
Author: Bree Baker
Series: Seaside Café Mystery #5
Published by: Poisoned Pen Press on Dec. 29, 2020
Genres: Mystery/Thriller
Pages: 352
Format: Paperback
Source: Poisoned Pen Press
Book Rating: 8/10
Could this be the bitter end for Everly?
It’s almost Halloween, and the small island of Charm, North Carolina is decked out for the festivities. When Everly Swan agrees to close her iced tea shop early to help her aunts host their annual haunted historic walking tour, she expects some good-natured spooks. But the night turns grave when one of the ghostly actors is found dead. To complicate matters, the victim scratched Everly’s name into the ground before she died, making her a key suspect.
The murder mystery heats up when Everly’s potential boo, Detective Grady, takes the case―and he definitely doesn’t want her getting involved. Will their seaside romance be threatened by all the ghostly drama? But when a phantom sailor straight out of local legend starts leaving Everly threatening messages, she has to get involved… With a local election under way, ghosts on the loose, and a search for long-lost buried treasure, Everly can’t help but stir the pot!
The fifth book in Bree Baker’s acclaimed Seaside Café Mystery series, Closely Harbored Secrets is a frighteningly fun read!
Review:
Cosy, entertaining, and atmospheric!
Closely Harbored Secrets is a whimsical, murder mystery set in Charm, North Carolina that features Everly Swan, a tea shop owner who after stumbling upon a murder victim lying on the sand during the annual historic haunted walk joins together with the handsome, reluctant, Detective Hays to try and solve this baffling case that seems to revolve around ancient maps, old legends, and long-lost treasure.
The writing style is light and witty. The characters are unique, impulsive, and endearing. And the plot is a well-paced whodunit full of amateur sleuthing, red herrings, suspects, deduction, attraction, community, scrumptious treats, and small-town living.
Closely Harbored Secrets is the fifth book in the Seaside Café Mystery series, and if you love cosy mysteries with a touch of romance this novel won’t disappoint. It is a quirky, enjoyable, fun read that is the first novel I’ve read by Baker but undoubtedly won’t be my last.
This novel is available now.
Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.
Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.