On the Hook by Rea Keech Narrator: Maggie Ross
Series: A Cozy Boat Club Mystery #1
Published by Real Nice Books on May 23, 2026
Source: NetGalley
Genres: Cozy Mystery
Length: 8 hrs 17 mins
Pages: 301
Format: Audiobook
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Anne has returned to Westport, the quaint maritime village where she grew up, to do two things she loves—teach in its multi-cultural elementary school and race her small sailboat in the Westport regattas. Anne has never remarried after her husband died fifteen years ago in his twenties and she has lived quietly in the friendly village. But after an important women's regatta that attracts a large number of sailors, a teacher from Anne's school is found dead at her boat club.
I think this might be the first sailing cozy mystery I’ve read. Anne is a teacher at the elementary school in her hometown and is a member of the local boat club. Following the women laser regatta, one of the competitors is killed and Anne becomes a suspect. She and her friend, Tim, the dockmaster at the club, start to investigate.
The mystery was good. We had several plausible suspects, good clues and a few red herrings. I do wish the author had trusted the reader a bit more, instead of repeating points over and over.
I liked Anne, but I didn’t quite understand her. She’s been a widow for 18 years, her husband died suddenly when they were in their twenties. Why is she now, right when a murderer is loose in town, becoming interested in Tim, whom she has known for at least a couple of years. And the whole couple of chapters where he leaves town and somehow his cellphone becomes unusable were just silly. I don’t need my protagonist whining over the boy not calling her. You are taking care of his dog he adores. Clearly he would call if he could to check up on her if nothing else. The narrator did a good job bringing Anne to life. Her mother was a hoot, too. So, yes, we have quirky family and friends, a potential love interest, a cute pet, and lots of food, mostly crab-based – all the elements for a good cozy mystery.
I found the information about sailing and boats interesting, but maybe uneven. We had a lot of detail about some things and little about others. For example, I had to look up what a laser was.
Overall it was a read/listen. I’ll probably pick up the next one when it comes out.
About Rea Keech
Rea Keech was Professor of English at Anne Arundel Community College from 1978 to 2013, when he retired. Before that he taught at the University of South Carolina, Voorhees College, the University of Tehran, and at schools in Japan, and Greece. He has written six novels, three of them based on his experiences in foreign countries, and three based on living in a small suburban town in Maryland.
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