Berried to the Hilt (Gray Whale Inn Mystery) Paperback – November 8, 2010

After what I considered two very poorly structured predecessors, this fourth entry in MacInerney’s Gray Whale Inn series returns to the quality that I experienced in the first book. Her characterizations of the main protagonists have returned to a level that can be both believed and respected. And she has, this time, been able to more seamlessly integrate the murder mystery with the island’s history and with the daily trials and tribulations of our protagonists’ lives.Natalie and John are now engaged and have joined together to turn the Gray Whale Inn from a bed-and-breakfast into a full-service hotel. Natalie has been coerced into judging the highly political annual cranberry cook-off to be held in about a week. And Adam, the lobsterman boyfriend of Natalie’s niece, Gwen, has discovered the curved timber of a long-lost vessel caught in his traps. Within a few days two competing salvage crews have descended on both the site of the shipwreck and the Inn.One group is a team of marine archeologists from the local university and has been called in by Adam. The other group is a team of commercial treasure hunters from out of state who were contacted surreptitiously by Adam’s hired hand. Due to the ruthless mercenary intent and site destruction favored by the commercial salvors, the two teams have a contentious history. Within two days, one of the partners in the commercial team is dead, stabbed in the back with a curved blade and left floating near the site of the shipwreck.There is no dearth of people with reasons to hate the dead man. Both of his partners as well as the two researchers from the university have ample reason to want Gerald dead. But it is a local boatwright who is jailed after the authorities find the centuries-old cutlass with which he publically threatened the man. The cutlass has the boatwright’s fingerprints on it and he found the body without any witnesses present.Putting little stock in the possible motives of the other people involved in the salvage operation, the police essentially close the case. So Natalie and John begin investigating on their own in hopes of providing sufficient evidence for Eleazer’s lawyer to present a defense of reasonable doubt. Now, if Natalie would just learn to leave a note or tell someone where she is going every time she walks out the door, her chances of ferreting out the bad guy while avoiding head injuries and an early grave would greatly improve!MacInerney expertly weaves the techniques and legalities of marine salvage into the plot. She writes an implied but subdued sexual element into the story with no scenes more heated than a long hug and a kiss on the top of the head. She crafts an intricate mystery of motives, means and opportunity and a blood-chilling denouement of that mystery. And she makes you believe that Maine’s equivalent of the Black Pearl is alive and well.

With fall on the horizon, the biggest thing on inn keeper Natalie Barnes' plate is the upcoming cranberry bake-off. Somehow, she must navigate island politics and pick a winner without making the rest of her neighbors mad.But that takes a back seat when her niece's boyfriend Adam finds a piece of an old, sunken ship. It's either the Myra Barton, a local captain's ship, or the even older Black Marguerite, a pirate's ship. Quicker than you can say "Shiver me timbers," there are two groups racing to identify the wreck. The University of Maine wants to preserve it for history while the other group wants to sell the treasures for a profit. Tension between the groups erupts immediately, and it only gets worse when one of the men turns up floating at the treasure site, very much dead. When one of Natalie's friends on the island is accused of the crime, she dives into the murder investigation. But can she find the killer?I had forgotten just how much I loved these characters until I started reading this book. Visiting them again was like spending time with old friends, and I loved every minute of it.The pacing of the book was a little off. It seemed like not much happened in the middle of the book. Instead, Natalie rehashed the same clues over and over again. But things did pick up again for a great climax that kept me glued to the book.As always, there are recipes in the back that sound so good they make my mouth water.I'm glad to see Natalie and company back in action and hope that she'll open her inn to us again soon.

I have now read 4 books in this series and I have kind of a love/dislike attitude toward them. While I thoroughly enjoy the Maine setting, the Inn and recipes, I am finding some of the main characters quite annoying. First, it was bad enough that Natalie (main character and innkeeper) should almost immediately meet the perfect man, but with every book he becomes increasingly perfect to the point of complete absurdity! Not only is he single, available, good looking, educated, charming, super nice, completely in love with her, protective in the right way (since he does save Natalie from harm on several occasions), but he is also her tenant and later fiancé, involved in law enforcement and a woodworker/artist. But don’t stop there—he also turns out to be an amazing cook who can step in at a moment’s notice to take over preparing meals (amazingly delicious of course) for the Inn guests and easily take over the chores of running the Inn. But there’s more—apart from the boat models that he creates to sell to tourists, a top gallery on the mainland has spotted a sculpture of his and is now giving him an art show!! As an artist myself, with many artist friends, this is not at all realistic. For her part, I can accept Natalie for all her Inn related skills, but her snooping in rooms and questioning the guests seems completely unprofessional! OK, she is trying to solve mysteries, so maybe some of this can be overlooked, but she can really go too far. And she all too frequently is coshed over the head or nearly murdered for these efforts. Wouldn’t she learn? Or at the very least take a lot more precautions. Anyway, when I’ve had some distance from the series, I’m sure that I will take another trip to Cranberry Island to stay in a beautiful place and enjoy some good cooking and a light mystery!

This is an awesome book and an awesome series. The lead character is a great character that you warm to easily and care about throughout the book. The plot keeps you going throughout the book and the pace never slackens for a moment. I highly recommend this series to anyone who enjoys a cozy mystery. The setting and characters keep you coming back for more.

I really enjoyed this book, and of course all the wonderful recipes. . I love the mix or richly drawn characters and would love to visit somewhere like this less the murders of course!

Love this series of books.Easy read but truly entertaining.Plus you get great recipes at the end of every book.

Book captivates you right from page one. You lose yourself in the book.Highly recommend

This is the first Gray Whale Inn Mystery that I have read. I really enjoyed reading it and enjoyed the included recipes. Good characters and a good story! Would definitely recommend this book for a good light food filled read!!