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    A Good Man Gone (Mercy Watts Mysteries Book One)
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    A Good Man Gone (Mercy Watts Mysteries Book One)
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    A Good Man Gone (Mercy Watts Mysteries Book One)
    Ebook366 pages6 hours

    A Good Man Gone (Mercy Watts Mysteries Book One)

    By A.W. Hartoin

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    A rollicking cozy mystery series from USA Today bestselling author A.W. Hartoin.
    For fans of Janet Evanovich, Tricia O'Malley, and Jana DeLeon...

    What do a dead cop, a murdered bride, and a sizzling summer have in common? Mercy Watts, of course.

    Nurse and dutiful daughter, Mercy Watts is on vacation from her parents. The great detective and his loving wife are on a cruise and, for the first time in years, Mercy thinks she's off the hook. She won’t be doing any investigating for the family firm. No tailing suspects. No background checks. Nothing but her own stuff for three whole weeks. She’s thrilled.

    But when Tommy’s old partner has a fatal heart attack out of nowhere, Dad has one of his famous feelings and orders Mercy to look into it. She tries not to get sucked in. She really does. But she is her father's daughter. Soon Gavin's death leads to a more grisly one, the death of a bride on her wedding day. Can the two be connected? Was Gavin murdered? Now Mercy can't stop. You do for family. That's all there is to it.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherA.W. Hartoin
    Release dateJun 4, 2013
    ISBN9781301067060
    Unavailable
    A Good Man Gone (Mercy Watts Mysteries Book One)

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    Reviews for A Good Man Gone (Mercy Watts Mysteries Book One)

    3.5/5

    37 ratings18 reviews

    What did you think?

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      I really enjoyed this audio book. To start with I wasn't sure if I liked Mercy, I found her to be self obsorbed, self-centred and a bit annoying with what I felt was whinging. However, after a while, I realised that people probably do carry on like she does i.e. moan in their own head how annoying a family relative or friend of the family can be or when your parents do the guilt trip on you. After a while I found I could relate to her and it amused me.I thought this book had a good story line, with interesting twists and turns. I did pick early on who I thought the stalker was and for a moment there I did doubt myself until the person was revealed and I realised that it seemed quite obvious. I did like how the story wrapped up and I found that each of the individuals had pretty good character development.I certainly recommend this as a light hearted mystery with a female as the main sleuth. I look foward to the book in the series.
    • 3/5
      It was a light read. I liked the mystery and how Mercy went about solving it. I will definitely read more books in this series.Though I have to agree with another review I read about the Marilyn look-alike angle being hammered on readers. I don't think it even had to do anything with the plot - it would have been alright if it had been mentioned here or there for the sake of the protagonist's character building. But it was a little too much.I was also expecting something more on "The girls' " thread.
    • 4/5
      Although A Good Man Gone is not my usual genre, I have to say that I truly enjoyed this book. I'm not really a mystery reader, but Mercy was hilarious. Hartoin'swriting is so witty, I actually found myself laughing out loud during several of the main characters adventures. I plan on picking up another in the series ASAP.
    • 3/5
      interesting story read it in one relaxed sitting couldn't put it down.. Just what I needed. The Marilyn Munroe reference was good.All the characters were deverse to say the least. carmenmaranda
    • 3/5
      A different kind of cozi. It moved more quickly that I thought it would and was full of suspense. I look forward to more books like this in the future
    • 4/5
      This was a fun murder mystery. The characters were very interesting and had really great interactions. I would recommend this as a great light summer read.
    • 4/5
      A Good Man Gone is an entertaining read about a nurse named Mercy Watts who investigates the murder of a family friend while her PI father is away on a cruise. The mystery in the book is done well and the supporting characters are quite entertaining. I look forward to the sequel.
    • 4/5
      I received this book in exchange for a review.I really enjoyed the book, but I thought it was written by a man (until I checked the author's page!). It was the multiple references to breasts, blond hair, Marilyn Munroe that made me think that. The book reads really well and would compete with any similar chick-lit murder mystery type drama. There are a couple of continuity errors I think - Aaron got in the passenger side of a car when he was driving, and Mercy stood up when she had just moved in front of somebody, but these are very minor things. I found Mercy's Mum dominating and irritating towards the end but this wouldn't stop me reading a sequel.I liked the way this was a story about solving a murder and just had some bits of private life in it. Mercy has a boyfriend, Pete, but he is a very small supporting character. I don't like bad language in a book and there is more in this book than I would have expected in a book set in America.Overall an entertaining read and I would read a sequel.
    • 4/5
      A fun mystery that is entertaining enough to make me want to read more. The character reminds me a bit of Stephanie Plum in the earliest stories. Some of the details are parceled out slowly throughout the story, which I find a good technique that keeps me turning the page. I am assuming we will learn more about the secondary characters in future installments, or perhaps the author has shared these details in previous stories. The actual mystery is secondary to character development, and I was more interested in knowing what would happen to the various people, and not so concerned about who was the guilty party. I will definitely read more books by this author. A copy was received in exchange for an honest review.
    • 5/5
      Mercy Watts is a nurse who discovers a family friend had died. When her Dad tells her to look into it, she finds a lot of unanswered questions. She realizes Gavon's murder and his current case are tied together. I had to laugh out loud while reading this. Mercy is very likeable.
    • 4/5
      This is one of those books you curl up in the comfy reading place, be it a rocker or a window ledge or your bed, and enjoy the whole reading experience. The writing is well done and nicely edited with lovely characters brought to life with a nice layered method. The plot is enjoyable and moves along at a nice even pace. Overall this is a nice book that's enjoyable and entertaining. I received an evaluation copy from the author in exchange for an honest opinion and review. In no way has this influenced my opinion.
    • 4/5
      I received this book via the Members Giveaway on Library Thing.The title of A Good Man Gone refers to Gavin Flouder, a family friend of the Watts family and a business associate of patriarch and former police detective Tommy Watts. Gavin dies of an apparent MI and on a hunch of Tommy's, his daughter Mercy, a dead ringer for Marilyn Monroe, investigates the death---and soon it's ruled a homicide.This chick-lit mystery by Anne W Hartoin is fast paced and thoroughly enjoyable. The family members and various friends of Mercy Watts are quirky and interesting. Her career as a nurse often takes a back seat to the needs of her father, a private detective, and that drives the plot of the Mercy Watts stories and this particular book.In this book, Mercy has to take point on investigating the death of Gavin and comforting Dixie, his widow, because Mercy's parents are on a vacation cruise. Soon she's taking over Gavin's cases and finds that there's another murder involved---that of a bride killed on her wedding day. Mercy eventually cracks the case but along the way there's fast cars, greasy food, a broken wrist, plenty of crab and a nasty beating.A Good Man Gone is a very good book. Too many references to Marilyn Monroe, but that's my only criticism. Read it, you'll love it.
    • 4/5
      When I used to want a fun and quick read with interesting characters, I used to reach for Janet Evanovich (please - no snickers). However, those books became too predictable and lost their appeal. But now, I have the Mercy Watts series to go to.Mercy does not take herself seriously and is entertaining. The author has created a character that understands her physical wiles and is not beyond using them. While this story may not be high brow or thought provoking, it is enjoyable. A fast pace entertaining read.
    • 4/5
      I received this ebook as a LibraryThing Member Giveaway and I'm so glad I did because I absolutely loved it! Not only was it a murder mystery that kept me guessing, but the banter between characters kept me laughing out loud!I found Mercy Watts a very likeable character and her family and friends were all interesting and wonderful. They rounded out the plot and I loved how unique some of them were...like The Girls. I found it easy to visualize them and some parts were so funny that I had to read them out loud to my husband who also laughed. I found myself wanting to get back to reading the book and stayed up way past my bedtime, I read a lot of mysteries and many of them feel so predictable and artificial. This Mercy Watts mystery was a fresh and delightful change. I love her style and her interactions with family. The humour reminded me a little of the Spellman series by Lisa Lutz, who is one of my favourite series, so this book was definitely up my alley. I enjoyed it enough that I'm going to purchase all the rest of the books in the series today! I would definitely recommend this to anyone who likes a sassy and intelligent sleuth with a host of quirky characters and lots of humour!
    • 5/5
      When a long time family friend dies unexpectedly people become suspicious that the reported cause of death Mercy is asked to help investigate.I like the way this author creates characters. They seem to be real people and not stereotypes. I found it easy to connect with the majority of the characters and I got a sense of who they were.There were many surprises in the book but one incident was too predictable. But even this one particular event did have surprising outcome. I enjoyed the book and certainly will recommend it to my friends. I received my copy of this book for free in exchange for this honest review. I liked the book so much that I have already purchased the next book in the series.
    • 3/5
      With her father, the detective on a cruise it is left to Mercy Watts to investigate the death of a family friend. Which leads her to another death, are these connected and how?
    • 3/5
      Although I enjoyed this mystery, I did not think it ranks up with some of the best I have ever read. In the story, Mercy Watts, a sassy nurse, takes over for her father, a retired police detective turned private investigator, who is initially away on a cruise and returns home mid-way through with a nasty virus that keeps him from working. Mercy learns the husband of a close family friend has died of a heart attack. Initially, Mercy’s father is reluctant to believe the man died from a simple heart attack, and very soon things point to his murder rather than simple heart attack death. Mercy becomes involved in a long investigation into the murder, and the result is a myriad of intriguing twists and turns as she proceeds through her investigation. The story is well written and held my attention and interest from the start. However, the huge cast of characters at times left me a bit confused about who was who and how they fit into the story. The author has also included a couple of characters, namely Mercy’s Uncle and his friend (not sure if that is the best word to use to describe him) Aaron, who suddenly appear in the story and really did not, in my opinion, add much to the story. In fact, these two characters upset me, as they interfered with the investigation and treated mercy worse than anyone would treat an infant. Yes, she could get into trouble easily, as she proved, but she was in her twenties and a qualified nurse, who had to be ready and able to handle any and all problems in her work that might come up. Nevertheless, her uncle and Aaron, both of whom came across as very unlikable persons, treated her like she was incapable of doing the simplest of tasks. The author tried to let us believe her father also felt this way, but it was inconsistent with someone who would trust her to run an investigation in his name, where any major errors or problems could easily haunt him and his business. In addition, mercy seems ambivalent about her looks. At one point she is angry if someone recognizes her beauty and Marilyn Monroe resemblance, while at others she relishes and plays on this aspect. There was an on-going incident throughout the book, where someone had put some suggestive pictures of Mercy on the Internet, and she and her mother got upset by this. I saw this as totally irrelevant to the story and more of a distractor than a help. The story moves along nicely but could have been more streamlined without some of the distractors the author put into the book. In an attempt, I guess, to insert some humor. Reviewers have compared this to Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum books, but, these are far and above these. This book just doesn’t seem to have the humor, the pizazz, the verve that Janet Evanovich’s books do. There is a good story here and the author shows promise, but it needs work. The cozy mystery reader will find this of interest. I enjoy those, but am unsure, right now, whether I will read any more in the series. I received this from Library Thing to read and review.
    • 4/5
      Mercy Watts might look like Marilyn Monroe but don’t hold that against her. She’s a competent nurse, a loving daughter and a reluctant sleuth assisted by an eclectic assortment of characters from the prim neighbors to the disheveled and hair-netted Aaron. Why did a good man and family friend, who was finally looking after his health, die from an apparent heart attach? It’s a good story and you’ll want to see more of these intriguing characters.