The Treasure Hunters Club by Tom Ryan Narrator: Graham Halstead
Published by Simon & Schuster Audio on October 15, 2024
Source: Purchased
Genres: Adventure, Mystery
Length: 10 hrs 44 mins
Pages: 384
Format: Audiobook
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A murder mystery set in a seaside town filled with pirate lore, family secrets, unforgiveable grudges, secret societies, and of course, a treasure lost to time.
WELCOME TO MAPLE BAY, NOVA SCOTIA
For nearly a century, people have ventured to the idyllic seaside town of Maple Bay in search of a legendary lost pirate treasure, but locals know there’s more than just gold buried in the sand. As the paths of three strangers converge in Maple Bay, the truth is about to be blown wide open. But not before the bodies start to pile up.
Peter Barnett is rapidly approaching 40 with little to show for it when a mysterious letter invites him to Maple Bay and the mansion his estranged family has called home for generations.
Seventeen-year-old Dandy Feltzen is isolated and adrift following the death of her beloved grandfather, until his final request and a tantalizing clue sets her on a mission to solve the mystery he spent his entire life chasing.
Cass Jones has given up on her dream of being a successful author when an unexpected opportunity lands in her a housesitting gig in remote Maple Bay, where she stumbles on the perfect subject matter for her breakout book—and the handsome sailor who might be just the person to help her research it.
Peter, Dandy and Cass have never met, but they’re on a collision course with each other and the mystery that has defined Maple Bay for two centuries, and none of them are prepared for the shocking truths that may or may not still be buried there.
I wasn’t a fan of The Treasure Hunters Club, but the twist was surprising – even if it was more annoying than clever.
I listened to the audiobook and while the narrator was competent, I may have been a little spoiled by some of the fabulous readers I listened to lately. Or maybe it’s tough to do three main characters make them all convincing. We forty year old Peter who is new to town, hoping to make a connection with the grandmother he never knew. Cass is house sitting and trying to write a new book. And finally, there’s self-proclaimed teenage detective Dandy, who is grieving after the death of her grandfather. We got a couple murder, a lost treasure, and families keeping secrets.
The concept is great, but the story itself fell flat for me. Each of the characters, and half the town, had good backstories, but weren’t fully developed as characters. I didn’t really care about them. And the big twist was surprising- in that it came out of if not left field, then close to it. Twists are good, but if there’s no hint at all, it feels cheap. There is so much telling – journal entries, a long confessional, and a barely there, not necessary romance subplot. It could have been an exciting adventure with a murder mystery thrown on top, but it ended up lackluster.
About Tom Ryan
Tom Ryan is an internationally best selling, award winning author, screenwriter and producer. His adult mystery debut THE TREASURE HUNTERS CLUB (2024) was an instant USA Today, Globe & Mail, and Toronto Star bestseller. His YA mystery KEEP THIS TO YOURSELF (2019) was the winner of the 2020 ITW Thriller Award for Best YA Thriller, the 2020 Arthur Ellis Award for Best YA Crime Book, and the 2021 Ann Connor Brimer Award. His followup YA mystery I HOPE YOU’RE LISTENING (2020) was the winner of the 2021 Lambda “Lammy” Award for Best LGBTQ Mystery.
Tom, his husband and their dog live in Nova Scotia.
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