Genre: Mystery
Hardcover; Digital Book (Audio Book Available)
ISBN #: 9781643855769
Crooked Lane Books
320 Pages
$26.99; $13.99 Amazon
March 9, 2021
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Wake up on a houseboat moored in scenic Alexandria Bay, New York. Ride the gentle waves to work at quaint Bayside Books, where you spend your days supplying literature and conversation to the charming locals and seasonal tourists. Sounds pleasant, doesn't it? Except bookseller Shelby Cox has already sleuthed two murders from Bayside Books' home base on Blye Island, one of New York State's famed Thousand Islands. And this time, mayhem knocks right on Shelby's waterside door when she finds a body lodged between the side of her houseboat and the dock, his skull shattered.
The victim is no local, but Shelby can't shake the feeling she's seen him before. Twice, in fact -- that's how many times he's dropped into Bayside Books asking about an enigmatic woman who lived on Blye Island many years before. The last time? The day before he was found. But the poor man obviously was killed elsewhere, so who brought him down to the bay, and why?
When the victim's daughter hits town demanding answers, Shelby takes the case, despite Police Chief Tekla Stone's usual reservations. But she uncovers more suspects than there are pages in War and Peace, and Shelby can expect no peace -- except the peace of the grave -- unless she can turn the page on this grisly mystery.
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Shelby Cox co-owns Bayside Books along with her Aunt Edie. She works at the second store on Blye Island and lives in a houseboat. Her boyfriend is an investigator for the Coast Guard, and she has a cat named JT. Her life is pretty great...except when she wakes up one morning and finds a body floating against her houseboat. Calling the police chief, she's eventually told she needs to leave and not come back until it's clear.
Showing up at her aunt's home in her pajamas, she wears her borrowed clothes to go to work but wants to know who he is. That's resolved in a way when the chief shows her a picture and she recognizes him as a man who's been to both bookstores looking for an unknown woman. But the story ends there, or it should -- until the man's daughter shows up asking Shelby for help in trying to find out who killed her father and why. Shelby, understanding Hillary's need to know, tells her she will ask a few questions...but a few questions could get her killed, if she asks the wrong person...
This is the third book in the series and I have to say that I've been enjoying the progression of Shelby's life in Alexandria Bay. When she arrived she knew no one except Edie, but that's changed and she has friends all over town. She's also gained a boyfriend in Zack, and things are progressing nicely. What I enjoyed most about this book was the fact that we're starting to learn more about Shelby's mother, Merrily, who abandoned her when she was a child. It's an interesting journey that I hope to see more of.
When Shelby starts asking questions, it seems innocuous enough, but then she discovers things about some of the people she's been questioning, and it draws the attention of Chief Stone, which is never a good thing. She also has another problem to deal with concerning her personal life, and it's causing her angst in trying to decide what to do.
Shelby is having more than enough problematic situations in her life right now, and dealing with any of them isn't going to be easy. But she takes her time thinking through most of them, and you know that the right conclusion will come about.
When the ending comes and the murderer is revealed, the surprises are there, as there is more to the story than anyone could have guessed. While it was all resolved satisfactorily, I eagerly await the next in the series, hoping to continue the journey with Shelby. Recommended.
More on Essie Lang's Books: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/l/essie-lang/
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