Maggie Dove's Detective Agency: A Mystery

· Alibi
4.0
6 reviews
Ebook
231
Pages

About this ebook

As Susan Breen’s compelling cozy mystery series continues, Maggie Dove’s budding detective agency has given her a new lease on life. Only one thing stands in the way of success: her clients—or lack of them.
 
After catching the killer who shook her small Hudson River town, former Sunday School teacher Maggie Dove stumbled onto an exciting new career and found a way to take her mind off her own tragic past. Now, despite her best efforts to promote the agency, Maggie can’t seem to land any new cases—until Racine Stern, one of the village’s wealthiest residents, offers her a thousand dollars to convince her “evil” sister, Domino, to stay out of town.
 
While Maggie’s business partner thinks she’s crazy for turning down a potential client, she doesn’t want her agency to get a reputation for accommodating bizarre requests. However, Maggie is soon caught up in the family drama anyway. Racine may fear for her life—and her inheritance—but it’s Domino who takes the fall when she plunges to her death from a tower at Stern Manor. Was it an accident or something more sinister? Maggie’s investigation will test her faith—and her ability to survive.

Praise for Maggie Dove's Detective Agency

“What a joy! Cozy readers will instantly fall in love with the charmingly endearing Maggie Dove. A wonderfully solid and compelling mystery wrapped in an irresistible package. Susan Breen is a unique treasure—and Maggie is, too.”—Hank Phillippi Ryan, Mary Higgins Clark award-winning author of Say No More

Maggie Dove’s Detective Agency is a delightful mix of mystery, heart-felt drama, and crazy antics. Maggie uses her skills as both a Sunday school teacher and PI to solve the case—a quirky combination from author [Susan] Breen that works perfectly!”—Marty Wingate, author of The Rhyme of the Magpie
 
“I love stories where I feel like I’m part of the action and [Maggie Dove’s Detective Agency], the second book in the [Maggie Dove] series, did just that. The narrative pulled me in and I couldn’t help but react to the various scenes that resonated with me. The author presented a well-crafted story with a wonderful, yet quirky, cast of characters and an engaging mystery that had me quickly turning the pages as I had to know how this would all play out. This was a good read and I look forward to the next book in this pleasantly appealing series.”—Dru’s Book Musings

Ratings and reviews

4.0
6 reviews
Kristina Anderson
November 25, 2016
Maggie Dove’s Detective Agency by Susan Breen is the second book in the Maggie Dove series. Maggie Dove is a Sunday school teacher turned detective in Darby, New York. Maggie is learning to be a detective by watching Detective Grudge videos with Helen Blake’s son, Edgar. Helen is the third partner in the detective agency along with Agnes (the financial backer). One day Racine Stern (from the wealthiest family in town) comes into the agency and asks Maggie to convince her sister, Domino (and her rock star husband, Lucifer) to not come home for a visit. Racine will give Maggie $1,000 to complete the task. Maggie turns down the offer much to Agnes’ dismay. Domino arrives in town and Racine is not seen for two weeks. Maggie goes to check on her, and Racine admits that Domino tried to killer her. Racine fears for her life as well as that of her mother, Madame Simone. Domino wants money (of course) and she refuses to leave until she gets it. Racine wants Maggie to convince Domino to leave town (and is willing to pay a large sum of money). Soon Racine starts acting strangely, and Maggie does not know what Domino has done to her. Then Maggie hears that a big Halloween party is being thrown at the Stern mansion (the home no one else in town has ever been allowed in). During the party Domino calls everyone’s attention to her at the top of the tower. Then the guests see Domino plunging to her death. Racine was near Domino before she fell (Domino pulled her up there). Was it an accident or did Racine push her? Maggie has her first real case. She needs to find out what happened to Domino (because the town has decided that Racine is guilty). Did a person push Domino to her death or was it something far more sinister? Maggie Dove’s Detective Agency is a Christian cozy mystery. The story is basically about good versus evil. I found the book to have a slow pace, unoriginal mystery and uninteresting (and unlikeable) characters. Racine and her mother are rude (I would not want to help either of them) and Agnes comes across as bipolar with her mood swings. Maggie is not a warm main character. The loss of her daughter has kept her from enjoying life for the last twenty years. I had a hard time finishing this story. Maggie Dove’s Detective Agency is a book of normal length, but it felt like it went on forever (and I just wanted it to end). While Maggie Dove’s Detective Agency is the second book in the series, it can be read alone (we are given the needed information from the first novel and on the main characters). I did find information repeated in the book especially about Maggie’s deceased daughter, Juliet (who died twenty years prior), Maggie’s profession as a Sunday school teacher and her age. I give Maggie Dove’s Detective Agency 2.5 out of 5 stars (just not for me). I think Maggie became a detective just to play with all the spy toys she finds in catalogs and online (purchasing with Agnes’ money). The first book in the series is Maggie Dove: A Mystery.
Vivian Brandon
November 8, 2016
Maggie, Helen and Agnes now share a detective agency. Of course, Maggie handles most of the actual detective work; at least she will when they have a case! Or she will when she accepts, or isn't fired off the case! Good cozy mystery read; not as well written as the first book. Maggie is developing more confidence and dealing better with her grief. Still a good read. 3 1/2 stars. I voluntarily read an Advance Review Copy of this book.
C.J. Sansone-Webb
August 24, 2019
Good read

About the author

Susan Breen is the author of Maggie Dove and The Fiction Class, her debut novel that won the Washington Irving Book Award. Her stories and articles have appeared in many magazines, among them The Best American Nonrequired Reading, Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Compose, Writer’s Digest, and The Writer. She teaches at Gotham Writers in Manhattan; is on the faculty of the New York Pitch Conference, South Carolina Writers Workshop, and the Women’s National Book Association; and is a member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters-in-Crime. Breen lives in a small village on the Hudson River with her husband, two dogs, and one cat. Her three children are flourishing elsewhere.

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