Boat Dollies

By Joyce Holland

Rita was a 'boat dollie' plain and simple, except that now she was a dead boat dollie and Sally Malone wants to know why. What made Rita a threat to anyone? Was there some nut case out there killing... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0373269331
• ISBN13: 9780373269334
• Release Date: February 2015
• Publisher: Worldwide Library Worldwide Mystery
• Length: 283 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Entertaining and informative

Boat Dollies is an entertaining and informative mystery that plays out on a Caribbean island. Sally and Peter Malone arrive at the island on their sailing yacht, pulling into the darkened anchorage almost in time to witness the murder. The next morning, the victim is found floating offshore, dead from stab wounds. Her name was Rita and she was a "boat dollie" between positions. We quickly learn the meaning of this term. There are those who own sailing yachts. Some are independently wealthy and others make a living by hiring them out for charter. And there are those who don't own a yacht but enjoy the nautical lifestyle, and are able to live it by making themselves useful. It isn't exactly a job and it isn't exactly marriage, either. The arrangements are flexible or liquid.Joyce Holland knows the Caribbean sailing scene and brings it to life before our eyes. Sally Malone is a semi-reluctant amateur sleuth. Husband Peter keeps telling her to not get involved. But the anchorage and shore makes for a small community, and not being curious would take special effort. The reader will be pulled in by the couple's social interactions with their nearest neighbors in the anchorage. The community's social center is the bar were boat people and locals can get together on equal footing, providing they can pay for the drinks. Joyce Holland escorts us through the door to witness sexual barter and sexual politics if we are bright enough to recognize it when we see it. She introduces us to a paradise where some people have lots of free time but not much money, and shows us some for whom it is the other way around. She introduces us to Islanders, beach bums, a hermit living on a nearby island, and to flown-in tourists who crawl over the island and sometimes put down money for sailboat charters. Observant Sally gets in deeply when she comes into possession of Rita's diary. And then her efforts to be kind to Rita's family mark her as a threat to the killer. Like a descent into a maelstrom, the story takes its logical course leading to stalking and an exciting chase scene.

New twist on mysteries!

I think it was the title that first caught my interest on this book. Had no idea what a "boat dollie" was but it sounded interesting. Ms. Holland blew me away! I had no idea what a world would open up to me. The author does a terrific job of educating, entertaining, and intriguing her reader all at once. I was tired of so many mysteries seeming to be the same old thing, but she really puts a twist on mysteries with her unusual setting and unforgettable characters. Oh, and I also liked that this book appeals to the over-30 crowd. I get so tired of reading shallow twenty-somethings.

HOLLAND OPENS A DOOR INTO A NEW WORLD--HER WORLD!

After reading BOAT DOLLIES, I wasn't surprised to learn that Holland had experienced this life. No one could write with this authority and sure hand if they hadn't had the experience. The characters were real people, the plot refreshing and different, and the mystery well-handled. This was a really enjoyable book--the first of what I hope will be many from Ms. Holland.

Thoughtful Island Mystery That Holds the Reader

Boat Dollies, Holland's first novel in print has an honesty and maturity about it. At last, a female protagonist who isn't always joking or sarcastic. No, indeed, Sally Malone is middle-aged, intelligent, and thoughtful. She and her husband Peter have just sailed into a small Caribbean Island harbor. The two are on an extended cruise, having recently lost their daughter in an accident. Sally's raw grief makes her vulnerable to the woes of the young women at the marina, the boat dollies, who will stay with any guy to keep on sailing. Reverberations of her loss and a need to engross herself in someone else's business for a while are reason enough for Sally to dig into the murder of the boat dolly named Rita. Also, Sally is certain that she saw something that night; she's not sure what, but some clue is on the tip of her memory. In the meantime, a thug has been hired to chase Sally away from her quest and harm might well befall her. The plot isn't reminiscent of anything I've read previously, nor are the well-articulated characters. I like this one for being both fresh and unpretentious. The entertainment doesn't lie in the heroine's antics (unlike many mysteries out now). Holland's focus on the murder is strong, but, at the same time, there is a vivid setting of the scene and examination of its cast. (I wish more of the male characters' names could have started with a letter other than `J', however--but this is only an aging-brain quibble.) Holland, a winner last year of a Derringer short-story award, comes by her knowledge of the boaters' world legitimately. She lives on a houseboat. Having the atmosphere right doesn't mean that someone can convey it to a readership, however, Yet, Holland is quite skillfully capable of that. She's good. This is the second Deadly Alibi book I've read. (The first was The Adventures of the Second Mrs. Watson by Michael Mallory.) All I can say is--with choices so well-made, DAP (if I may call it that),a brand-new press, has hitting its stride with its first releases. Who killed Rita? Let Holland tell you.

Take a Mystery Cruise to the Tropics

Joyce Holland artfully draws us into the world of boat people. The tropical setting resonates to the beat of steel drums as Sally Malone, otherwise known as Boat Mama, seeks the answers to a young girl's grisly death. In the process she encounters some of the most colorful characters ever to set sail, any one of whom could be the killer, and unwittingly makes herself the next target for murder. High winds, soft sands, intrigue and romance flow through the twisting plot like island rum as Sally closes in on the murderer...and he closes in on her. Grab a pina colada, settle into your hammock and immerse yourself in the world of Boat Dollies. A most enjoyable read.