Murder at Pirate's Cove by Josh Lanyon Narrator: Matt Haynes
Series: Secrets and Scrabble #1
Published by JustJoshin Publishing on April 19, 2020
Source: Purchased
Genres: Cozy Mystery, M/M Romance
Length: 6 hrs 11 mins
Pages: 206
Format: Audiobook
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Ellery Page, aspiring screenwriter, Scrabble champion and guy-with-worst-luck-in-the-world-when-it-comes-to-dating, is ready to make a change. So when he learns he's inherited both a failing bookstore and a falling-down mansion in the quaint seaside village of Pirate's Cove on Buck Island, Rhode Island, it's full steam ahead!
Sure enough, the village is charming, its residents amusingly eccentric, and widowed police chief Jack Carson is decidedly yummy (though probably as straight as he is stern). However, the bookstore is failing, the mansion is falling down, and there's that little drawback of finding rival bookseller--and head of the unwelcoming-committee--Trevor Maples dead during the annual Buccaneer Days celebration.
Still, it could be worse. And once Police Chief Carson learns Trevor was killed with the cutlass hanging over the door of Ellery's bookstore, it is.
**This story contains NO on-screen sex or violence.
Ellery Page moves to Pirate Cove after inheriting a book store and a huge house from his great great great aunt Eudora, whom he had never actually met. It’s actually a great time for Ellery to start a new life, after his ex cheated on him and his screenwriting career is not going great.
But of course, it’s not smooth sailing. The house is in need of endless repairs and the bookshop is in the red. Ellery is facing pressure from Trevor Maples, a mayoral candidate to sell, but he doesn’t want to. And then Trevor ends up dead, murdered, laying in a pool of blood in the bookstore. And, of course, Ellery is the main suspect and as in any good cozy mystery starts investigating on his own.
I like Ellery. He’s charming and funny and sweet and I love his dog. Police Chief Carson I’m not sure about yet. He’s a good guy, steady and honest, and the sparks between the two are definitely believable, but I’m never a big fan of the “will they, won’t they.”
The mystery itself was a bit unrealistic but I enjoyed the characters and the setting. Pirate’s Cove would be a fun place to visit.
About Josh Lanyon
Josh Lanyon is the author of over sixty titles of classic Male/Male fiction featuring twisty mystery, kickass adventure and unapologetic man-on-man romance. Her work has been translated into eleven languages. Josh is an Eppie Award winner, a four-time Lambda Literary Award finalist (twice for Gay Mystery), an Edgar nominee, and the first-ever recipient of the Goodreads M/M Hall of Fame award.
Josh is married and lives in Southern California.