Much Ado About Nauticaling

A sister and brother running a tourist operation off the California coast get dragged into the undertow of a murder investigation.

Santa Catalina Island is an idyllic Pacific paradise—one that was fondly frequented by former corporate businesswoman, Whitney “Whit” Dagner, and her brother, Nick, who return to the island to take over “Nautically Yours,” a tourist operation once run by their grandparents. The duo conducts popular glass bottom boat tours and also operate a quaint gift shop. But when a dead body emerges--a strangled corpse is spotted during one of the boat tours and is later identified as belonging to a wealthy and powerful (albeit shady) local businessman--the once heavenly vacation destination turns into a hellacious crime scene. Matters grow even more grave when the investigation points to Nick--who had an ax to grind with the deceased--as prime suspect. This sets Whitney on a quest to clear suspicions about her brother and root out the real killer.

 

A well-drawn cast of memorable characters—along with a cuddly cat, the spirited pull and tug of romance and surprising twists and turns--deepen the appeal of this swimmingly bright and breezy first cozy mystery by Gabby Allan.

 

Much Ado About Nauticaling (A Whit and Whiskers Mystery: Book One) by Gabby Allan

Kensington Cozies, $15.95 paperback, 9781496731067, 256 pages

Publication Date: July 27, 2021

To order this book on INDIEBOUND, link HERE

Summertime Guests

A probing, suspenseful drama where strangers at a posh hotel reflect on their lives after a jarring sudden death.

 

Wendy Francis (Best Behavior) delivers a smart, probing drama that skillfully unravels the complex emotional lives of an ensemble cast in Summertime Guests, a novel set one weekend in June at a posh hotel on the North Shore of Boston.

Legendary elegance is the hallmark of The Seafarer, a famous, historic hotel. After a major renovation, the landmark destination reopens under the management of workaholic, 39-year-old Parisian, Jean-Paul, who has a wife and new baby he is woefully neglecting. There are 250 rooms at The Seafarer. However, Francis narrows her focus on only a handful of guests: Riley and Tom, a young, Midwestern couple planning a wedding at the establishment are challenged by the overbearing expectations of the mother-of-the-groom. Widowed Rhode Island journalist Claire O’Dell, age 61, checks into the hotel to take a breather. Claire wrote a provocative article about a local politician with mob ties, and her newspaper suggests she take some time off. Claire uses the opportunity to reconnect with an old flame who lives near Boston. And then there is a 30something couple: Gwen, a teaching assistant, who treats her beau, Jason, an adjunct professor, to a weekend birthday get-away in the hope of healing their fraught relationship. Emotional, personal complications abound and deepen as the lives of these strangers are affected when a woman plunges to her death from a hotel balcony. 

 

The subsequent investigation into the mysterious sudden death makes for a reflective, deeply engaging and suspenseful story with many threads sure to ensnare the attention of rapt readers.

Summertime Guests: A Novel by Wendy Francis

Graydon House, $16.99 paperback, 9781525895982, 320 pages

Publication Date: March 9, 2021

To order this book on INDIEBOUND, link HERE

NOTE: This review is a reprint and is being posted with the permission of Shelf Awareness. To read this review on Shelf Awareness: Reader's Edition (April 9, 2021), link HERE