Beatrice Beecham Series: Book 1 Fearsome Feast
Blurb:
Twelve-year-old Beatrice Beecham loves cookery. While her friends are blinded by bling and boys Beatrice scans her ever increasing volumes of Belchette’s Encyclopaedia Gastronomica for a recipe to challenge her awesome culinary talents. But Beatrice’s world is about to change. Fate will steer her family to the remote coastal town of Dorsal Finn. Yet like the ocean that washes into the bay, darkness lurks beneath the surface of this sleepy town. It is a place of secrets. Secrets that some want found, but most prefer to keep hidden. When Aunt Maud gives her an old cook book as a welcome gift Beatrice finds something surprising within its pages: a cry of help from the past. And a terrible portent for the present.
My Review:
Okay, this is a little bizarre. I was offered one book to review and ran down the rabbit hole looking for the previous books because I needed to know how this group of friends all started. I think I have them in some semblance of an order. Fearsome Feast is definitely the first and where Beatrice meets everyone. I’m reminded of the Famous Five and Trixie Beldon books. I also have to remind myself that the timing of these stories are not in the past, but today with cell phones. Their location and voice simply have a timeless period feel.
I’m connecting with Beatrice because I’ve never knew the social rules either. Plus I also talked with imaginary people or, truthfully, I had imaginary conversations with real people…dang, can’t believe I’m sharing this. I just never had the cooking skills of our Beatrice and probably still don’t.
As I mentioned, I am reminded of two of my favourite childhood, tween year, reads and I’m reminded of the different groups of friends I had and the “adventures” we concocted around the neighbourhood. No, nothing as serious and real as Beatrice and friends.
I’ve already started book 2 in the series and again it starts with a tidbit of hmmm, a glimpse of what’s to come. The writing is easy but full. There’s no way you can jump and not miss something, but that doesn’t mean it’s packed. It’s a steady comfortable read for, really, any age. As a woman in her fifties I’m enjoying it, maybe due to the trip down memory lane of books I loved at the characters’ ages. I would have read it to my daughter throughout her childhood and now as a nineteen year-old, yes, I wouldn’t be surprised if she tried them.
Oh and Aunt Maud…now there’s a character I can’t wait to see more of…and the whole townspeople, some interesting quirks.
I started my search for the books so that I could get a full picture before reading the one I accepted to review and, frankly, I couldn’t be happier.
Beatrice Beecham Series: Book 2 Fete of Fate
Blurb:
The second novel in the Beatrice Beecham adventure mystery series sees the young super sleuth pit her wits against two ancient secret societies who have come to her town to find an artifact hidden in a trap-infested lair.
Fete of Fate: Their War. Her Town. Our Fate
My Review:
Beatrice Beecham Series: Book 3 Houseful of Horrors (collection)
Blurb:
Dorsal Finn is a sleepy town, nestled in a small crescent shaped bay, facing the gleaming Atlantic Ocean. In its one hundred and ninety-eight year history the town has come to know mystery and skullduggery like the dearest of friends, so much so it has now become quite normal to have the odd explosion here or missing person there without many of the townsfolk raising as much as an eyebrow. And it is in the town of Dorsal Finn that one Beatrice Beecham now resides, a girl of remarkable talent amongst which is an absolute, innate gift for finding trouble. Within these pages are all kinds of trouble: witches, shaman, and sea monsters, to name but a few. Yet Beatrice is to find out that of all the terrible things lurking in the shows of Dorsal Finn, the biggest threat may come from the town itself.
My Review:
Beatrice Beecham Series: Book 4 Cryptic Crypt
Blurb:
The fate of the world rests in the hands of four dysfunctional teenagers and a bunch of oddball adults.What could possibly go wrong?
This supernatural / adventure / mystery novel is perfect for fans of The Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, The Three Investigators, Goonies, Monster Club, Lost Boys, and Miss Peregrine. It might be a YA book perfect for ages 13 and older, but it’s a fun read no matter what age you are.
Dorsal Finn is a sleepy coastal town facing the gleaming Atlantic Ocean. It is a town with quaint customs and inhabited by people who are as welcoming as they are weird. It is also a place where long lost tombs hide long held secrets.
Because beneath Dorsal Finn lies The Dark Heart, an ancient and malevolent entity determined to be free of its eternal prison. It has lured allies to the town, people with corrupt agendas determined to resurrect the greatest evil history has ever known, and in doing so release The Dark Heart upon an unsuspecting world.
My Review:
This is listed as: The Supernatural Adventures of Beatrice Beecham and book 1 or 2 with the previous books as her arrival at Dorsal Finn under publisher Crystal Lake Publishing who first introduced me to Beatrice.
Beatrice Beecham Series: Book 5 Ship of Shadows
Blurb:
Beatrice is back to face her greatest threat since. . .well, the last time!
In Cooper’s Cove a hapless team of archaeologists unleash the vengeful spirit of a 16th Century witch on the sleepy seaside town of Dorsal Finn. Hexes and curses fly as Beatrice and her friends must find out what links the appearance of this incredible foe and The Spirit of the Ocean, a super-yacht hosting the biggest celebrity charity event the town has ever seen.
As the population of Dorsal Finn succumbs to witchcraft, so Beatrice must gate-crash the party with her motley-crew of friends and allies in the hope of stopping the witch’s sinister plan, and save everyone from endless oblivion. . . Again.
This novel is great for those who like their supernatural adventures laced with humour, sinister action and mystery. Fans of Stranger Things, The Goonies, The Librarians, The Monster Squad, Ghostbusters, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Nancy Drew will delight in the antics and adventures of Beatrice and her off-the-wall friends.
Murder. Mystery. Monsters. Welcome to the world of Beatrice Beecham!
My Review:
Beatrice Beecham Series: Book 6 The Devil Device
Blurb:
The coastal town of Dorsal Finn is no stranger to the fantastic and the bizarre. A dark heart beats beneath its cobblestone skin and the rhythm is a beacon for all things devious and evil. Only its reluctant sentinel, Beatrice Beecham, keeps the town free from the terrible entities that it attracts.
Now Dorsal Finn has four new visitors. They look like a regular gang of youths, yet they are anything but human. Masters of manipulation and skilled in deception, these beings have their own agenda. Their tools to move their plans forward include an esoteric device and a terrifying cosmic creature with deadly intent.
And, unless she can stop them, the ritual sacrifice of Beatrice’s best friends.
My Review: