Series: Books By the Bay Mystery #4
Format Read: Paperback
Release Date: November 6, 2012
Buying Links: Amazon Barnes & Noble The Book Depository
Blurb from goodreads:
When Munin Cooper, known as the Witch of Oyster Bay, warns Olivia Limoges that death is coming, neither of them realize that it is the older woman herself who will soon be found dead. And Olivia’s instincts tell her that something—or someone—more sinister than a mystical force is at play… Olivia has a lot on her plate preparing for the Coastal Carolina Food Festival. When she hears the news of Munin’s untimely death, however, finding the murderer takes priority. The witch left behind a memory jug full of keepsakes that Olivia knows must point to the killer—but she’s got to figure out what they mean. With handsome Police Chief Rawlings by her side, Olivia starts to identify some of the jug’s mysterious contents—and finds its secrets are much darker than she suspected. Now Olivia must enlist the help of the Bayside Book Writers to solve the puzzle behind the piece of pottery and put an end to a vengeful killer before any more damage can be done…
Bea's Thoughts:
Although this was my first book in this series, it's the second book by this author that I've read. I wasn't keen on that book but this was more my speed.
This book has more depth and more complexity than many cozies, and also more explicit sex. The latter wasn't a problem for me but it's unusual in a cozy so you've been warned. :) I hadn't read the previous books but for the most part that wasn't a problem; there were a few times when I was confused but that never lasted long as Adams deftly wove in backstory without too much info dumping. However, there were huge spoilers for previous books, huge spoilers, so consider reading in order.
I had trouble at first getting into the story but that was a mix of the story and me; I've found recently that I have trouble with the beginning of most books I'm reading and I'm not sure why. The book contributed by jumping write into Olivia reflecting on events from a previous book, presumably the last one. Once we moved past that and got into the story, I was engaged. There are actually several mysteries - one concerning Olivia's mother and relationship with the dead woman Munin, the death of Munin, one concerning Olivia's father, and the attacks on a pair of siblings, one of whom works for Olivia at one of her restaurants.
Once the story got moving, I enjoyed it and was curious where it was going. I didn't peg the killer nor did I catch onto the other mysteries except for the one involving her father. That one I saw very early on, it was neon-obvious. There are lots of twists and turns, and as I mentioned more depth than I associate with cozy mysteries. It took me a while to warm up to Olivia but eventually I did and I expect I'll read more in the series.
I borrowed this from my local library.
Nice review, and interesting book! Sounds as though it's not your normal run-of-the-mill cozy.
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