Sydney Riley Series
Provincetown, Massachusetts—at the tip of Cape Cod—is the setting for a series of mysteries by bestselling author Jeannette de Beauvoir solved by her protagonist, Sydney Riley.
Sydney Riley is the wedding and events planner for the Race Point Inn, one of the resort town of Provincetown’s most prestigious hotels. Her reluctant hobby, however, has become murder: when suspicious deaths occur during the resort town’s famous theme weeks, it is Sydney—with help from best friend Mirela and boyfriend Ali—who is at the center of the drama and contributes to solving the crimes.
Her compassion for those driven to commit murder, as well as for the victims (to whom she is often close) is matched by her attempts to understand the world through her self-deprecating sense of humor.
“(Jeannette) is Provincetown’s answer to Donna Leon. The mystery is a part of the book, but learning about the people, the landmarks, the culture, and also important social issues—that is what makes her books so wonderful (and just like Ms. Leon does with Venice). I am literally transported to Commercial Street or the Stop & Shop, or even the Methodist Thrift Store (a favorite place) every time I read her books!”
Despite an unforeseen disaster ruining her carefully planned wedding reception, hotelier Sydney Riley is undaunted as she and her brand-new husband Ali leave for their honeymoon in the dunes of Cape Cod's National Seashore. But even in this deserted location, Sydney uncovers clues that might have a bearing on the wedding fiasco. Despite hoping for a new life, she's drawn into yet another murder investigation-this time to protect Ali, who's been called away on a secret and dangerous assignment.
Can Sydney find the murderer(s) before Ali is harmed, or will a joyous week in the dunes be her only memory of their married life?
“The pace is fast, but de Beauvoir takes the time to outline social and political conundrums that influence decisions and outcomes as characters interact in a dance of special interests and personalities. This encourages readers to cheer for more than one character or special interest. The result is a mystery steeped in Provincetown issues, culture, and personalities which creates another captivating Sidney Riley encounter while loosely reflecting on real people and events.”
The Fine Art of Deception
Trouble is in the wind for wedding planner and amateur sleuth Sydney Riley
Her boss Glenn has grown secretive; her best friend Mirela is hiding something, and Sydney’s daily routine at the Race Point Inn has grown stale. Sydney’s boyfriend, Ali, is in town as part of an investigation whose details he’s hesitant to share, and living together in her tiny apartment has become a challenge, to say the least. Any charm she’d found in her hand-to-mouth existence has disappeared.
Something has to give—and it does: A visit from Sydney’s father turns treacherous when the investigation of a hit-and-run death leads her to the intimidating and subterranean world of high-priced art. Then Glenn vanishes as a dangerous storm races up the coast, and Sydney comes face-to-face with deception—both on canvas and in real life.
Jeannette de Beauvoir’s flare for drama, detail, and suspense brings the art world to life in this ninth book in the Provincetown Mystery Series.
Dead in the Water
Sydney Riley's stretch of planned relaxation between festivals is doomed from the start. Her parents, ensconced at the Race Point Inn, expect her to play tour guide. Wealthy adventurer Guy Husband has reappeared, seeking to regain her friend Mirela's affections. And the body of a kidnapped businessman has been discovered under MacMillan Wharf!
Sydney is literally at sea (by far not her favorite place!) balancing these expectations with her supersized curiosity. Is the murder the work of a regional gang led by the infamous "Codfather" or the result of a feud within an influential Provincetown family? What's Guy Husband's connection, and why is it suddenly so important that her boyfriend Ali come for a visit—especially while her mother is in town?
Master of crime Jeannette de Beauvoir brings her unique blend of irony and intrigue to this humorous—and sometimes horrendous—convergence of family and fatality.
The Lethal Legacy
Despite a slew of weddings to coordinate, Sydney Riley refuses to miss the Women’s Community Dinner—the high point of Women’s Week. During the festivities, she meets vocalist Jordan Bellefort, a direct descendant of a fugitive slave whose diaries suggest the Race Point Inn was a stop on the Underground Railroad. Then Jordan’s wife, Reggie, is murdered while Jordan performs onstage before a crowd of adoring fans. When Sydney probes Reggie’s death, she uncovers a tainted legacy that may provide a motive for the killing and place her own life at risk.
The Lethal Legacy explores the past’s influence on the present in a world-famous seaside resort with a rich history of diversity and acceptance. This seventh book in the Provincetown Mystery Series maintains the masterful blend of gripping suspense and unique characters Sydney Riley readers have come to expect.
The Matinée Murders
It’s time for the Provincetown International Film Festival, and wedding planner Sydney Riley has scored a coup: her inn is hosting the wedding of the year. Movie star Brett Falcone is to marry screenwriter Justin Braden, and even Sydney’s eternally critical mother is excited. The town is overflowing with filmmakers, film reviewers, film buffs, and it’s all the inn can do to keep up with the influx of glamorous celebrities and host their star-studded events.
But when Sydney opens a forbidden door in the mysterious Whaler’s Wharf, she discovers the body of a producer—and a legion of unanswered questions. Who strangled the innocuous Caroline Cooper? What dark force followed Brett and Justin from LA? Why is her boss Mike tense and double-checking every room at the inn? And is Mirela really leaving P’town forever? Sydney and her boyfriend Ali need to find the answers fast before another victim takes a final bow.
Click here for a tour of Whaler’s Wharf.
A Fatal Folly
Winter is arriving in Provincetown, and Sydney has her hands full with events at the inn, friends in town, and the dreaded arrival of her parents for part of the holidays. Her boyfriend Ali isn’t there to be part of it; he’s been sent undercover to work in California, and even his sister Karen can’t reach him. But while the town’s beloved events unfold—the Lighting of the Monument and the lobster pot tree, Holly Folly with its festivities—another excitement grips P’town, as an enigmatic Englishman arrives, poised to raise the Mignonette, part of Black Sam Bellamy’s fleet of pirate ships that sank off the Cape Cod coast. But first he raises a more recent tragedy, a fishing-boat that disappeared five years ago, a cold case for law enforcement as the captain was found on land with a bullet in his head. His isn’t the only body complicating the holidays: Sydney literally trips over Pete, one of the assistant harbormasters, who’s been murdered and dumped on MacMillan Pier. How are all these events connected? Sydney will have to work hard to find out, before she finds herself in far too deep.
A Killer Carnival
It’s Carnival time in Provincetown, and wedding planner Sydney Riley is busy: creating a float for the parade, getting ready for her sister-in-law’s visit, and giving the new doctor in town some unexpected business. But when the float explodes before the parade even starts, Sydney, her boyfriend Ali, and her best friend Mirela find themselves investigating more than just the usual Carnival mayhem. Could neo-Nazis really be behind the attempt on Sydney’s life? Was the float a dry run… and, if so, what is the ultimate goal? Join them as they navigate death threats, a heatwave, conspiracy theories, and—of course—lots and lots of great food.
The Deadliest Blessing: A Provincetown Mystery
If there’s a dead body anywhere in Provincetown, wedding consultant Sydney Riley is going to be the one to find it! The seaside town’s annual Portuguese Festival is approaching and it looks like smooth sailing until Sydney’s neighbor decides to have some construction done in her home—and finds more than she bargained for inside her wall.
Now Sydney is again balancing her work at the Race Point Inn with an unexpected adventure that will eventually involve fishermen, gunrunners, a mummified cat, a family fortune, misplaced heirs, a girl with a mysterious past, and lots and lots of Portuguese food. The Blessing of the Fleet is coming up, and unless Sydney can find the key to a decades-old murder, it might yet come back to haunt everyone in this otherwise-peaceful fishing village.
“The Deadliest Blessing is the third in a mystery series set during Provincetown’s famous “theme weeks,” and featuring wedding consultant and amateur sleuth Sydney Riley. The series is “an opportunity for counteracting some of the “alternative facts” out there that keep people distanced from one another.”
Murder at Fantasia Fair: A Provincetown Mystery
Wedding coordinator Sydney Riley never thought she’d get caught up in a murder investigation, but she became an amateur sleuth when her boss was killed during Bear Week. Now she’s back, this time as the Race Point Inn hosts Provincetown’s venerable transgender event, Fantasia Fair… and murder is once again an uninvited guest!
It’s all hands on deck at the inn as visitors arrive for the week-long event and Sydney helps coordinator Rachel Parsons organize the occasion. Guest Elizabeth Gonzalez is attending with her spouse, Bob, who—as Angela—is taking a bold first step into a whole new existence. Angela, Elizabeth, and Sydney learn the ropes and politics from other guests, some of whom have attended annually for more than forty years.
Death of a Bear: A Provincetown Mystery
Sydney Riley is the wedding coordinator for the Race Point Inn in Provincetown, Massachusetts, a resort town on Cape Cod that attracts a diverse flow of summer visitors, including same-sex couples wishing to tie the knot where marriage equality in the United States all began. But Sydney’s busy schedule is interrupted when, right at the beginning of “Bear Week” (one of many theme weeks celebrating various groups) she finds her boss, Barry, the inn owner—and “bear” himself—floating in the inn’s swimming pool…dead.
Sydney thinks that everyone likes Barry, but soon she finds that there was a lot going on under the surface that she didn’t know about. Who’s been embezzling the inn’s funds? Was Barry really running a green-card scam out of the inn? Are any of the condo owners next door irate enough to come after Barry? What about that mysterious person in the Gropius house that Barry’s been seeing? And why does Sydney seem to be falling for—of all people—an ICE agent?
Join Sydney, her friend the Bulgarian artist Mirela, her coworkers Jason and Mike, Barry’s longtime partner Glenn, local police detective Julie, and a cast of a hundred bears as she tries to find out what really happened to Barry…hopefully before the killer collects any more bodies!