Murder and Mayhem. Romance and Revenge. Isla Mujeres Mystery series

Sparky in abandoned garden at Pirate Mundaca's estate

Writing has always been in the background of Lynda’s life, including magazine articles, a weekly blog with over half a million page views, and an award-winning bilingual book for children. 

The Isla Mujeres Mystery series, set on the tiny island she calls home, is her newest writing adventure. Her books are available in paperback on Amazon.com or e-books on Amazon, iBooks, Kobo, and Nook.

Giant sea turtle returning to sea after laying her eggs

TREASURE ISLA BOOK #1: A Caribbean adventure set on, a tiny island off the eastern coast of Mexico. 

Two twenty-something women find themselves in possession of a seemingly authentic treasure map, which leads them on a chaotic search for buried treasure while navigating the dangers of too much tequila, disreputable men, and a killer. 

The colonias - neighbourhoods of Isla 

And there is a dog, a lovable rescue-mutt, Sparky. 




TROUBLE ISLA BOOK #2: A thrilling new adventure. 

New Year’s Eve is a magical time on Isla Mujeres, especially this year after the stormy events of the past few months. After their chaotic hunt for the pirate treasure, and a close encounter with a serial killer Kirk Patterson, Yasmin and Jessica deserve a lady’s night out. Hungover from a night on the town, it is late in the afternoon before Yasmin starts to worry that her boyfriend Carlos hasn’t been seen all day. And then the texts start coming: “Give me what I want!”



TORMENTA ISLA BOOK #3: Murder and mayhem. 

Marinas (Navy) and sniffer dogs

A mysterious disappearance of a local man and the looming threat of multiple hurricanes headed towards the peaceful Caribbean island of Isla Mujeres creates havoc in the lives of Jessica Sanderson, her friends and her rescue mutt, Sparky. Diego held up his smartphone and silently showed her the screen, pointing at the NOAA graphics. Her eyes opened wide in surprise as she looked at the screen, then a frown crinkled her brow. “Really? Three hurricanes?” “Si," he responded, "Pablo, Rebekah, y Sebastien.”


TEMPTATION ISLA BOOK #4: Romance and revenge. Drug cartels and human trafficking.

“Take them all out!” Rafael Fernandez said, sweeping his right hand in a side-ways motion as if he was knocking a pile of papers from his desk to the floor.

“As you wish, Don Rafael.” Alfonso Fuentes’ jaw muscle twitched with tension.

“You don’t agree.” Fernandez snarled.

Alfonso Fuentes’ jaw muscle twitched with tension as he considered his answer.
 Depending on Fernandez’s mood the flick of a finger or a chin pointed at a victim could quickly end that person’s life. At the moment there were just the two of them but only a shout away were several younger enforcers, who were keen to remove the old dude thought to be blocking their upward advancement in the ranks. He knew. He had once been one of those hungry wolf-pups eager to remove the aging alpha male. 

And The Adventures of Thomas the Cat / Las Aventuras de Tómas el Gato a bi-lingual book for children. The book won Silver at the 2016 International Latino Book Awards.

You can find out more about Isla Mujeres Mexico by following my blog on Word Press https://islamystery.com/

Come join the adventure! 
Cheers Lynda and Sparky

TEMPTATION ISLA BOOK #4 PAPERBACK

Sparky, the almost famous divo of Isla Mujeres!

It’s finally happened. I’m famous, or infamous, or something similar. Being a dog I’m not all that familiar with the fine points of this language.

Just this week my action adventure novel – Treasure Isla - was published on Amazon e-books. Yep. That’s right – my novel. There are other characters in the book such as the two women who are hunting for buried pirate treasure, dodging disreputable men, and a killer. There are good guys and there are bad guys in the book, but in my opinion I am the main star.

Why can't I sit on the table? I'm famous you know!

My name is Sparky, or as I am known to my close friends – The Sparkinator! I am a pure-bred Mexican low-rider; a handsome combination of Jack Russel Terrier, a bit of Spaniel, and a touch of Dalmatian. I live on Isla Mujeres in a comfortable house right on the beach and I have two well-trained employees who cater to my every need.

The first employee is Servant. She is the ghost writer for my novel. Servant also serves my meals, cooks my special requests, and takes me out for walks or golf cart rides to whatever location on the island that I wish to explore. She also likes to teach me new things. Just this morning while she was making me a very special meal of chicken bits and other stuff, the container slipped out of her hands and the hot ingredients splashed across the kitchen floor and onto the cupboards. She said some new words that I hadn't heard before. I need someone to translate for me.

Servant also frequently refers to me as a ‘divo’ which I think translates to special, or very special. For some reason she shakes her head and rolls her eyes when she calls me a ‘divo.’  I shake my head when I get ear lice, so perhaps she has ear lice.

Pet buffet

My other employee is Driver. He gives me lots of pats and enjoys my company on any one of our sofas, or beside him in the bed. He also acts as my alternate chauffeur when Servant isn’t available. Until recently Driver drove me around the island or in the city of Cancun in my dark blue, Mini-Cooper S convertible. Then one day Driver sold my hot little car. He said I wasn’t using it enough to justify having both a car and a golf cart. We still have the carito de golf for my daily excursions, but since he didn’t have my permission to sell my sports-car I am considering docking his pay for the next several months. It is so difficult to get good help these days.

Sold the Mini-Cooper S

My novel is only available on e-books, so I won’t be able to paw-print a copy for my many fans. When my second novel is published in 2017, I am going to renegotiate my contracts with Servant and Driver. They just aren’t treating me with the respect that I deserve.

Hasta Luego

The Sparkinator    

(Lynda & Lawrie)

Elmo, and Pirates Invade Isla

 

Take three kids, add eight adults, toss in a few pirate hats, pirate wigs, and swords and eye-patches, and you get - a treasure hunt!

On Monday afternoon we marshaled the group at our house on Aeropuerto Road, starting with the first clue that directed them to the downtown area with instructions to"walk east to where lost souls gather" and to quietly look for the secret clue behind the Pirate Mundaca's gravestone.  Shhhh.  Don't let him hear you.  And be very respectful of other residents sleeping there.
 

From there Lawrie (Captain Elmo) led them through town, with clues to "walk south past the brightly painted building with a name that translates to either tomorrow or morning."  Then they trekked along the seawall looking for clue number three which then directed the group past the Naval base with various directions including "look for a man named Benito.  The fourth clue is behind the golden hands."
 

I had the easiest job.  I kept fifteen minutes ahead of the group in the nicely air-conditioned car, setting out the next clues.  One stop included the Casa de Gallo - "House of the Rooster" where Chuck and Marcy Watt helped out with clue number five.  They also provided a cooling drink of "grog" for the pirates.

Out on the road again the next clue included "Drive south past: beer so cold it will make your teeth hurt, and turn right onto the road to the newest house of God."  As it turned out I had to amend that instruction to avoid that particular route, as various carnival rides were now parked smack in the middle of the road.  Oh well, this well-equipped pirate had a cell-phone to communicate with the drivers to re-route the cavalcade of golf carts.



At the Hacienda Mundaca park, in the centre of the island, the group paid the twenty pesos per person entrance fee and stormed the park.  The sixth clue was inside the Pirate Mundaca's Casa "behind the light that does not shine."  I was waiting hidden in the bushes at the park, watching to see if the group would take the correct path to the next location.  Lawrie had dropped off at our house to make sure that the treasure was buried on the beach in front of our house.  

 



 

Our neighbors Ronda and Bruce Roberts snuck onto our beach after the pirate cavalcade left the area, and created a giant X on the beach, along with a terrific sand sculpture of a skull and crossbones!  Lawrie then buried the three sacks of treasure in the sand.


 
Meanwhile, still back on the treasure hunt the pirates were told to "walk into the Jardin de Mundaca and look for the source of water, then draw up your seventh clue."  



 

 

 

 

Finally the hot, tired, group arrived back at our house to look for clue number eight which directed them to our rooftop: "Climb Up, up - to where you can see the sea. Look to the east - then look down.  What do you see?"  Pandemonium ensued while the three boys scrambled down the tower staircase to be the first to get their hands on the treasure.

Great fun for everyone.   And a special thanks to everyone who participated.  Too much fun.

 

                                _________________________

 

In case you think that we don't do anything but goof around, well, you would be correct in making that assumption.  Wednesday this week Elmo (Lawrie's secret alter-ego) made a guest appearance at the first anniversary celebrations at Barlito's on Hidalgo.  Judging by the many fans, big and small, clamoring for a photo with Elmo - he was a huge success!

Barlito's was jammed with invited customers and friends of Brad and Tiffany Wareing.  Fabulous event guys, especially the Piñata at the end of the evening.  Evan and Ethan (the grand-kids) had a great time at their, quote "first Mexican party."

                                __________________________

Wednesday was also "Dolphin Discovery Day" for the guys.  They had a ton of fun there as well.  The Boyz head back to Canada tomorrow afternoon.  We've had so much fun these last two weeks with Evan, Ethan, and John, but dear God we are worn out!

Elmo gets the girl!

 

 

A very Merry Christmas, and a special Seasons Greetings from all of us to all of you!



Ahoy! Dead ahead be pirates!

The story of Isla's most famous islander - pirate Mundaca - could have been taken straight from a bodice-ripper romance novel, complete with the love triangle between a sixteen-year-old beauty, her childhood sweetheart, and a fifty-three year old pirate who yearned to make the young woman his wife.

Garden area of Hacienda Mundaca

The small fishing village on Isla Mujeres in the late 1800's must have been one of the most romantic settings imaginable for the melodrama of these ill-fated lovers.  Imagine: torch-lit nights, hammocks hanging in palapa-roofed houses, and whimsical paths winding between coconut palms to the gentle bay were the fishing canoes were pulled up on the sand-swept beaches.

The pirate Fermín Antonio Mundaca de Marecheaga was born October 11th,1825 in the village Bermeo of Santa Maria, Spain.  When he finished his education he shipped out to sea and eventually became a famous and wealthy slave trader in the Caribbean, selling Mayan slaves to Cuban plantation owners.  In 1860 when the British campaigned against slavery, Mundaca rented out his ships to the Yucatan Government which continued to capture rebel Mayans and sell them to Cuba, nearly decimating the population of the Yucatan Peninsula.

 

Pirate Mundaca's home on Isla Mujeres

Mundaca then set about building a large hacienda on Isla Mujeres that he named "Vista Alegre" (Happy View).  It eventually covered over 40% of the island.  There were areas for livestock, birds, vegetables gardens, fruit orchards and exotic plants that were brought from all over the world.  Fermin Mundaca is said to have built the Vista Alegre using stone taken from the abandoned Mayan structures on Isla Mujeres.

While building his hacienda and expanding his giant estate, he fell in love with a young local girl, 37 years his junior, named Priscilla (some sources say Martiniana) Gomez Pantoja.  Born in 1862 on Isla Mujeres, Priscilla's is described as a slender sensual woman with long wavy hair, deep green eyes and light skin tanned bronze by the Caribbean sun.

 



Isla statue honoring La Trigueña



He built her a beautiful garden with great stone arches where he carved her nick-name, La Trigueña, above the apex.  But the dark-haired beauty married her childhood sweetheart and Mundaca became isolated, lonely, slowly going insane - reportedly due to syphilis.  Even though he was still wealthy he abandoned his estate allowing it to fall into disrepair preferring instead to live in various other locations on the island. 

Vegetables and fruits ripened and rotted, cattle wandered everywhere, destroying other people's gardens.  The locals feared Mundaca. 



Garden area of hacienda Mundaca

 When he passed along the beach at sunset, the friendly chatter would suddenly die, as someone muttered in a frightened whisper.

"There goes Mundaca!"

He died at age 55 in Merida still in love with La Trigueña.  Before he moved to Merida he built a tomb to be closer to his lost love which remains empty and can be found the colourful, crowded downtown cemetery.  Etched on his headstone are the symbols of the pirate - skull and crossbones with the words he carved as his epitaph,   "As you are, I was. As I am, you will be."



Empty grave of Pirate Mundaca

 I wonder if there are any remaining descendants of La Trigueña on the island – cousins, or great-great-grand kids? 

A visit to the remains of the Hacienda Mundaca in the centre of the island costs about $2.00 dollars per person.   It is well worth the time to see some of the amazing structures in the abandoned garden.  Wear lots of bug repellent!

His empty tomb is in the original cemetary at the north end of the island.

Source of details: Alice D. Le Plongeon book written in 1880's