Closely Harbored Secrets (Seaside Cafe Mysteries)

by Bree Baker

In the fifth book of the popular Seaside Café Mysteries, Closely Harbored Secrets, Everly Swan just wants to make Halloween-themed treats and specialty teas for her customers. But when it seems that she's being haunted by the phantom of a sailor straight out of a ghost story, her plans are capsized. Could this be the bitter end for Everly?
Hitting all the sweet-tea spots, this series is:A delightful Tea Shop and Café Culinary MysteryThe ideal cozy beach readPerfect for fans of Laura Childs and Kate CarlisleIt's almost Halloween, and the small island of Charm, North Carolina is decked out for the festivities. When Everly Swan agrees to close her iced tea shop early to help her aunts host their annual haunted historic walking tour, she expects some good-natured spooks. But the night turns grave when one of the ghostly actors is found dead. To complicate matters, the victim scratched Everly's name into the ground before she died, making her a key suspect.
The murder mystery heats up when Everly's potential boo, Detective Grady, takes the case—and he definitely doesn't want her getting involved. Will their seaside romance be threatened by all the ghostly drama? But when a phantom sailor straight out of local legend starts leaving Everly threatening messages, she has to get involved… With a local election under way, ghosts on the loose, and a search for long-lost buried treasure, Everly can't help but stir the pot!
The fifth tea cozy in Bree Baker's acclaimed Seaside Café Mystery series, Closely Harbored Secrets is culinary fiction with a frighteningly fun twist!
INCLUDES DELICIOUS FOOD AND DRINK RECIPES

• ISBN10: 1728205751
• ISBN13: 9781728205755
• Publish Date: 29 December 2020
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Poisoned Pen Press
• Format: Paperback (US Mass Market)
• Pages: 352
• Language: English

Reviews

[Mystereity Reviews]

Just….okay.

A lot of my Goodreads friends rated this highly, so I was looking forward to reading it and it’s the r/CozyMystery Book club read for October. Overall, it was an okay book, but didn’t live up to its potential. I loved the plot but unfortunately it got buried under a ton of other side plots and the pace was way too slow. The middle of the book felt like it was just circling around and around, which dampened my interest to the point that I ended up skipping a few chapters because I just wanted to find out whodunit.

But I liked the characters, and like I said it was a great plot that was unfortunately buried and wasn’t the main focus of the book. I mean it had everything that I love; secret rooms, buried treasure, ghosts, and food. But it was the other story lines that were nothing more than unnecessary filler; the mayoral election had far more attention paid to it than the actual mystery in some parts of the book, and the on-going drama with the sheriff was just a distraction and didn't hold my attention. And I don't know how many times the MC discussed her golf cart and wagon (don't get me wrong, I love that she calls the golf cart Blue and her wagon Wagon. I just don't need repeated descriptions.) and you know, I kinda feel bad for that kind and understanding paramedic, I felt like he got the shaft.

So while I liked the book, I didn't love the book. I'd be up for reading the other books in the series, but I have other books I want to get to first. 3 stars.