Mystery

Murder 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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Spells 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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I’ve been wanting to read Louise Penny for a while now as the people in my book club rave about her books. So I picked up the first one in the Gamache series called Still Life.

The story opens when Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Surêté du Québec and his team of investigators are called to the scene of a suspicious death in the rural village of Three Pines, south of Montreal. Jane Neal, an elderly woman and beloved longtime resident of Three Pines has been found dead in the woods. The locals are positive it’s a tragic hunting accident and nothing more, but Gamache doesn’t necessarily agree and is soon convinced that Jane Neal death was not an accident. She was murdered.

This book has a fantastic cast of eccentric, complex and likable characters, each with more than their share of faults. There were numerous red herrings peppered throughout the story, and as Gamache deepens his investigation, possible suspects began to emerge. By the end of the book, we’ve pretty much gotten to know everyone, along with their faults and their foibles, in the small town of Three Pines — including the murderer. And everyone has layers upon layers of secrets.

Now even though many people refer to this as a cozy mystery, I’m not entirely sure that I agree. While it did take place in a quaint little artsy town, there was a darker feel to it then you see with a lot of cozies. There was long-standing hatred, fear, homophobia, revenge and, as it turns out, multiple murders. Though it certainly wasn’t gloomy, it doesn’t have that light, almost playful atmosphere you see in the cozy mystery genre.

As is the case with mysteries, one cannot say too much without spilling the beans as it were. Let me just say that this was an enjoyable mystery that kept me guessing until the end. This one I did not figure out.

The only niggle that I had with the book was the depiction of the gay couple. The author relied on stereotypical representations in which they ran a B & B and collected antiques. And then there’s the scene where they were singing “It’s Raining Men” in the kitchen, which caused me to roll my eyes so hard that I saw my brain.

If it hadn’t been for this insulting stereotyping, I probably would have given this book five stars. That being said, this is a solid 4-star read for me, and I hope to continue with the series and see what other kinds of trouble our Chief Inspector gets himself into.

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