Lament at Loon Landing by Josh Lanyon

Lament at Loon Landing by Josh Lanyon
Series: Secrets and Scrabble #6
Published by JustJoshin Publishing on March 30, 2023
Source: NetGalley
Genres: Cozy Mystery
Pages: 212
Format: eARC
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Fakes, folk music, and ghost fires

When legendary folk singer Lara Fairplay agrees to make her comeback appearance at Pirate Cove’s annual maritime music festival, everyone in the quaint seaside village is delighted—including mystery bookstore owner and sometimes amateur sleuth, Ellery Page.

Lara is scheduled to perform a recently discovered piece of music attributed to “the father of American music,” Stephen Foster.

Several mysterious accidents later, Ellery is less delighted—especially when it becomes clear to him that someone plans to silence the celebrity songbird forever.

Lament at Loon Landing brings a once-famous folk singer to Pirate’s Cove. Unfortunately, her comeback performance is surrounded by death threats and dangerous close calls. Ellery’s close friend, Dylan who is on the festival committee, asks him to help find out if the threats are real. Ellery’s not sure what he’s actually supposed to be doing, but he asks questions and tries to keep an eye on things. Then, Ellery find Dylan’s girlfriend dead and Dylan becomes the main suspect in her murder.

I like Ellery a lot. He’s snarky and nice and has an adorable dog. He’s also getting used to the whole investigating things, along with the Silver Sleuths. His boyfriend, Jack, is Chief of Police, and of course that makes things both more complicated and easier. I am awfully tired of the cop/detective as the boyfriend/love interest in cozy mysteries.

I enjoyed my trip to Pirates Cove. The mystery was fine, but I mostly enjoy the quirky characters and the town’s vibe.