A Deadly Cliche (A Books by the Bay Mystery)
Author ~ Ellery AdamsPublisher ~ Berkley
Publication date ~ March 1, 2011
Pages ~ 304
From Amazon ~
While walking her poodle, Olivia Limoges discovers a dead body buried in the sand. Could it be connected to the bizarre burglaries plaguing Oyster Bay, North Carolina? At every crime scene, the thieves set up odd tableaus: a stick of butter with a knife through it, dolls with silver spoons in their mouths, a deck of cards with a missing queen. Olivia realizes each setup represents a cliché. And who better to decode the cliché clues than her Bayside Book Writers group?
My thoughts ~
Olivia is enjoying her quiet life in Oyster Bay, North Carolina. The Boot Top Bistro, her five-star restaurant is doing well and she has her eye on a building she is thinking of buying, renovating and converting into a new waterfront restaurant, to be called The Crab Shack. The Bayside Book Writers continue to meet weekly to critique and discuss each others works-in-progress. They have not only become great friends, but great support systems for each other during the writing process. Olivia, with her beloved poodle and loyal companion Captain Haviland at her side, never thought she would be close to this motley crew of characters. But here she is, friends with a computer geek, a stay-at-home mom, a bartender, and the police chief. Ah, the police chief…. Could there be romance in the air? Or is that simply a fresh ocean breeze?
On the cusp of a potential major hurricane, and while the citizens of Oyster Bay are busy preparing, Olivia is on her morning walk hunting for treasures when she stumbles on a body buried in the sand, naked as the day he was born, with just a bucket over his head and shovel in hand. Not only does Chief Rawlings have his hands full with this murder and the impending hurricane, but there have also been some bizarre home robberies he has been working. While the robberies are normal in the sense that the homeowners are gone while they are burglarized, and the big ticket items are taken, something odd is left in their wake. The robbers’ MO is to leave something behind that represents a different cliché. Now it is up to the Bayside Book Writers to put their plotting skills to use and help Chief Rawlings figure out not only who murdered the man on the beach, but to figure out if and/or how it may be related to the robberies.
Olivia continues to be the fairy G-dmother to her friends, as well as to the town and people of Oyster Bay. She continues to do the little things that will enrich their lives, at times without them even knowing she is the one behind the good dead. But with everything else going on around her, Olivia could be in for the surprise of her life. Could the father that was once presumed dead, lost at sea during a terrible storm, actually be alive? What will Olivia find when she seeks out the truth? And more importantly, will she be able to handle what she finds out? Will the truth set her free?
Ellery Adams has another solid hit on her hands with her second Books By The Bay Mystery (see A Killer Plot (A Books by the Bay Mystery)
A). I loved seeing the continued growth in the friendship between Olivia and the rest of the Bayside Book Writers. And I give huge props to the author for not only writing one amazing story, but for also writing a new chapter for each of the writers’ works-in-progress. That takes a huge amount of talent; talent this author clearly displays. Oyster Bay, and its inhabitants are, the perfect blend of the comforts one would find at home and the ease of a blissful summer vacation by the bay.
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FTC Full Disclosure ~ I received this book from the publisher in hopes I would review it.
FTC Full Disclosure ~ I received this book from the publisher in hopes I would review it.
