New York Times–bestselling author Eileen Goudge blends mystery and romance in a captivating new novel featuring intrepid property manager Tish Ballard, whose client’s beachfront home becomes a headline-making homicide scene
With a Hollywood movie about to start filming in the California seaside town of Cypress Bay, Tish Ballard, owner of Rest Easy Property Management, welcomes her first celebrity tenant. Delilah Ward isn’t your typical beautiful, spoiled actress; she’s America’s sweetheart. Even Tish is charmed by the young star, which makes her gruesome discovery of Delilah’s bloodied corpse all the more gut-wrenching.
When someone near and dear to Tish is named a person of interest, the fearless property manager defies the wishes of her former heartthrob, homicide detective Spence Breedlove, and launches her own investigation—with help from her best friend, Ivy, and her erstwhile sidekick, McGee. But no sooner than she starts rubbing elbows with the movie cast and crew—including Delilah’s eerily efficient personal assistant, the starlet’s sexy costar, and the film’s predatory director—is her own life threatened. With so much at stake, Tish has no choice but to do whatever it takes to lure a crafty killer out of hiding.
Swimsuit Body is the 2nd novel in the Cypress Bay Mysteries, which began with Bones and Roses, but the books can be read and enjoyed in any order.
I read Bones and Roses, Book 1 in the Cypress Bay series, last year and it was hands down one of the best books I read in 2015. So, when book 2 showed up on Netgalley, I couldn't hit the request button fast enough. I'm happy to say, the second book didn't disappoint, and this will probably be one of the best books I read in 2016!
The main character, Tish, is a property manager and a recovering alcoholic who has been sober for several years. In Swimsuit Body, a movie star rents out one of the properties Tish manages and is found dead a few days later. I really enjoyed the sort of cynical take on typical Hollywood behavior. While they Hollywood types were somewhat stereotypical, I guess I expected that to some extent. It would've felt weird if they were portrayed any different to what I perceive them to be.
The plot was very well done; lots of twists and no shortage of suspects (but not so many that it was difficult to keep track of them all.) The action-packed ending was a complete surprise, the actual culprit(s) were very low on my suspect list. The characters, as always, are well-drawn, realistic and likeable. The picturesque Northern California setting, it's so well described that it's easy to hear the crash of waves on the shore and smell the briny ocean breeze.
I recommend this book (and this series!) to anyone who likes a good mystery.
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