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There are currently 36 member reviews
for The House on Biscayne Bay
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B B. (Vernon Hills, IL)
An atmospheric tale
I have read several of Chanel Cleeton's books and just loved her last one, "The Cuban Heiress". So, I was very much looking forward to her new book set in Miami. The author is a wonderful storyteller and she writes a very atmospheric story with this one. But, I must say the two connecting storylines didn't draw me in as I had hoped and I didn't care for the characters as much. It certainly was well told, but just not my favorite of hers.
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Paula B. (Albuquerque, NM)
Not my Cup of Tea
The book is easily readable, but not really my genre. I classify this as a cozy mystery, meaning there is no real danger, but some unexplained suspicious deaths. Yes, it is a murder mystery, but with little suspense. The setting is high end real estate in southern Florida. The story spans over two decades and the involves fortunes of two separate families. The detail about the physical estate is tantalizing, but not thoroughly developed. The female characters are the focus of the story, actually both stories, but they evoke little empathy. The stories converge around events at the estate, and developments in the plot reflect problems with money and romance. The book does not rely on analytical investigation really, but a few innocent questions that solve the murders.
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Judith M. (Granville, OH)
Gothic Mystery
The House on Biscayne Bay by Chanel Cleeton alternates between Anna in 1918 and Carmen in 1941 while they live in Marbrisa, the mansion on Biscayne Bay, Florida. Similar to a gothic novel, there is mystery, terror, and dark deeds, but set in a "haunted" mansion instead of a castle. Anna's husband, Robert, is accused of murdering both his wife and his lover and twenty-three years later, Asher, Carmen's brother-in-law, is accused of murdering his wife. All the murders occurred at Marbrisa with a mysterious gold snake necklace as the only cue linking them. I enjoyed this easy read book and was engaged in solving with mysteries with Anna, Carolina (Carmen's sister), and Carmen. The descriptions of building and then remodeling Marbrisa were as interesting as the mystery.
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Patricia L. (Seward, AK)
House on Biscayne Bay
The House on Biscayne Bay is a mixture of mystery, murder and historic fiction. Marbrisa, an extremely large and elegant estate is the house on Biscayne Bay in South Florida. Built after WWI on a remote site facing the water with the dual intentions of developing luxury living for the newly rich and elevating the status of builder Robert Barnes and his wife Anna in Florida society. Fast forward to 1941 as nineteen year old Carmen Hayes comes to Marbrisa to join her sister, Carolina and grieve their parents who perished in an accident. She immediately becomes enmeshed in the web of intrigue around unsolved murder that has plagued Marbrisa since the estate opened its doors.
Screaming peacocks, large iguanas and alligators stopping cars provide a chilling yet somewhat comical back drop to the fairly predictable plot. Allusions to the gangster element in southern Florida and the negative feelings of locals as outside money begins to change their lives offer some historical background but the main story concerns how Anna Barnes deals with her husbands secrets and how Carmen navigates between her grief for her parents and the contradictions she finds in her sister's household. A fast read yet not captivating.
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Mich-R (CO)
A Suspense
Marbrisa, the house on Biscayne Bay, was the central character with all its secrets, accidents, and deaths after WWI and before WWII. I found the characters were not developed enough to understand their situations and how they responded to events happening at Marbrisa. As a historical fiction there was no depth about the two time periods. The novel was more about power, glamour, affairs, loss of fortunes, trust, and betrayal. I like suspense, but I was disappointed, and I found the story not engaging. I even guessed who was causing troubles in 1941.
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BethV.
Good but lacking in substance
The book was well written but the story was predictable and not all that engaging. I thought having Carmen and Carolina come from Cuba was odd. It didn't feel like that aspect of the story was well researched. If some of the main characters are from a different culture, it would be good to highlight aspects of that culture that are relevant to how the characters handled the events in the story. Overall, the book was okay but I prefer more history in my historical fiction.
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Barbara B
Familiar plot
This book was a quick, easy read. with just a bit of a twist at the end. Tells the story of 3 women who have lived in the same Florida mansion... As I read I kept thinking "another house book"... Another book with chapters alternating characters and story lines. Felt like I had read this book before..
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