughout the book. The characters of Cheryl and Joe do complete turnarounds in their personalities and it quite jarring and doesn’t fit. Danielle is still a great character, but she made a lot of stupid heroine choices that weren’t normal for how her character was in the first book. The author also made the police seem like bumbling idiots and no one solved the mystery. Well maybe the bad guy solved it by making a stupid choice at the end of the book.
I also wanted more interaction between Danielle and Walt. I wanted to see how their relationship had grown or not from the last book and more interactions with them. Walt was almost a complete side character in this book.
I’m a little concerned about continuing with the series as this book was so different from the first one.
2.5 stars (Audible). So many reprehensible characters! I almost gave up the ghost (haha see what I did?) on this one. The only redeeming qualities: surprisingly complex "whodunnit", Danielle, Walter, Lily, Ian, + Sadie. A few other characters were ok, too. Debating whether to listen to the next one.
I was really looking forward to this second book, hoping some literary imagination would muster more of an interesting storyline and less body part references, as I really like the main characters. However, much like another reviewer stated, this story was more like a creepy perv-ish romance attemp with a little mystery thrown in. I found the sexual references more of a lack of imagination to fill the pages with good writing content. Actually, the bluntness of her references grossed me out. I work in an environment where this type of joking goes on everyday, so I'm not interested in it carrying over to my entertainment and relaxation time. Aside from that, there are ways to write that elude to or reference what the imagination can figure out for itself. Unfortunately, this author only knows how to write from the perspective of a cat calling construction worker. Hugely disappointed. I don't think I'll be finishing the series now, even tho I gave book 1 a good review. The antagonist was most annoying. I kept waiting for a good plot but all the story seemed to cover was her jumping from one person to another rehashing her story of how she was cheated out of the inheritance. I hated the character so much and the repetiriveness of her actions, I skipped to the end just to see how things turned out.
After reading the first book in this series, I wasn’t very impressed with the author but I decided to go ahead and read on into the series. I almost abandoned this one after the first few chapters.
For me, The Ghost Who Loves Diamonds started way too slow. The cousin is introduced pretty early, but I found myself very annoyed with the interactions between the characters. As with the first book, it seems like there is an excess of redundancy and repetition in the character conversations. I still get a strong feeling that the author starts a conversation, then forgets what she wrote and writes it again, sometimes several times. I actually had to go back and reread certain parts to make sure that it wasn’t just me reading the same part over and over again.
Despite all of this, I like the idea of following the main character on her journey, and the supporting characters are not too overpowering to be off-putting. I still hold out hope for the series, I just wish the author would pay more attention to her details.
2nd book in this Paranormal Mystery and honestly, loved it. It was better than the first one. Ghosts, a murder, fake (or maybe real lol) diamonds, twists and turns.. what more can you ask for? Definitely invested in this series now. I listened to it on audiobook and the narrator did an amazing job. Romy Nordlichter is the narrator in the 1st and 2nd book. I am hoping she narrated the whole series.
Cheryl, Danielle’s annoying and super flirty cousin comes to Marlow house to claim half of her cousins inheritance, especially the diamond necklace. But before it goes to court, Cheryl gets murdered. But by whom? With the help of Walt and Cheryl’s ghost, her best friend Lilly, Danielle has to figure out who murdered her cousin.
I thoroughly enjoy this series. The characters draw you in and make you care about them (with a couple of minor exceptions). Even the really annoying character gets redeemed in the end. The plot is pleasantly intriguing without being overly convoluted, and the endings are satisfying. I will look for the next book in the series, because I am officially hooked. (Plus, I think it's hilarious there is a character with the same name and occupation as one in Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series.)
There’s a lot of repetitive narration - we get cousin Cheryl is awful and wants half the inheritance, she doesn’t need to tell every single person she comes across. The ghost interaction is more “real” I guess in that she doesn’t tell anyone. The cops are jerks and Joe can jump off a cliff. The storyline is good and I enjoyed the mystery part. Unfortunately it was EXTREMELY predictable from pretty far out, and I’m not one who ever guesses what’s happening. Included in Audible library Oct 2024.
The Ghost Who Loved Diamonds is book 2 in the Haunting Danielle series. This is a cozy paranormal mystery set at a historic mansion in Oregon called Marlow House. I am still enjoying the series, but this book was a little frustrating with how obnoxious main character, Dani's, cousin Cheryl was. Cheryl was a spoiled brat who caused trouble, started drama, gossiped, and worst of all, stomped her feet when she was angry. She was insufferable, yet Dani tolerated it; even when Cheryl showed up to challenge Dani's inheritance of their great aunt's estate and the valuable diamond and emerald necklace that came with it. Cheryl showed up unannounced, was very rude and demanded to stay at Marlow House and be waited on and Dani allowed it. That was just crazy. Then there was a murder and Dani was being blamed for it. The cop, Joe Morelli, whom she was kind of dating, was a complete douche and didn't believe her at all. No spoiler here because obviously Dani wasn't the killer given the series, but once it came out that she wasn't the killer, Joe was like, let's start over. Thankfully, Dani grew somewhat of a backbone and said no, but now I think Joe is going to be a problem going forward. I hope I am wrong, but it seems that cozy mystery series often go one of two ways - the main character either ends up falling in love with the cop or the cop ends up being the rival and creating roadblocks and causing difficulties at every turn for the main character. I really don't care for the latter, so hopefully this author goes a different direction. I still love Walt Marlow, the Marlow House resident ghost. He is a great character and hopefully he sticks around for a good portion of the series. The narrator does a good job. I enjoyed this as an audiobook. I look forward to continuing this series.
If you're in the mood for a cozy mystery series that has a fun premise and many volumes, you should probably check out this series. This one has a pretty decent mystery that had me guessing, although based on how the first one ended, I had my suspicions about halfway through the book. Not that I caught the clues, mind you, but that I was able to figure out who was the likely suspect. I found the mystery to be somewhat intricate, but still plausible, and enjoyed trying to figure out the details. I was not wholly successful, but it was fun to try.
Danielle's cousin is introduced in this book, and she was not fun. In fact, she was so off-putting that I rounded down. While I liked the way the author chose to resolve things with her cousin, it did seem a bit abrupt. In terms of the love interest, I'm really hoping they don't try to push Joe into this whole thing. I think Danielle can forgive him for what he did, but she should never take him back. As for Walter...well, a girl can dream right? Lily and Ian are great side characters, and I love their relationship.
I will probably continue with this series as they make a great palate cleanser between more serious books. They also work well for road trips.
Danielle Boatman has worked hard these past few weeks to get her newly inherited Marlow House ready to open her new B & B. As part of a publicity stunt (marketing is her first job), she decides to wear the Thorndike Necklace, a beautiful antique necklace she found hidden in the attic. She has secured the help of her local police department to keep her (and the necklace) safe. What she didn't count on was her cousin Cheryl, showing up and making claims on Dani's inheritance. Dani and Cheryl never got along as kids, and this latest incident has Dani annoyed beyond belief. But when Cheryl whines to try on the necklace, Dani doesn't see the harm, until Cheryl doesn't return! Things go from bad to worse ... until Dani and Walt solve the mystery.
Another fun and spooky outing with Danielle and Walt as they team up to solve a mystery close to home. New characters include the odious Cheryl, Danielle's cousin who arrives out of the blue to contest Danielle's inheritance. But why is she really there? And is the Missing Thorndike all it seems? An easy and light read to follow up the first in the supernatural series.
I absolutely loved this book. I read reviews of people not wanting to finish because of her cousin. That just shows how well the author wrote the character, to get readers that fired up about a character. Great job BOBBI HOLMES. This book was wonderful from start to finish. I just spent four hours finishing it I could not put it down. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series.
Loved this book! I really Love this author! She writes interesting characters in quick page turning reads ! When I finish one I’m ready to move on to the next one!!! I don’t need to sit here write what their about you can read that for yourself in the book description. However, if you you Fun ghost stories you’ll love these books!!
This second book in the series is just as good as the first. I really like the series, its characters, the action and the all-around ambiance. So far, I can highly recommend this book and the series.