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Review of Secret at Skull House by Josh Lanyon

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This is the second novel in Josh Lanyon’s new Cozy Mystery series (Secrets and Scrabble), and we follow our snarky and often clueless main character Ellery Page who once again finds himself him a whole heap of trouble. 

As it turns out, Ellery’s ex-boyfriend and famous horror author Brandon Abbott has just come to town and purchased the supposedly haunted/cursed Skull House.  Abbott has purchased the house because of the two murders that have occurred there. Ellery is not happy about Abbott’s surprise appearance in Pirate’s Cove, given that their relationship ended badly.  

Things become even more complicated when Brandon stirs the hornet’s nest of a twenty-year-old murder case of a local high school football player and the subsequent disappearance of his supposed killer — a case that certain townspeople want to be forgotten.  As Brandon begins to investigate the cold case — much to the chagrin of certain locals — Ellery finds himself once again thrust into the middle of a murder case. As in the first book, Ellery begins ‘sleuthing’ to clear his name and reputation, which are once again being smeared in the local paper. As in the first book in this series, Ellery’s amateur investigating leads him into even more trouble. 

In this story, we also see the continuation of Ellery’s hot and cold, romance/non-romance with Police Chief Jack Carson, which again, stalls before it can take off, which, truth to told, resulted in somewhat of a frustrating reading experience. So like the first book, romance in this one is mostly non-existent. The author does a magnificent job of placing the story’s primary emphasis on the murder mystery with a small (and possibly developing?) side story on the two principal characters.

As this is a cozy mystery, there is no sex, cursing, or on-page violence, but what we do have is a fast-paced, whimsy, light and comforting read with a few exciting twists along the way as decades-old secrets become revealed.  But that being said, I found that Secret at Skull House contains all the things that cozy mystery readers live:  quirky and colorful locals, a small town, plenty of gossip, and a compelling mystery to solve and I’ll be interested to see where Lanyon takes the series in future books.

A huge thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this story.

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Review of Murder at Pirate’s Cove by Josh Lanyon

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Murder at Pirates Cove book CoverMurder at Pirate’s Cove is a cozy mystery that follows our main character Ellery Page who has inherited a failing bookstore and a somewhat crumbling mansion, both located in the seaside village of Pirate’s Cove. Ellery, who is determined to make a fresh start in his life after a particularly bad break-up in New York, takes on the challenge of turning the bookstore into a profitable venture.

One night on his way home from dinner, he notices a light on in his bookstore. When he stops to investigate, he discovers a dead body on the floor, and, as it so happens, the victim, Trevor Maples, is a man with whom Ellery had been arguing only hours earlier at his store as witnesses can attest.

The handsome yet gruff police chief Jack Carson investigates and doesn’t hesitate to let Ellery know that he is the prime suspect in the case. Even though Ellery isn’t a detective, he takes it upon himself to investigate Trevor’s murder in order to prove his innocence, much to the chagrin of Chief Carson. The task proves more difficult than first Ellery first imagined given that pretty much everyone in Pirate’s Cove disliked Trevor, and many of the residents have their own secrets, hidden motives, and reasons for wanting the man dead.

I typically don’t read Cozy Mysteries as they aren’t my favorite genre, but given that I tend to enjoy this author’s work, I wanted to check it out — and I’m so glad I did. This story was not only fun but also gripping and kept me turning the page until the big reveal at the end.

The story is populated with delightfully eccentric and zany characters/suspects that made reading this so much fun. I especially loved Ellery’s character and found him to be much more relaxed and less stuffy than some of the characters in the author’s other mysteries (Adrian English comes to mind). Though certainly impulsive and flawed, I found Ellery to be relatable and endearing as well, and going through the same struggles as many of us are. I found Ellery to be a breath of fresh air.

As this is a Cozy Mystery, there is no violence or sex on-page, so this is a perfect book for those who don’t like their mysteries too gory or too sexy. And though Lanyon typically writes M/M Romance, you won’t find much of that here. However, there is a heated energy between Ellery and Jack, hinting at the budding of a potential relationship in future books. But any attraction between the two characters takes a back seat to the main plotline of who murdered Trevor Maples.

All in all, I found Murder at Pirate’s Cove to be a delightful and well-crafted mystery that kept me guessing until the end. What an unexpected gem this turned out to be! It was so much fun solving this mystery along with Ellery and Jack, and the excellent writing makes for a seamless reading experience. There’s just enough tension and drama to bring the story home to a pretty compelling and satisfying conclusion, and I look forward to reading future books in this series.

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Review of Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

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Where the Crawdads SingWhere the crawdads sing is a fascinating book that takes place during the 1950s and ’60s and follows a misunderstood girl named Kya Clark, who is also known as the Marsh Girl or Marsh Trash by the local people in Barclay Cove. Kaya is abandoned, first by her mother, then all of her siblings, and finally, by her drunken and abusive father, leaving her to fend for herself all alone on the marsh, without assistance from anyone. I think she was ten years old or so when the last of her family abandoned her.

The story is told in two alternate timelines: the first, focusing on Kya’s life in the marsh and her eventual romantic involvement with two young men from town. The other timeline occurs in 1969, during which a young man named Chase Andrews is found dead. At first, police think I was an accident, but upon further investigation, begin to suspect that the young man was, in fact, murdered. The townies immediately suspect the strange and aloof Marsh girl, especially given that she has been seen several times over the years in Chase’s company.

This is another one of those books that is super-haunting and atmospheric, and the rich, vivid descriptions of the soggy swamp, the birds, insects, water, sand, mud, plants, fish and other animals transported me right back to the 1950s and makes you feel as though you’re in the marsh right along with Kya.

While this is a lovely homage to nature, it’s also a moving and heartbreaking coming-of-age story about a resilient young woman who had to overcome abandonment, prejudice, scorn, and immense loneliness and how a person can rise above their circumstance when people believe in you.

Where the Crawdads Sing a character-driven story with an admirable and tenacious heroine that is part mystery, part love story, part suspense, and part adventure. This was an engrossing and surprising story that I absolutely loved and one that I will no doubt contemplate for a long time to come.

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Review of Seance on a Summer’s Night by Josh Lanyon

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Seance on a summers nightSeance on a Summer’s Night follows theater critic Artemus who is summoned by his Aunt Halcyone to come to the Green Lantern Inn, her home in California. When Artie arrives, he learns the reason for the summons: Aunt Halcyone is having ghost problems and believes that her house is haunted. In fact, the ghosts have frightened off all the guests, and because of it, the inn is beginning to fall into disrepair. Halcyone believes it’s her late husband Ogden, who was killed in a car crash the year before, who is haunting the inn.

Now Artie is a skeptic and does not believe in ghosts; yet right after his arrival, he notices strange happenings such as footsteps walking on the floor above him at night. Ogden’s distraught sister Liana, who spends her days alone in her room reading Tarot cards, insists on hosting regular seances with the aid of a local psychic medium/spiritualist named Roma Loveridge to communicate with her brother. Artie reluctantly joins in, and as it turns out, the seances are quite creepy; yet Artie isn’t sure whether they’re real or a hoax.

Though everyone else in the house believes the place is haunted, Artie isn’t buying it and is determined to get to the bottom of the mystery, especially once the so-called ghost threatens his Aunt. But he is certain that it is the living and not the dead who is behind the strange occurrences. Though because of the accusations by the ghost, Artie can help but wonder whether his staunch Aunt did have something to do with his uncle’s death after all.

So I’m a massive fan of the haunted house trope, and this one did not disappoint. It had all of the classic elements of a gothic ghost story: a psychic medium, creepy and hostile housekeepers, a mysterious (and hunky!) gardener, dim lighting, strange noises, an enormous old house, secret passages, possible murder and of course, ghostly apparitions.

What’s funny about this story, is that it had an old-time gothic feel to it, though it is a modern-day story. I kept forgetting that it takes place in recent times and not during the 1920s or 1930s, and I found the modern references a tad jarring in places. That being said, because of the descriptions and dialog, this story might have worked better were it set in an earlier time period.

I really enjoyed the mystery and loved journeying along with this oddball set of characters as the pieces of the puzzle slowly fit into place. I also loved all the clues peppered throughout the story that made figuring out the mystery all the more fun.

Josh Lanyon is known for writing M/M romance novels, but as is typical with most of her books, the romance is secondary to the mystery, and that certainly is the case here. The romance definitely takes a back seat to the ghost story plot so if you’re looking for a steamy gay romance, you won’t find that here. What you will find, however, is a fun cozy mystery featuring a witty and sarcastic protagonist, a zany cast of well-thought-out secondary characters with plenty of secrets and plenty of flirting between the two male leads. There were also several laugh-out-loud scenes as well, which added to the light-heartedness/coziness of the story.

I’ve read quite a few Josh Lanyon novels, and this one did not disappoint. All in all, Seance on a Summer’s Night is a smart and original cozy mystery/gay romance story with a rapidly moving plot, irresistible characters and a good number of twists that kept me engaged throughout.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and to Josh Lanyon for providing me with a review copy of this book.

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Review of Spells and Scones by Bailey Cates

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Spells and scones book coverSpells and Scones by is another cozy mystery that I heard about on my library’s podcast, and it sounded like fun.

It takes place in Savannah and follows magical baker Katie Lightfoot who is catering a book signing by a famous self-help author at the bookstore next door to her bakery. A huge crowd gathers for the event, and as the author, Dr. Dana arrives, a few people loudly protest and heckle this self-help Guru, primarily because of her “Radical Trust” philosophy which has proven detrimental to many relationships and something that I found quite creepy. Some of the people there to protest were very, very angry, as some of their marriages were ruined due to Dr. Dana’s advice.

After the reading, the author is ushered to the back of the store to sign some books. Not long afterward, she is found laying on the floor, dead with a scent of almonds in the air. Murder by cyanide, as it turns out. A woman, who was standing over the body when it was discovered, becomes the prime suspect.

As it turns out, the woman accused of the murder is a former witch named Angie Kissel who had stopped practicing magic. She was also divorced after having followed the relationship advice of Dr. Dana. Quinn, the detective assigned to the case, considers it and he is confident that Angie did it.

But Katie’s canine familiar, a little dog named Mungo who once belonged to Angie, convinces Katie that Angie is innocent and urges her to investigate. Deciding to help the woman, Katie delves into the mystery and as she does so, discovers that there are several possible suspects.

Spells and Scones was a light, fun, witchy cozy mystery and, as it turns out, book 6 in the Magical Bakery series. Though it wasn’t an overly complex or twisty mystery, it was a satisfying read with whimsical characters and I may read more books in this series in the future. There are also some delicious-sounding recipes at the end of the book.

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Review of A Ghost for Christmas by J.D. Winters

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A ghost for christmas cover imageA Ghost for Christmas is the first book in the Destiny Bay Cozy series and follows our main character Mele who, recovering from a bad romantic breakup, decides to visit her Aunt Bebe. She arrives, however, to find a dead body on her Aunt’s doorstep.

As it turns out, the corpse was that of Kyle Madronna, a wealthy vineyard owner who was pretty much despised by everyone who knew him. He was also trying to steal her aunt’s business which made Mele suspect that her aunt may have had something to do with the murder. Then things heat up even more when a second murder takes place only days later. Mele, along with the help of two family ghosts and the local detective, gets closer to discovering the identity of the killer. Of course, Mele’s meddling puts her own life in jeopardy culminating in a face to face encounter with the killer.

It was a fun, humorous, light little mystery with no real violence or gory bits. The protagonist was likable as were the secondary characters (except for the villain, of course) and I felt that the story was believable. I was a bit disappointed, however, because given the title of the novel, I thought it would be more ghost centric but this was not the case. There were two ghosts in the story: Aunt Jane and the handsome Dante but they played a very minor role in the story, appearing only a couple of times and all we really learn about them is that Dante was a ghost from Mele’s childhood. The story also had little to do with the Christmas season so in this way, I thought the title was a misnomer; the title suggested that a ghost and the holiday would be central to this story, neither of which was the case.

A Ghost for Christmas was quite a quick read and really could have used some further character development, IMHO. But still, it was a fun, entertaining story though I’m undecided as to whether I’ll be continuing on with the series. I don’t mind a cozy mystery from time to time, but truth be told, I prefer my mysteries and thrillers a little more on the darker side.

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