Berried to the Hilt (Gray Whale Inn Series #4) »

Critically acclaimed author Karen MacInerney also teaches writers' workshops and drives a mean carpool. Her book Murder on the Rocks was selected as an Agatha nominee for Best First Novel. When she's not writing or chauffeuring children, she loves to read, drink coffee, attempt unusual recipes, and hit the local hike-and-bike trail. She lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband, two children, and a rabbit named Bunny, and escapes to Maine as often as possible.

When a lobsterman pulls up a 200-year-old anchor, Cranberry Island is abuzz with excitement. Is it from the elusive Santa Elena, a famous 18th century pirate ship? Soon the island is swarming with marine archaeologists, treasure seekers, and ghost-hunters. It's good news for Natalie—and the Gray Whale Inn—until one of her guests turns up dead. Will Natalie find the killer? Or will she be joining the lost ship's crew, down in Davy Jones' Locker?

Publishers Weekly

In Agatha-finalist MacInerney's enjoyable fourth Gray Whale Inn mystery (after 2008's Murder Most Maine), innkeeper Natalie Barnes's biggest concern is choosing the winner of the Cranberry Island annual cranberry bake-off, until a lobsterman hauls up a piece of an old sunken ship. The inn quickly goes from vacancies galore to a full house as University of Maine archeologists and members of a Florida-based treasure hunting group swoop in to vie for first claim on the discovery. Most vocal of the Cranberry Island residents is elderly Eleazar White, who insists that anything hauled from the ship belongs in Maine. Eleazar threatens treasure hunter Gerald McIntire with an antique cutlass only hours before Gerald's dead body is found floating at the wreck site. Natalie determines to prove Eleazar innocent of murder while planning her wedding and keeping peace among her feuding guests. The satisfying conclusion will whet the reader's appetite for Natalie's next adventure. (Nov.)