Play Book Tag discussion

I read cozy mysteries for their entertainment value ...


A Deadly Cliché – Ellery Adams
3***

Olivia Limoges and her Oyster Bay Writers group return for the second in a series. While walking her standard poodle, Captain Haviland, Olivia makes a grisly discovery – the decomposing body of a man buried in the sand. It’s a holiday weekend and Chief Sawyer Rawlings has no missing person reports that match the victim. But before he can be identified a series of burglaries captures the attention of the residents. The burglars not only take all the valuables, but they leave behind odd tableaus – a stick of butter with a knife in it, a deck of cards dealt for a hand of poker, etc. The members of the writers group recognize the clichés and begin to ferret out the possible connections between the burglaries and the body on the beach.

I like this series. I like Olivia’s independence and “get on with it” attitude. She has a crusty exterior, but frequently steps up to help those around her, sometimes anonymously. I also really like her relationship with her poodle, and that the dog is a dog (doesn’t help solve anything, unless he happens to bark at an intruder). Her relationships with the town’s residents are developing nicely in this second installment. She is definitely beginning to open up to the possibility of love and affection in her life. I thought the reveal was a little over-the-top, but I was still sufficiently entertained. There is a significant subplot involving her long-deceased father that I found distracting, unnecessary and implausible, but it’s a small part of the whole. I’ll keep reading the series.