Dead & Buried by Leighann Dobbs

Dead & Buried by Leighann Dobbs
Series: Blackmoore Sisters Mysteries #2
Published by Createspace on June 25, 2013
Genres: Cozy Mystery
Pages: 272
Format: eBook
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Summers in the seaside town of Noquit Maine are quiet and relaxing ... unless you find a mysterious dead body, a hunky ex-boyfriend shows up and you start getting instructions from ghostly relatives.
That’s exactly what happens to Morgan Blackmoore.
Suddenly, she finds herself in a race against time as she’s launched into a dangerous treasure hunt that pits her against modern day pirates who think she has the key to a three hundred year old secret.
To complicate matters even more, one of her sisters keeps talking to the ghost of their dead grandmother, another has crystals with unusually powerful healing properties and her cat has an uncanny habit of showing up in exactly the right place at exactly the right time.
Not to mention that her ex-boyfried, Luke Hunter, suddenly shows up in town after ten years of being overseas and claims to want to help her fight off these deadly pirates, but Morgan finds herself fighting her attraction to him instead.
Will Morgan outwit the treasure hunters and find the real killer before Sheriff Overton puts her in jail?
And what about Luke, is he really a good guy or just after the treasure himself?

Pirates and treasure hunts and cute guys with guns – an enjoyable read. It’s light and short, a perfect in-between book for me.

The Blackmoore sisters are a good group. They have close relationships with each other, but all have their own personalities, interests, and gifts. There’s a touch of paranormal – a cat with way more than nine lives, healing crystals, visits with a dead grandma, but it doesn’t take over the book. You could have the same story without the fantasy elements, but it wouldn’t be as fun.

I like the story, but a couple of things struck me as a bit odd. First of all, who exactly does Luke, Morgan’s ex, work for. It was never explained quite well enough for me. Yes, he’s on the Blackmoores’ side, but I wish I could have been a little clearer on his motives. Second, I don’t get the Sheriff’s grudge against the sisters and why he is so outrageous in some of his behavior. This is the second in the series I’ve read and I just don’t understand how he can get away with clearly biased investigation style.

Those two faults aside, it’s a great mystery with just the right touch of romance. I like how each of the women has her own strength’s and they only solve the problems they face by working together. The men that are on their side are strong and dependable and sexy, too. They don’t find the big treasure, though. Maybe next time?