This is the first book in the Books by the Bay series by one of my favorite authors, Ellery Adams. It has that same book coma quality that her Supper Club and Secret, Book & Scone Society has and deals with people who need some sort of healing, whether it’s physical or emotional or a little of both. I love the group of friends in this writers’ group, and I’m looking forward to continuing the series!
The lighthouse pictured is Bodie Island Lighthouse, found on Google using the “licensed for reuse” prompt. It made me think of what Olivia’s lighthouse cottage might look like.
My Goodreads review:
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is the first in another awesome series by this author. I love the other series I’ve read in so far, and this was not a disappointment. It reminded me a lot of the friends in her Supper Club mysteries. I liked that Olivia wasn’t a typical protagonist. She was very different in that she was actually rich and owned a lot of property in the town of Oyster Bay, NC.
Olivia Limoges wasn’t a stranger to the gossip and snarky comments that seemed to go with her name around town, but one day after hearing some ladies at the grocery talking about her not giving back to the town, she decided to do something about that. With a little nudge from her friend Dixie who worked at her husband Grumpy’s Diner, Olivia became a member of a local writers’ group, and she wanted to do something nice for them by having her lighthouse cottage renovated. After the murder of one of their own, the group became amateur sleuths as well as writers doing critiques for each other.
I had definitely not guessed who the killer was. I loved how it went down, even Haviland, Olivia’s well-trained and intelligent poodle got to play a small part in going after the killer. He was such a cool dog–it was great how polite he was and how he seemed to know what his human needed. While trying to find the killer, Haviland was used to scare Olivia off the case.
Like some of Ms. Adams’ other series, this wasn’t only a story about a murder mystery, but it was people becoming friends and helping each other heal whether physically or emotionally, getting involved and actually interested in one another’s lives. I love that about a series, because when the perp is caught, you get to have more of the story. I enjoy being able to hear the full reason behind the crimes committed and that everyone involved is safely locked up. Olivia herself had been in need of personal healing, and I think getting to know the others in the group and taking a vested interest in them gave her that human connection that she’d been lacking. She and her friends grew a lot just from their meeting to several weeks later when everyone was enjoying the July 4th fireworks. Olivia found out it wasn’t just enough to shell out money to her town, but giving of herself was important too, and it made her feel very much alive again.
Cuddle Up With a Cozy Mystery 