The Watchful Coroner

Paul Austin Ardoin

Sep 2020 · Fenway Stevenson Mysteries Book 6 · Paul Austin Ardoin

About this ebook

Enjoy this pulse-pounding hard-boiled novel from USA TODAY bestselling mystery author Paul Austin Ardoin

"A taut, compelling mystery with a likeable, feisty protagonist. I devoured it."

--Ian W. Sainsbury, winner of the 2019 Kindle Storyteller Award

"This is as good a mystery series as you will find in print. You do not want to miss a single one of these books."

--David Marvin, Scintilla Book Reviews (scintilla.info) 

A murder in the city’s most exclusive hotel. The main suspect? Her boyfriend’s ex-wife.

There’s another killing in the cozy beach town of Estancia. This time, Coroner Fenway Stevenson needs to solve the murder of one of the most prominent businessmen in town. 

But everyone has ulterior motives.

The new mayor is pressuring her to make a quick arrest. Is he eager for justice or does he have something to hide?

Fenway’s relationship with her boyfriend is strained when the investigation threatens to unearth a terrible secret and tear his family apart.

Her father lies comatose after being shot by a bullet meant for Fenway. His company is on the brink of disaster.

The investigation quickly turns into a political and personal battleground. Her friends, colleagues, and family get caught in the web of complicated relationships and contradictory evidence—and as the mayor turns the screws on Fenway, her emotions reach the boiling point.

When the main suspect's alibi changes, Fenway knows something isn't right. Is she trying to hide a bigger secret or is she playing a more nefarious game?

Will Fenway arrest an innocent woman to save herself? 

Can she uncover the truth before it’s too late?

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Grab your copy of the sixth book in this bestselling hard-boiled mystery series today!

 

"The Watchful Coroner will captivate readers from the first page." —C.B. Samet, EVVY Award-Winning Author

"With characters you love to hate, complex relationships, and a compelling central mystery, you won't be able to put The Watchful Coroner down. Ardoin's most polished work to date delivers an ending that's both touching and laugh-out-loud. A joy to read from start to finish."--Jamie Thornton, New York Times Bestselling Author

KEYWORDS: California beach town murder, biracial female coroner investigator, medical examiner thriller, hotel murder, private investigator sleuth, former nurse solves murders, estranged father, hard boiled mystery, strong Black woman sleuth, interracial romance mystery, BWWM detective romance, California beach black detective mystery whodunit crime fiction, Santa Barbara mystery, similar author to Leslie Wolfe, LJ Ross, Willow Rose, Blake Banner, Tom Fowler, Jeff Carson, TJ Jones

Ratings and reviews

In reading this book without any prior knowledge of the series, protagonist or events did not lessen the enjoyment or mystery value. This is the fifth book of the Fenway Stevenson, with the action occurring in a courtroom over a number of hours in a single day. Shots ring out and the locked room story unfolds with twists and intrigue building to an unexpected conclusion. I recommend it and give it 3.5 stars. I did receive a copy to review honestly and have done so.

Family dynamics drive the emotions and plot in this tantalizingly twisted whodunnit. A mother's sacrifice, a sister's devotion, a daughter's confusion, a husband's grief, a wife's desperation, and a father's guilt propel the story beyond mere action and into the readers' hearts. And while I was busy empathizing with characters, the plethora of contradictory evidence and personal agendas kept me guessing to the very end! Fenway is (finally!) comfortably dating a happily divorced McVie, who's hired Piper as his cybersleuth at the new PI firm. Charlotte and Fenway have gotten past the ingrained animosity, and are now working together to keep Ferris Energy from going belly up while Nathaniel Ferris lays in a coma after taking the bullet meant for Fenway. Life's not perfect, but there's hope and potential for a bright future. And then McVie's slimy, cheating ex-wife (and mother to his teenage daughter) is the prime suspect in the murder of her new husband, who is lying naked in a penthouse hotel suite under an assumed name. If McVie was any less of a good guy, he'd write this off as an act of karma. But he's the consummate hero (which is why we love him), and we are forced to agonize, speculate, and doubt Amy's guilt right along with him. As much as I enjoyed the tension of the locked courtroom in Book 5 (The Courtroom Coroner), I missed the rest of the team. The full cast of characters, plus some new faces, are back in force in Book 6! This is Ardoin's best novel yet, and I'm excited to see what's in store for Book 7.

Enjoyed them all kept skipping pass the first book but that was a great mistake this is my only review of them all great books I won't miss another. Thanks keep writing about Fendway and her merry band Please

About the author

Paul Austin Ardoin is a California native and the author of the Fenway Stevenson Mysteries. A graduate of University of California, Santa Barbara with a B.A. in creative writing, Ardoin has published short fiction and humorous essays in the anthologies Bottomfish and Sweet Fancy Moses, and articles about computer security in California Computer News and European Communications. When he's not writing novels or trying to save the world through better computer security, Paul plays keyboards in a dance rock band. He lives in the Sacramento area with his wife, two teenagers, and a menagerie of animals.