Murder by the Seashore by Samara Yew

 Murder by the Seashore

Book Summary

Southern California is where dreams come true—or so Scarlett Gardner thought. When she moved there and opened the Palm Trees and Page Turners bookshop, she thought her boyfriend and business partner would be part of the story. When he leaves her for a better job, Scarlett finds herself struggling to keep her new business afloat. That’s not the only thing she has to worry about—she discovers something underneath the pier by her bookshop that she didn’t outline for her life’s story: the dead body of a book-buying customer.

After Scarlett gives a statement to the police, she thinks her life can go back to business as usual. But when a lawyer, representing someone named Lorelai Knight, tells Scarlett that she now stands to inherit a small fortune, she’s left with more questions than answers. Before she can make sense of any of it, the police bring her in for questioning; the body she found was Lorelai Knight. And the evidence they have against Scarlett doesn’t look good. Business is booming as Scarlett returns to Palm Trees and Page Turners, but for all the wrong reasons – curious tourists don’t want books, they want a glimpse of the Bookshop Killer.

Who could really be behind all of this? And why frame Scarlett? To clear her name, she’s going to have get creative—and hope she can remain one page ahead of the killer.

My Thoughts

Murder by the Seashore by Samara Yew is the debut of A California Bookshop Mysteries.  I thought Murder by the Seashore was a lighthearted cozy mystery.  Scarlett Gardner, a booklover, owns Palm Trees and Page Turners, a bookstore.  Scarlett went into the business with her boyfriend, but he ditched her and the business when a better opportunity came along.  She manages to keep the bookstore, but I am curious as to how Scarlett qualified for a bank loan (does not come from money, did not have a high paying job, no large inheritance, and she is not business savvy—I wonder if she has heard of a business plan).  Scarlett is struggling to manage the business side of the bookstore, but she loves helping patrons find books (wouldn’t it be prudent to hire a business manager or accountant, maybe take a night class).  With the bookstore being a new business, I am curious how Scarlett can afford a full-time employee and she plans to add a part-time one as well.  There are a variety of characters introduced.  I would like to see the main secondary characters fleshed out a bit more as well as Scarlett. 

The whodunit has Scarlett at the top of the suspect list (of course).  Scarlett clumsily investigates (imagine a bull in a china shop).  There are a limited number of suspects since the victim was visiting Oceanside.  Scarlett picked her suspects based on their dislike of her instead of how they felt about the victim.  The detective jumps to conclusions and zeros in on Scarlett based on circumstantial evidence.  It is a good thing that Scarlett’s roommate is a lawyer.  The whodunit is neatly wrapped up at the end.  The reveal had me rolling my eyes. I know I am in the minority regarding Murder by the Seashore, but I found it to be predictable with cliché characters and crime.  There is too much repetition.  I do not need the details of the crime repeated three, four, or five times.  The same can be said for information regarding the ex-boyfriend.  I mentioned a few inconsistencies regarding the business, and there were a couple of discrepancies concerning Scarlett’s inheritance.  The story was only two hundred and sixty pages long, but it felt longer.  I struggled to finish it.  Murder by the Seashore was not for me.  I wish the author had added something unique since I recently read a couple of cozies with the protagonist owning or opening a bookstore and driving a mini cooper.  While this cozy was not for me, I do suggest you download a sample to judge for yourself.  Murder by the Seashore is a casual cozy with a busy bookstore, a problem under the pier, unexpected news, a bothersome ex-boyfriend, a protective detective, and a lawyer for a roommate. 

Murder by the Seashore is available from Amazon*.  You can follow Samara Yew on Amazon and you will receive an email when she has a new book release.  Thank you for visiting today.  Tomorrow I am featuring A Nutcracker Nightmare by Christina Romeril.  It is the second A Killer Chocolate Mystery.   I hope that you have a calm day.  Take care and Happy Reading!

Kris

The Avid Reader 

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