annieb123
Written on Mar 8, 2022
Body at Buccaneer's Bay is the fifth book in the Secrets and Scrabble cozy mystery series by Josh Lanyon. Released 18th Dec 2021, it's 219 pages and available in ebook format. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.
This is a well written very lighthearted action driven murder cozy with a returning ensemble cast featuring bookshop owner Ellery Page and his partner, handsome local law enforcement officer Jack Carson. The author does a good job with the narrative, tossing in subtle clues and generously sprinkling red herrings here and there. The action moves along at a good clip, this time surrounding a body found during a scuba diving session, poison pen letters, and a suspicious death, and moves forward to a moderately confusing and unsatisfying climax and resolution. There were quite a lot of unresolved questions - maybe they'll be addressed in the next book in the series?
The language is clean, the murder's off screen and free from violence, there's very little sexual content (some chaste kisses); it's a well written and charming bookstore cozy. Although it's the 5th book in the series, it works well as a self-contained standalone and readers who come in with this book won't have any trouble following the mystery. The author/publisher has taken pains to make it clear that the romance is between two men, so I won't dwell on that, but there's absolutely no content which would scandalize anyone's auntie (a few "damns" nothing worse).
Four stars, but I sincerely hope the next book ties up the dangly threads. Charming, diverting, and well written. I intend to seek out future volumes in the series.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes