The fourth installment of Marlene M. Bell’s Annalisse Mystery series is titled Copper Waters. The protagonist of the show is Annalisse Drury, a New York City-based antiquities specialist who has used her expertise to help solve crimes in the past. Normally, Greek tycoon Alec Zavos joins her on her escapades, but their relationship has just hit a snag because of a paternity claim made by an ex-girlfriend.
Annalisse decides she needs some alone time, so she accepts a friend’s invitation to visit a sheep farm in New Zealand for a vacation. Alec sends his friend, a police officer, to watch after Annalisse because he wants to make sure she is safe. Despite these measures, when two residents are killed, Annalisse finds herself involved in a murder.
The local authorities are not pleased with Annalisse’s investigation and she isn’t making any friends with her interest in solving the crimes. Items that they might want to keep private. My favourite genre is mysteries, but I haven’t been reading much lately. I was so pleased to see this book because it sounded like both a murder mystery and a little bit of a vacation.
The story moves along swiftly, making it simple to read. I thought Bill Drake, the policeman, and Annalisse were both excellently drawn characters. They have a friendly demeanour, and you want to see them succeed. Yet since this is Marlene M. Bell’s first mystery that I have read, I found it a little difficult to pick up in the middle of the relationship’s past.
Everyone who appreciates a well-written cosy mystery should check out this series. It’s a wonderful book to read on the weekend. I now intend to read the first book in the series to catch up because it’s well-paced and full of intrigue.
About The Book
Antiquities expert Annalisse Drury and tycoon Alec Zavos are at an impasse in their relationship when Alec refuses to clear up a paternity issue with an ex-lover. Frustrated with his avoidance when their future is at stake, Annalisse accepts an invitation from an acquaintance to fly to New Zealand—hoping to escape the recent turbulence in her life.
But even Annalisse’s cottage idyll on the family sheep farm isn’t immune to intrigue. Alec sends a mutual friend and detective, Bill Drake, to follow her, and a local resident who accompanies them from the Christchurch airport dies mysteriously soon after. A second violent death finds Annalisse and Bill at odds with the official investigations.
The local police want to close both cases as quickly as possible—without unearthing the town’s dirty secrets. As she and Bill pursue their own leads at serious cost, the dual mysteries force Annalisse to question everything she thought she knew about family ties, politics, and the art of small-town betrayal.
The Review
Copper Waters
This book takes you on a journey from the start with a first chapter that dives right into the storyline without sugarcoating it. Chapter one dives straight into discussing an interrupted proposal with a curveball that causes challenges in their marriage. That is not the only challenge that she is facing as her life continues to be turned upside down as more secrets get unveiled from her past. Where is her mother? What is true and why are people so keen on sabotaging each other’s lives? Overall the storyline was enthralling with turns and twists that kept me captivated the entire time. The author did such a wonderful job with the story that I can’t wait to see how the story continues and how their lives continue to unfold.