Merryll Manning: The Health Farm Murders

By John Howard Reid

Here is a review by Chantel Stewart, featured on the back page of the 1987 Large Print edition: Thirteen guests at a health farm -- an unknown killer -- remote and exotic settings in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales -- here are all the ingredients for a classic mystery thriller. Strongly plotted -- cleverly drawn and extremely interesting characters -- bright, believable dialog -- plenty of action and suspense -- as well as mystery -- "The Health Farm Murders" is a thriller well above the formula, with a climax that is absolutely stunning and unforgettable. The following review by Cherie Fisher appeared in "Reader Views", August, 2009: "Merryll Manning: The Health Farm Murders" is a well-written story full of intrigue and suspense that will keep you turning pages until the final surprising outcome. John Howard Reid wrote this story twelve years ago, and now it is finally making its way into the United States market. It is the second of twelve in the Merryll Manning series. The story is written about a town called Happy Valley, but it is actually based on a real town called Blackheath, in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, Australia. Merryll "Merry" Manning is taking a well-earned vacation from the Miami Police Department, or is he? He arrives at Sister Susan's Health Farm in Happy Valley, Australia, excited at the prospect of doing something healthy and restful from his stressful job. He quickly finds himself in the middle of an investigation as the other visitors at the health farm start dying. Police Sergeant Lambert is quick to blame Jimbo Punter, a local who had an affair with the Sergeant's wife. Merry is not convinced that Jimbo is involved and looks at everyone as a suspect. Each of the suspects is a very colorful character, but do they have the potential of turning into a deadly killer? The author does an excellent job of describing the local countryside in detail. The story setting is in a beautiful valley that was burned by fire. It includes a harrowing hike through the sometimes beautiful, sometimes desolate terrain that has many landslides, sheer cliffs and rivers – all places for people to meet unfortunate ends. As Merry is fully immersed in this nightmare, he finds part of the truth to what has been happening as he almost loses his life. The other part of the truth comes out later and is very surprising. I recommend "Merryll Manning: The Health Farm Murders" by John Howard Reid to mystery fans; it makes for a great summer read. Leonard Ward wrote in "The Canberra Times": "Merryll Manning: The Health Farm Murders" has already attracted some attention overseas, so it’s pleasing to report that this book, set in a thinly disguised Blackheath in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney, fully deserves that strong commendation. The action takes place at Sister Susan's Health Farm off Govett’s Leap Road In Blackheath (called Selkirk in the novel). That establishment has a revolting vegetarian regime, although the author maintains that Sister Susan's peculiar ideas are actually "based on the diets advocated by highly-respected nutritionists. When not delving into diets and other aspects of "healthy" living, the author displays considerable powers of invention. His very fertile imagination enables him to create some extremely sticky situations for his murder-investigator hero before the book's culprit is eventually found. It is a measure of the author’s inventiveness that "Merryll Manning: The Health Farm Murders" always claims the reader's complete attention. This novel is a most commendable mystery thriller which fully deserves its overseas’ acclaim.

• Language: English
• Publisher: John Howard Reid
• Release date: Mar 22, 2011
• ISBN: 9781458032072

John Howard Reid

Author of over 100 full-length books, of which around 60 are currently in print, John Howard Reid is the award-winning, bestselling author of the Merryll Manning series of mystery novels, anthologies of original poetry and short stories, translations from Spanish and Ancient Greek, and especially books of film criticism and movie history. Currently chief judge for three of America's leading literary contests, Reid has also written the textbook, "Write Ways To Win Writing Contests".

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Reviews for Merryll Manning

[twinmom_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Going on vacation to the world down under is a dream for most of us, but Merryll Manning not only gets to travel to Australia but to a health farm to learn about healthy living. A dream come true?Miami is the home of police sergeant, Merryll Manning who finds himself in his mother's homeland of Australia on a week long vacation to a health farm. He is first seen on a train with various other colorful characters also attending the farm. Each person brings his own fears and idiosyncrasies to the Blue Mountains. However, Merryll Manning soon finds himself in the middle of several murders and in the cross hair of the local Sergeant, George Lambert. The colorful characters all seem to be hiding something and it looks like it is up to Sergeant Manning to solve the crime. A local, who had an affair with Sergeant Lambert's wife seems to be the most likely suspect, but is he just the scapegoat for the affair? Can Sergeant Manning solve this crime before he loses his own life?This book was first published in Australia and England and had a great following and finally a decade later it is being released in the United States. The story travels through roads that I have yet to tread and this author makes me want to visit with his vivid descriptions of the land. He even makes the desolate areas sound intriguing. I was a bit confused at the start of the story because of all of the people involved in the story so I really appreciated the cast of characters at the beginning of the book to keep them straight. This is a book you have to follow through to the final word. You never know when one character will reach out and just surprise you with something they did or had done to them. After I started to figure out who was who, the story flew and kept me interested until the very last page. I did find my vocabulary was greatly enhanced by the time I finished the book. It was an enjoyable read and I'd recommend this for anyone who is up for a challenge of who done it.I hope Mr. Reid gets to share some other adventures of Merryll Manning with the folks here in the U.S.

[authorlyndacoker · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

My Thoughts:Merryll Manning just thinks he is getting to take a vacation from his stressful job at the Police department. He heads to Sister Susan's Health Farm but he does not find the restful place he has hoped for. Instead, he finds himself in the middle of trouble. Several visitors start dying at the farm and the Police Sergeant there in Happy Valley thinks he knows who is responsible. But Merryll is not convinced he knows the truth so he starts to investigate everyone. Merryll comes close to losing his life. In the end his discovery of the truth is very surprising.You will want to follow this story to the end. Each character keeps you questioning who the true murderer could be. The author does a great job of describing the different places and people so that you get a feel for exactly how the story takes place. If you love mystery stories then you will want to read this surprise ending!Teaser Snippet:"I didn't know it at the time, but there was some-one standing outside, probably not more than a few yards away, some-one with insanity in their heart and future blood on their hands!"A Complimentary review copy of this book was provided by the author.