Maggie McManus attempts to leave her painful past behind, closes the door on all that is familiar, and moves to River Town, Florida, to start a position as a hospitality instructor for a local university. After her field trip, Professor McManus would not have guessed there would be a dead body in the boardroom. Finding a second body in the same boardroom weeks later earns her first place on the clueless detective's suspect list.
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Fatal Field Trip" by Marcia Dove.]
4 out of 5 stars.
Lately, I discovered that I had become partial to reading murder mysteries. Although I'm not too fond of the concept of the murders, the suspense and restlessness incurred until the murderer is unearthed seem to thrill me. In the book Fatal Field Trip by Marcia Dove, Maggie McManus moves to River Town, Florida, for a fresh start after her mother's death. She picked up a job as a hospitality instructor at Panhandle State University (PSU). In one of her projects with the students, some work at the River Town Hotel and Conference Center. What would begin as a simple project would turn into something else.
After one of their sessions, Maggie discovers the dead body of Hannah, the marketing representative of the hotel. She had been murdered, as evident in the stab wounds on her body. Not long after this, Sara, a boutique owner, is murdered by poisoning. Everyone is thrown into a state of quagmire over how the murders occurred. Although the detectives have taken up the case, Maggie and Trip, the hotel's general manager, begin to pick at crumbs, which leads to more discoveries. Simultaneously, Maggie and Trip begin to feel chemistry and build a relationship. Who committed these murders? And what lies ahead for Maggie and Trip? Read Marcia Dove's Fatal Field Trip for more.
This book was unique; it had me spellbound from beginning to end. I was caught in the loop of suspense aimed at discovering the person behind the murders. The book was a challenging mix of action, suspense, and romance. The budding relationship between Maggie and Trip seemed to be the highlight of this story. I witnessed a friendship grow from platonic to romantic, which truly makes the best affair. I'm sad Sara had to die as she did; I initially thought she would do more in the story. Another thing I enjoyed was the way Maggie settled into the community. I love the concept of small communities because one is never truly alone there. The character development was wonderfully portrayed; there were a lot of characters, but the author did his best to build their profiles. I'm sure no one would complain about the influx of characters. The dialogue was easy to follow and wonderfully represented.
On the aspect of dislikes, I felt the plot was too shallow. A murder mystery is supposed to contain action and maintain suspense; however, at a point, this book became a romance novel, and not much attention was paid to discovering the murderers. In all, it was a good read. I only encountered a single error throughout the book. I believe this book was professionally edited. The plot itself was a simple one, albeit an interesting one. My favorite character would be Trip; his calmness and rationality despite the terrible events were commendable.
Due to its bland plot, I'm deducting a star and rating this book 4 out of 5 stars . I recommend it to audiences interested in fiction, action, romance, and murder mysteries.
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Fatal Field Trip
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