Book Reviews

Book Blurb

We only see the things on the surface…

When Pirate Cove's favorite--and only--mystery bookshop owner and sometimes-amateur sleuth Ellery Page discovers a vintage diving collection bag full of antique gold coins tucked away for safe keeping in the stockroom of the Crow’s Nest, it sets off a series of increasingly dangerous events, culminating in murder.

Book Review

This seventh book of the ‘Secrets and Scrabble’ series set in cozy (and yet astonishingly murder-prone) Pirate Cove starts with a triple surprise for Ellery Page, owner of the local mystery bookshop. First, while cleaning out a cupboard, he finds a bag filled with what looks like antique coins dating back to the early 1600s. Then, he gets a phone call from his former agent (Ellery featured in a series of horror B-movies in his past) announcing he’ll be offered a major role in the upcoming reboot of said series. Last but not least, Tackle Shandy, best known on the island for his meager intellect, bulging muscles, and contempt for laws and rules, delivers a summons to come visit the head of the Shanty clan, formidable Vera Sutton-Shandy. The old lady asks Ellery to investigate the probable murder of her brother, gone AWOL in the early 60s and most likely the original finder of the gold coins at the bottom of the sea.

 

Ellery hesitates. Yet Vera has quite shrewdly included his late great-great-great aunt on her list of suspects. Even if he has never met her, he feels a certain moral debt towards her—she bequeathed him her stately house as well as the bookstore, after all. Plus, for once no danger seems to be attached, the case being so cold it feels almost frozen over. Even Ellery’s boyfriend, local police chief Jack Carson, doesn’t have any objections for him getting involved. The silver sleuths, Ellery’s amateur detective friends, even less so. Only one person turns out to be less eager to know the truth—Tackle. He pays Ellery a surprise visit and warns him not to dig too deeply. It comes as quite a shock when shortly after, during a walk, the young man and his wonderful Jack discover the brute’s dead body…

 

I finished this novel in two sittings. Admittedly, it’s still not Josh Lanyon at their best. There were again a couple of awkward word repetitions that could have been avoided—they struck me as oversights rather than deliberate writing choices. For once, I also knew almost from the get-go who had committed the cold case murder as well as the current one (normally, I’m hopelessly clueless). But that didn’t mar my thorough enjoyment of the plot. Again, it involved all those quirky secondary characters I’ve come to love, Kingston, Nora, and many others, as well as Watson, the absolutely adorable puppy Josh depicts so vividly I could almost hear him yap in my apartment. The romantic subplot, subtly and discreetly present throughout the series, also seems to take a turn for the truly serious.

 

All in all, a very pleasant read, the perfect pastime for fans of cozy murder mysteries when wind and rain compel them to stay inside, under a warm blanket, a good book in hand. Which this one undoubtedly is. I cannot wait to open book eight.

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. This book was purchased by the reviewer.

 

Additional Information

Format	ebook
Length	Novel, 199 pages
Heat Level
Publication Date	14-August-2022
Price	$4.99 ebook
Buy Link	https://www.amazon.com/Death-Deep-Dive-Mystery-Scrabble-ebook/dp/B0979PL59D