This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.
In a world filled with uncertainty and too little chocolate, I’ve taught college courses in communication, gone commercial salmon fishing in Alaska, and enjoyed time spent in the business world as an organizational development consultant. My current passion is for writing lighthearted mysteries with a pinch of adventure and a dollop of humor.
Having lived on boats for a number of years, I wanted to use the marina community as a centerpiece for a series. That’s why my main character in Why Me? Chimeras, Conundrums and Dead Goldfish lives on her sailboat in a small, urban marina.
Although I’m currently a landlubber, I live on an island with a view of the water. When I’m not writing, I enjoy watching herons, eagles, seals and other sea life from my home office.
Reviewed by Grant Leishman for Readers' Favorite
Why Me? Chimeras, Conundrums and Dead Goldfish by Charlotte Stuart has an unusual title and an equally unusual and interesting murder/mystery to go along with it. Bryn, an attractive, young, single, successful consultant from Seattle is enjoying her dream holiday of hiking the highland trails of Scotland (alone, unfortunately, as her best friend Sophie pulled out at the last minute over a man, no less). The hiking is not going well, beset by bad weather and attacking midges that seem to single Bryn out for special treatment. She is feeling pretty miserable when she spots what looks like a body at the bottom of a ravine. After climbing down to check it out, she realizes the man is dead. Feeling spooked, she heads back to the car park and calls Mountain Rescue for help. When they arrive back at the spot Bryn takes them to, the body has disappeared and she knows nobody in the rescue team actually believes that she saw it or if she did, the man clearly wasn’t dead. When Bryn returns home to her sailboat (that she lives on) in Seattle, the mystery of the “dead” scientist - who coincidentally also comes from Seattle - just won’t leave her alone. She finds herself caught up in a life and death struggle revolving around the cutting-edge research of gene manipulation and attempts to grow human organs.
The unusual title was certainly what attracted me to the book in the first place. I’m glad it did, as Charlotte Stuart has presented an exceptionally good and readable murder/mystery with enough twists to keep a reader interested. The characters are realistic and I especially was drawn to Logan, Bryn’s best male friend who was always there for her and always prepared to put himself in danger for his best friend. Of course, it was the great big cat with the famous name Macavity that stole the show but the full character list all had something worthwhile to add to the narrative. The plot twisted and turned significantly throughout the story which allowed the reader to make his/her own judgments about who may be the guilty perpetrator of the crime and that’s always the sign of a good murder/mystery author. This is not an author I’ve come across before but this book was so eminently readable with a coherent, flowing style that she is someone I will definitely be watching out for in the future. I suspect Stuart has an excellent “amateur sleuth” character here that she could build an entire series around. I can highly recommend Why Me? Chimeras, Conundrums and Dead Goldfish for those of us who like easy to read, straightforward murder/mystery. This is a very relaxing read.
