Tag: The Warfield Hotel Mysteries by C.J. Baty

A MelanieM Review: Drifting Sands (The Warfield Hotel Mysteries #1) by C.J. Baty

Rating: 3 stars out of 5

 

As he approaches his fortieth birthday, Justin Warfield feels alone, drifting like the sand that blows along the beach near his family’s hotel. He has done exactly as his father wanted. Married the right girl and carried on the family tradition of running the Warfield Hotel. On paper things seem perfect, but happiness hasn’t been a part of his life for a very long time.

Marcus Drummond once spent a summer with his best friend Peter at the Warfield Hotel and fell hard for Peter’s much older brother. Five years later he’s back, and this time hopes that Justin will see him as more than his kid brother’s friend.

Sparks fly when the two meet again, but there are a few things standing in their way. The closet that Justin has himself buried in and someone on a killing spree, dumping bodies on the Warfield beach . . . victims that indicate Justin may be involved in some way.

Drifting Sands (The Warfield Hotel Mysteries #1) by C.J. Baty was another difficult story to review.  I liked many elements but found others hard to navigate and others still baffling in their inability to like or believe in.

First of all, I adore mysteries.  I have shelves waited down with them and have mainstreamed them starting with Nancy Drew from childhood.  Honestly, I can’t get enough, from cozies to outright thrillers.  And I like the tales that come from C.J. Baty so I thought this would be a series to grab up and get involved with from the start.

The idea of this family establishment (The Warfield Hotel Mysteries)with all it’s traditions set in the coastal tide water town is lovely.  That’s a great hook!  And Baty lays out its history and drama perfectly.

We also jump into the story in high fashion…with a murder.  Loved that.  The murders and mysteries that start swirling around Justin, his brother Peter who is about to inherit his share of the Hotel and the house (I adored Peter), and Robert, and yes, even Matthew.  Those were the best part of this story.  Some nifty clues were left strewn around that if wasn’t too hard to figure out who exactly was behind the evil goings on and you were still curious enough to want to see everything unfold to want to continue reading.

No, I think my issues here are with Justin and Matthew.  Justin who seems like a bit of a doormat, someone lacking the courage  to get out of the closet where his father put him all those years ago when he forced him to get married.  All around him, including Peter his younger brother, are one’s I am able to connect with more than Justin.  It simply takes far too long for Justin to find any ounce of gumption here before he starts to fight back against, well, everyone.

Another thing is the relationship between Justin and Matthew.  Justin doesn’t remember him.  So while the bodies are falling all around him, Justin is firmly in the closet, the wife is threatening him, the stress and guests must be attended to, Justin is just going to what?  Have a fling with  someone he can’t remember? While a killer is loose closeby?  And fall instantly in love?  Even though Matthew is a friend of his brother’s it just never struck me as terribly convincing.  Again.  I think it was the character of Justin.  I think he just came off as incredibly dense.

Yes, there is a lot of everyone’s here, including a bigoted Sheriff.

I found the wife’s character interesting, especially towards the end and wonder if more information will be forthcoming in the next installment.

This story ends with a cliffhanger and the plot does not wrap up as you would hope.  In fact it leaves the main characters in a dire situation.  If you aren’t fans of this format, this is going to make you really unhappy.

Didn’t bother  me for some reason.

I just have to figure out if I care enough about him to pick up the next story.  The jury is still out.

Cover art is generic and doesn’t really speak to the story.

Sales Links:  Bottom Drawer Publication | Amazon

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 211 pages
Published July 12th 2017 (first published June 7th 2015)
Original Title Drifting Sands
ASINB073WY9LVQ
Edition Language English
SeriesThe Warfield Hotel Mysteries #

An Alisa Review: Roaring Waters (The Warfield Hotel Mysteries #3) by CJ Baty

Rating:  4 stars out of 5

 

Damien Fitzgerald has lived through hell and is determined to never let anyone get close to him again. A fervent reporter, he throws his life into his work and doesn’t care whose toes he steps on. But someone else does. He’s got a stalker, and the messages are growing increasingly threatening. He turns to his best friend, Justin Warfield and his lover, Private Investigator Marcus Drummond. Seems like a good idea until Robert Wyler becomes part of the package.

 

Robert Wyler, the manager of the bar at the Warfield Inn, has always been misunderstood. Sure he takes care of his body, wears his hair long and likes tatts, but that doesn’t mean he’s domineering. A cold exterior hides the more passionate man inside. Men like Damien Fitzgerald get on his nerves. Too good looking. Too arrogant. But when Justin and Marcus needed his help to guard the man from a stalker, Robert couldn’t say no.

 

Damien and Robert have a history. Whenever they are near each other sparks fly. Can Damien and Robert get past their prejudices to find the real men hiding underneath. Will they find love before the stalker gets to Damien and their chance at happiness is destroyed forever…

 

This was a nice addition to the Warfield Hotel Mysteries series, this book focuses on a different couple than the first two books which makes it possible to read this book without reading the others.  However, you see much of the previous characters and it does reference things that happened before but they are described quite well.

 

Damien and Robert have been hurt in different ways by previous lovers and have to learn to accept that their first impression of each other might not be all they are about.  Damien has spent years staying busy to distract himself from his past while continuing to push people away when they get to close after he was abused by a previous lover.  Robert hasn’t had a long term lover in a long time and know how others view him and is tired of not living up to others’ assumptions.

 

In this story we get to see both characters’ points of view which allows us to understand them better and what they were thinking and feeling.  Damien rips Robert’s heart out when he pushes him away when he gets scared of his own feelings.  Robert gets over his feelings and will to anything to protect Damien from the man who is stalking him.  Throughout most of the book I thought I knew who it was that was behind everything but it turns out to be someone else and he surprises everyone.  I loved seeing the characters from the previous books and am excited to see what will be happening for Christmas at the Warfield.

 

Cover art by Select-O-Grafix is great and gives a great visual of Damien.

 

Sales Link: Amazon US | Amazon UK

 

Book Details:

ebook, 194 pages

Published: July 24, 2017

Edition Language: English

Series: The Warfield Hotel Mysteries #3

REVIEW TOUR for Roaring Waters (The Warfield Hotel Mysteries #3) by CJ Baty

 

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK
 
Length: 194 pages
 
The Warfield Hotel Mysteries Series
 
Drifting Sands (Book #1) – Amazon US | Amazon UK
Crashing Waves (Book #2) – Amazon US | Amazon UK
 
Blurb
 

Damien Fitzgerald has lived through hell and is determined to never let anyone get close to him again. A fervent reporter, he throws his life into his work and doesn’t care whose toes he steps on. But someone else does. He’s got a stalker, and the messages are growing increasingly threatening. He turns to his best friend, Justin Warfield and his lover, Private Investigator Marcus Drummond. Seems like a good idea until Robert Wyler becomes part of the package.


Robert Wyler, the manager of the bar at the Warfield Inn, has always been misunderstood. Sure he takes care of his body, wears his hair long and likes tatts, but that doesn’t mean he’s domineering. A cold exterior hides the more passionate man inside. Men like Damien Fitzgerald get on his nerves. Too good looking. Too arrogant. But when Justin and Marcus needed his help to guard the man from a stalker, Robert couldn’t say no.


Damien and Robert have a history. Whenever they are near each other sparks fly. Can Damien and Robert get past their prejudices to find the real men hiding underneath. Will they find love before the stalker gets to Damien and their chance at happiness is destroyed forever…

 

 

August 4 – BooksLaidBareBoys, MM Good Book Reviews
August 9 – Sexy Erotic Xciting, Bayou Book Junkie, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words

Author Bio

C. J. Baty lives in southwest Ohio. Her heart, however, lives in the mountains of Tennessee where she hopes to retire some day. The mountains have always provided her with inspiration and a soothing balm to the stresses of everyday life.


The dream of writing her own stories started in high school but was left on the back burner of life until her son introduced her to fan fiction and encouraged her to give it a try. She found that her passion for telling a story was still there and writing them down to share with others was much more thrilling than she had ever expected.

She has a loving and supportive family who don’t mind fixing their own meals when she is in the middle of a story, and a network of friends who have encouraged and cheered her on in her quest of being an author.


One thing she has learned from life and she is often heard to say is: “You are never too old to follow your dream!”

 
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An Alisa Review: Crashing Waves (The Warfield Hotel Mysteries #2) by C.J. Baty

Rating:  4 stars out of 5

 

crashing-waves-by-c-j-batyJustin Warfield ran away to Italy to put the events of last summer and a certain dark-haired private eye behind him, to no avail. If anything, he can’t help but rehash what happened over and over. When he finally returns to South Carolina, the hotel he runs with his brother has suffered a series of incidents that are starting to look less accidental after a death threat is received.

 

Not satisfied that Moses Lee and his local police will find the culprit, Peter Warfield calls in the services of his good friend Marcus Drummond to help. Marcus is torn. He wants to help his friend, but he also knows that if Justin has moved on after their failed flirtation last summer, he will be devastated.

 

Tensions mount as danger seems to follow them at every turn, stalking them as they get closer to solving the mystery of who is behind the sabotage of the hotel.

 

I read the first book in this series last year and had a bit of trouble remembering it, so it took a little bit for me to get into this book.  Justin had pushed Marcus away after the first book leaving both himself and Marcus hurting.  This book begins just after Justin has returned to Beaumont and there have been “accidents” happening around the hotel.

 

Marcus and Justin are forced together again when Justin’s brother, Peter, calls Marcus to come and help.  Both plan to avoid each other, but it doesn’t work out quite as well as they thought.  When Peter decides to be responsible and to actually talk to Marcus about his feelings things seem to take a turn for the better.  However, no matter what happens between them there always seems to be something going wrong.

 

In this story we get to see both of the MCs points of view, but are also given a glimpse of the one who is causing all of the problems.  Seeing how Justin and Marcus still care for each other and are willing to work through their problems was wonderful, but knowing the crazy thoughts of someone wanting to hurt them dampened it a little.  They’re working out their relationship at the end of the book and it seems like the series may be continuing and if it does, I can’t wait to see these characters a bit more.

 

Cover art is great and catches a reader’s eye.

 

Sales Link: Bottom Drawer Publications | Amazon | ARe

 

Book Details:

ebook, 199 pages

Published: September 16, 2016 by Bottom Drawer Publications

Edition Language: English

Series: The Warfield Hotel Mysteries #2