MURDER ON THE ROCKS Gray Whale Inn Mysteries No. 1

Natalie Barnes, an innkeeper on Cranberry Island, Maine, becomes an amateur detective after she becomes the prime suspect in a murder case. Talmadge Ragan narrates in a conversational tone, giving police detective Grimes a deep, raspy growl. The remainder of the characters are differentiated well enough to prevent confusion in the sections of dialogue. What Ragan does not include is the Texas drawl that should belong to Natalie, as she is a transplant to Cranberry Island from Texas, or a more distinctive Maine accent for the islanders. While there's a bit of violence in this story, the two murders under investigation as well as the trouble Natalie gets herself into during her investigation, Ragan does a good job of keeping the reading light and the pace unhurried in this first installment of the Gray Whale Inn Mysteries. E.N. © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine [Published: DECEMBER 2013]