Review: Johnny Careless: A Novel by Kevin Wade

 

Jeep Mullane has seen more than a thing or two in his long law enforcement career. He is older, wiser, and far more jaded about people and the world as he comes back home to Long Island’s North Shore. Back in the day, he never did fit in as the son of a NYPD cop. Now he is the Bayville Police Chief and it is a personally brutal Sunday morning as Johnny Careless: A Novel by Kevin Wade begins.

 

The body on the shore is of a guy Jeep has known for decades. John “Johnny” Payson Chambliss, aka, Johnny Careless, is from a wealthy family. Jeep most certainly is not. They were running buddies in no small part because they both were the best on their elite league lacrosse team and tore it up on and off the lacrosse fields. They did a lot of things back in the day, not all of them good, and had a very tight bond.

 

Until they didn’t.

 

All these years later, and after very few conversations in between, Johnny is very much dead on the beach. Detective Ron Arbogast of the Nassau County PD is the lead and does not want Jeep and his people involved. Jeep isn’t going to let that happen. Especially when the good detective does not know the family, the ex-wife, or any of the history that Jeep does. Not only that, the good detective doesn’t see some obvious signs at the scene either. He isn’t necessarily a bad cop. He just doesn’t know the victim and he doesn’t see things as they are.

 

Jeep does and is soon fully involved in finding out what happened in an increasingly complicated case. It isn’t the only case he has either and the bosses aren’t happy with any of it.

 

Parlaying his extensive work on the CBS TV show, Blue Bloods, and a slew of contacts, Kevin Wade has created an incredible debut novel with Johnny Careless. Part police procedural, part homage to the perils and stupidity of youth, the book pulls the reader in quickly and does not let go.

 

As a standalone, the read is very good. As the foundation of a possible series, the read is very good. Amazon has it listed as the first book of the series, so I very much hope this is true. Either way, if you like police procedurals that have depth to the characters involved, this is one of those books you must read.

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3HwLKx4

 

 

Make sure you read Lesa’s review from earlier in the year. It is because of her review; I put the book on hold at the library.

 

My reading copy came by way of the North Oak Cliff Branch of the Dallas Public Library System.

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2025

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Review: Midnight Schemers & Daydream Believers: 22 Stories of Mystery and Suspense Editor Judy Penz Sheluk

 

After an introduction by author/editor/publisher Judy Penz Sheluk that explains the inspiration for the new anthology, Midnight Schemers & Daydream Believers: 22 Stories of Mystery and Suspense, it is on to the stories. All are good ones. Some resonated with me more than others. Some of those that struck me more are listed below. My personal choices do not mean that they are better than the others. They just clicked with me more.

 

It is also worth noting that I am one of those rare readers that does not dip in here and there in an anthology. I don’t chase friends or names I recognize. I read from front to back, as I do with a novel. It has always seemed to me that nearly every editor arranges the lineup of short stories in a certain way for a certain reason. Whom am I to defeat that idea by choosing my own path? So, the order below, as always, is the reading order I hit them as they appear in the book and nothing more at all.

 

“Big” John Warmer thinks he has a good system working in “Secretly Keith” by Charlie Kondek. Nick Papke and Rex are pretty sure they can rob the local bookie and get away with it. They have a plan and timing is everything.

 

Hallie writes memoirs and she is very good at it. This time the subject is a woman she has known, off and on, for two decades. They have a complicated past. Sylia Starr is going to be a difficult client in “A Talent for Fame” by Susan Daly.

 

They have a new guy and Michael has to take him out with the crew. Michael will do what the boss says as that is what is done. But, Frankie is going to be a problem. Michael is sure of it. Time will tell in “The Artist” by Linda Bennett.

 

Ellie knows how things are to be done in “Dinner at Angelo’s” by Julie Hastrup. Angelo, her father, sees here as a woman and nothing more. He only has eye for her brothers and has no idea what she does to keep the family, and their business, going.

 

The Oak Creek Retirement Home is a lie in so many ways. There is no creek. There is no oak. There is a crummy courtyard with a broken fountain. The staff, such as it is, are worthless. That means several seniors can, and do, pull off a great escape in “Evening Escapade” by KM Rockwood. Once out, things get very complicated.

 

Hopper McTaggert is about to retire from the FBI. His career is going to go out on a whimper. Unless the tip proves out and he can arrest Alfonso Ancona in “Hopscotch & Pop Tart” by Clark Boyd.

 

After spending 420 days in the Brockville Jail, Mikey has a new skill. He also has plans in “Ticket Out” by Jim McDonald.

 

Ripping off others is also the idea behind the next story, “Ghost Wolves” by Peggy Rothaschild. Finding a dead body in the house was absolutely not part of the plan.

 

Shea died two months ago. There was a funeral and everything. But, she is now back and needs help in “Friendship never Dies” by Beth Irish.  

 

Agatha has a plan and the disguises to pull it off in “Secret’s Unleashed” by Gina X. Grant. But, like all plans, her plan required other people to do their expected part. The human element is screwing her up and there is too much at stake to back out now.

 

While these ten stories were my personal favorites, all the stories in the anthology are solidly good. Plenty is going on in each tale. Misdirection is a theme in many of the tales as well. The result makes Midnight Schemers & Daydream Believers: 22 Stories of Mystery and Suspense a highly entertaining read.

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3FP1evX

 

 

In the interests of fair disclosure, a digital ARC of the read was provided by author/editor/publisher Judy Penz Sheluk with no expectation of a review. I have a standing policy not to review works that I have a story in as I have always felt it a conflict of interest to do so. My submission was quickly rejected as the stories were cut down from eighty submissions, so I was free to read and review the book.

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2025

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Paula Messina Reviews: The Finisher by Peter Lovesey

  

Please welcome back Paula Messina to the blog today…

 

 

 

The Finisher

by Paula Messina

 

In The Finisher, the nineteenth installment in the Peter Diamond Investigation series, Peter Lovesey weaves sexual depravity, human trafficking, and a half marathon into an entertaining mystery that keeps the reader guessing until the end.

Lovesey fills his story with a cornucopia of characters. First, there’s Diamond himself, a likable if irritable character with a penchant for making and finding trouble. Among the suspects: Maeve Kelly, who is not an athlete, or so her mother insists. When Maeve accidentally destroys a valuable Toby jug marked for donation to the British Heart Foundation, she feels obligated to train for the Other Half, Bath’s annual half marathon. To her surprise, she has no trouble finding generous sponsors for BHF. Maeve cannot back out. She has to finish the race, so she starts training. Her fellow teacher, the athletic Trevor, provides Maeve with advice, advice she is glad to do without. While running, Maeve hears cries for help and comes to the aid of Olga, a Russian who was beaten and robbed. This chance encounter blossoms into a close friendship.

Meanwhile, Albanians Spiro and Murat are on the run after they escape the Finisher, the enforcer of human trafficking victims. Spiro and Murat will pay with their lives if the Finisher finds them. The Finisher has already killed and won’t hesitate to do it again. The day of the race, Spiro believes there is safety in the Other Half crowds. He quickly realizes that was wishful thinking.

Spiro isn’t the only one who encounters danger at the half marathon. Twelve years before, Diamond helped put sexual predator Tony Pinto behind bars for viciously attacking a woman. When he spots Pinto in the pack of runners, Diamond realizes the long stretch up the river didn’t cured Pinto’s predilections. Pinto is up to his old tricks harassing runner Belinda Pye. When Belinda goes missing, Diamond is convinced Pinto killed her and organizes a search for her body. Diamond’s instincts are on the money. A body is discovered in one of Bath’s many abandoned quarries.

Lovesey is great at surprising his reader. Just when the reader thinks he knows where the story is going, Lovesey pulls the old switcheroo and yanks the reader in an unexpected direction. He also employs subtle humor throughout. Lovesey is no slouch in the breathless prose department. For example, here’s the novel’s opening:

“The city of Bath isn’t all about Roman plumbing and Georgian architecture.

“It offers unrivaled facilities for getting rid of unwanted corpses. Beneath the cream, sun-kissed squares, crescents and terraces is a rat-infested underworld undreamed of by most visitors, a dark, dank warren of cellars, vaults, culverts, sewers and drains.”

It’s easy to imagine the inestimable Charles Dickens giving Lovesey a thumbs up.

Bath is as much as character as Diamond and the rest of the cast. Maeve’s training takes the reader on the ups and downs of Bath’s terrain. Diamond’s search for Belinda descends into Bath’s abandoned stone quarries.

The cover of The Finisher, which was published in 2020, notes “fifty years of Peter Lovesey mysteries.” The author blurb says he wrote “forty highly praised mystery novels.” The number of books now is closer to fifty. The masterful, wry Lovesey, who received numerous awards and recognition, including being named Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America, died this past April, but Peter Diamond lives. As do nearly fifty more novels for readers to savor. 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link:  https://amzn.to/4mFezaK 

 

Paula Messina ©2025

Paula Messina is a native New Englander who writes contemporary, historical, and humorous fiction as well as essays. Her work has appeared in such publications as Black Cat Weekly, Devil’s Snare, Wolfsbane, Ovunque Siamo, and THEMA. She does not own a cat.

Markets and Jobs for Writers 6/9/2025

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Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: Brittle Karma by Richard Helms

 

Richard Helms is a retired forensic psychologist turned college professor turned full time writer. He has written more than two dozen novels and many short stories. His books have been nominated eight times for the Private Eye Writers of America Shamus Award, winning the award for Brittle Karma in 2021. He has also won the Short Mystery Fiction Society Derringer Award, the Killer Nashville Silver Falchion, the Macavity, the ITW Thriller Award, and the Shamus.

His series characters include San Francisco private investigator Eamon Gold, forensic psychologist and jazz musician Pat Gallegher in New Orleans, North Carolina police chief Judd Wheeler, and former Charleston police detective and private investigator Whitlock.

Eamon Gold, a contemporary private investigator in San Francisco, has appeared in four books so far; the fifth is expected to be released in 2026. In Brittle Karma (Barbadoes Hall, 2020) Gold is approached by a potential new client: Abner Carlisle has been recently released from prison after a 30-year stay for his part in an armored car heist that yielded $20 million, more than $49 million in 2025. He is looking for the surviving member of the gang, Eddie Rice, who escaped capture and was supposed to hold the take for everyone else. As might be expected, Rice vanished along with the money.

Gold isn’t interested in working for Carlisle. He strongly suspects that Carlisle plans to retrieve the money from Rice and then administer a bullet or two. Gold refers him to another local PI and forgets about it until a local homicide detective tells him Carlisle’s body was found in a low-rent hotel room. Rice is the obvious suspect but no one knows where he is, what he has been doing for the past 20 years, or even what he looks like.

Gold is curious enough to ask a few questions and learns that the insurance company paid the claim on the lost money long ago but would be happy to accept any of it that Gold might be able to locate, less of course a finder’s fee. Money is always nice of course so Gold undertakes a search in earnest, encountering a range of well-rounded characters such as the hard-drinking wife of a City supervisor, an elderly elementary school lunch lady living in a high-end retirement community with all expenses paid, and a retired Army Ranger serving as a prominent mobster’s bodyguard. The compulsive car thief who steals Gold’s ride is my favorite.

The plot is outstanding; a tightly integrated story line yields a completely unexpected solution. The writing is reminiscent of the early Nameless Detective stories by Bill Pronzini, who also made San Francisco his beat. Fans of Spenser, Elvis Cole, and Nameless will want to look at Eamon Gold’s adventures.

 

·         Publisher: Barbadoes Hall Communications (November 14, 2020)

·         Language: ‎English

·         Paperback: ‎267 pages

·         ISBN-10: ‎097101597X

·         ISBN-13: ‎978-0971015975

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4ebZiKZ

 

 

Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2025

 

Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.

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Guest Post: Making a Return Visit by donalee Moulton

  

Please welcome back donalee Moulton  to the blog today as she follows up on her post last Sunday, The Anthology Advantage, with additional thoughts about her presence in the upcoming new anthology, Midnight Schemers & Daydream Believers: 22 Stories of Mystery & Suspense, as well as other tales. Published by Superior Shores Press, edited by Judy Penz Sheluk, the book comes out on June 18^th.

 

 

                            

                              Making a Return Visit by donalee Moulton

 

          On June 18^th the anthology Midnight Schemers & Daydream Believers: 22 Stories of Mystery & Suspense will be available on store shelves, virtual and otherwise. Nestled in those 301 pages, you’ll meet private detective E.M. Montgomery. (You have to guess what the E.M. stands for.)

Em, as she’s known to friends and family, has now made an appearance in six short stories. This is both deliberate and inadvertent. She is continuing a trend that started with my first mystery short story—and taking it much, much further.

A few years ago, the Crime Writers of Canada put out a call for an anthology to celebrate their fortieth anniversary. The theme was cold in the broadest sense. I took the easy route and opted for sub-zero temperatures. My story, “Swan Song,” is set in Iqaluit in the Canadian arctic. Here temperatures often drop below zero. Fahrenheit.

Three judges commented on each entry, and all three remarked on how much they liked to read a story set in place they didn’t know much about. I knew a little about Iqaluit having worked there as a consultant over a period of five years. It occurred to me, and several of the people who read “Swan Song,” that fictional police chief Doug Brumal might have more than one case to solve. When I went to write my second short story, “Troubled Water,” I returned to Doug and the Iqaluit Constabulary.

And now there’s Em, a private detective in Halifax Nova Scotia. A call went out for humorous mystery stories, and I decided to create a new character and my first PI. In that story Em solves the murder of man who is an avid birder. Em starts her own life list, and each story is named after a bird including “Zebra Finch,” and “Belted Kingfisher.” (In Midnight Schemers, the title has been changed to more closely reflect the theme of the collection.)

I’ve discovered that bringing back characters lets you explore that character more as a person with peccadillos and personality, and not simply a means to solve a crime. It also means their friends, family, colleagues, and other human (and non-human) adjacents make return visits. A small world begins to grow one short story at a time.

In Em’s case, she’s coming back in a big way. I have a contract to write Cardinal, my first paranormal mystery. It’s part of a cross-Canada series, and Em is making her inaugural appearance as the main character in a book.

I can’t predict what characters will come back to life. They seem to dictate their own comings and goings. I now have three stories featuring a retired lawyer in New Orleans who sells sex toys. She’ll be back. I just had a story accepted featuring a student at the College of the Atlantic in Maine. It’s unlikely she’ll ever solve a second crime. I have no idea why.

But I’ve learned to listen. They’ll let me know if their work is not done. 

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/42q3oLc

 

donalee Moulton ©2025

donalee Moulton is the author of Hung out to Die, Conflagration!, and has two new books coming out in 2025, Bind and Melt, the first in a new series, the Lotus Detective Agency. A short story “Swan Song” was one of 21 selected for publication in Cold Canadian Crime. It was shortlisted for an Award of Excellence. Other short stories have been published in numerous anthologies and magazines. donalee is an award-winning freelance journalist. She has written articles for print and online publications across North America including The Globe and Mail, Chatelaine, Lawyer’s Daily, National Post, and Canadian Business.

Lesa's Book Critiques: Kevin’s Corner Annex – Half Crime by Rusty Barnes

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KRL Update 6/7/2025

Up on KRL this week a review and giveaway of "Bait and Swiss" by Korina Moss https://kingsriverlife.com/06/07/bait-and-swiss-by-korina-moss/

And the latest Mystery Coming Attractions from Victoria Fair https://kingsriverlife.com/06/07/mystery-coming-attractions-june-2025/

 

And a review and giveaway of "Return to Sender" the latest Longmire mystery by Craig Johnson https://kingsriverlife.com/06/07/return-to-sender-by-craig-johnson/

 

We also have a review of the new vampire fantasy novel "The Lightslayer" Book 1 in the Everdusk series by TikTok sensation Jack Townson. We also are giving away a $5 Amazon gift card, and we have a very interesting interview with Jack. If you love vampires and fantasy don't miss this one! For our mystery readers, there's also mystery and intrigue in the book https://kingsriverlife.com/06/07/the-lightslayer-by-jack-townson/

 

Up during the week we posted another special midweek guest post, this one by mystery author W. Kenneth Tyler Jr. where he talks about his writing process and about his new book "Hunting the Red Fox" https://kingsriverlife.com/06/04/how-to-write-a-book/

 

Up on KRL News and Reviews this week we have a review and ebook giveaway of "#Throwback for Murder" by Sarah Burr https://www.krlnews.com/2025/06/throwback-for-murder-by-sarah-e-burr.html

 

And a review and giveaway of "The Case of the Unfortunate Fortune Teller" by Cathy Ace https://www.krlnews.com/2025/06/the-case-of-unfortunate-fortune-teller.html

 

And review and giveaway of "The Web of Time" a fantasy novel by Flavia Brunetti https://www.krlnews.com/2025/06/the-web-of-time-by-flavia-brunetti.html

 

Happy reading,

Lorie 

Dru's Book Musings: New Releases ~ Week of June 8, 2025

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FFB Review: Charlie-316 by Colin Conway and Frank Zafiro

 

From the archive and the first book in a very good series…

 

Officer Tyler Garrett is on routine patrol on a Sunday night in East Central Spokane as Charlie-316 begins. A diverse area with an increasingly significant Russian immigrant presence, it is a quiet, but hot August night. Officer Garrett rolls along with his windows open so that he can hear the neighborhood and is looking forward to an upcoming break. Everything is as it should be until a Chrysler 300 with front end damage shoots out of a street in front of him, whips into a turn cutting off another driver, and takes off. With nearby citizens watching, Officer Tyler Garrett has no choice but to forget about his planned break and begin pursuit.

 

The pursuit is a short one as the driver soon pulls over and then quickly gets out of his car.  He begins to aggressively confront Officer Garrett before seemingly to go for a weapon. At the same time, Officer Garret’s his car window shatters and he realizes he faces a second threat from the nearby vacant house.

 

Officer Garrett has been ambushed and he reacts by firing back at both targets. He takes down the driver and then focuses his attention on the house. Despite his SWAT training and the fact he should wait for the coming backup, he charges the house fully prepared to deal with the second threat.

 

A threat he can’t find. The house is vacant with no sign of any shooter or shooters. Not only can he not find whoever was firing from the house, as backup arrives, he can’t find any sign of a weapon on or near the deceased driver. A driver that it appears was also shot in the back.

 

Any officer would know that such a situation, at best, is a career disaster. As happens in the real world all the time, in the fictional world of Charlie-316 written by Colin Conway and Frank Zafiro, such an event is a powder keg for a city and a disaster for the officer involved. In this case, an African American officer shot and killed an apparently unarmed white civilian. A public relations disaster for the police department, the mayor, and numerous others unfolds as an investigation commences into what exactly happened that night.

 

Part police procedural and part thriller, Charlie-316 by Colin Conway and Frank Zafiro is an intense read. While it clearly has a “ripped from the headlines” style to it, there are plenty of twists and turns that elevate the book far above the usual such fare. Complex with gritty multi-dimensional characters in a tale where nearly everyone has a secret agenda, Charlie-316 is one heck of a good read. 

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/41upYAv

 

 

 

Mr. Zafiro provided a digital ARC with no expectation of my reading it or a review.

 

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2019, 2025 

Lesa's Book Critiques: What Are You Reading?

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SleuthSayers: In Pod We Trust

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Trace Evidence: Never a Dull Moment (by G. Miki Hayden)

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Dark City Underground: Booked (and Printed) May 2025

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Beneath the Stains of Time: Obelists en Route (1934) by C. Daly King

Beneath the Stains of Time: Obelists en Route (1934) by C. Daly King: C. Daly King was an American psychologist and mystery writer best remembered today for his Trevis Tarrant series of short stories, collected...

George Kelly: WEDNESDAY’S SHORT STORIES #227: MILES, MYSTERY & MAYHEM By Lois McMaster Bujold

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Mystery File: Impossible Crime Stories I’m Reading: WILLIAM BRITTAIN “The Zaretski Chain.”

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Jerry's House of Everything: SHORT STORY WEDNESDAY: A BAR CALLED CHARLIE'S

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Patricia Abbott: Short Story Wednesday: "The Terrapin" Patricia Highsmith

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Little Big Crimes: Home to Roost, by Holly Schofield

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Short Story Wednesday Review: The Case of the Nameless Diablo, Cowboy Crooner: A Nameless, Texas Mystery by Bobbi A. Chukran

 

From the archive…

 

The Case of the Nameless Diablo, Cowboy Crooner: A Nameless, Texas Mystery, introducing Rory Rogers, P. I., by Bobbi A. Chukran has a lot going on in this short story that is also a very good cozy style read.

 

Aurora “Rory” Rogers is in her 50s, widowed, and is the only private investigator for miles around Nameless, Texas. Hurricane Harvey has just stomped through kicking the heck out of the Texas coast and the effects are also felt 175 miles in land in Nameless where the normal heat and humidity of summer has been made worse by the massive rains. Rory is working in her office in a building that also houses her small apartment. Her place is across the street from the Sheriff’s Office and a block up from the train station and freight yard. She has a Mexican restaurant next door and a BBQ place nearby by.

 

For once she has some money in the bank, lunch was good, and she a new book to read. It should be a quiet relaxing afternoon with nothing on the agenda. That is until a man exits from his old pickup and comes into her office. Rory does not much care for walk-ins and for good reason.

 

He is a prospective client and comes by way of an attorney that she has worked for before. “Darlene” has been stolen from his truck. Darlene is a guitar that his grandfather made back in the 50s. It has been through some things in the decades since and generates a sound that can’t be duplicated. While it may not be worth a lot money wise, it means everything to him, and he wants Darlene back.

 

The theft may or may not have anything to do with a recent situation. All he knows is that he has a show coming up and he needs Darlene. Without getting his name, Rory takes the case and the hunt is on for the missing guitar.

 

A lot is going on in The Case of the Nameless Diablo, Cowboy Crooner: A Nameless, Texas Mystery introducing Rory Rogers, P. I. by Bobbi A. Chukran. A lot of backstory regarding Rory is weaved into the highly entertaining tale as the author avoids info dumping as well as slowing the pace of the read. A fun and fast paced mystery short story well worth your time. 

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/43YCkTU

 

 

I picked this up to read and possible review after the author announced its publication on the Short Mystery Fiction Society list. At that time in late April 2020, it was a free read.

 

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2020, 2025

Lesa's Book Critiques: Kevin’s Corner Annex – Scattered, Smothered, Covered & Chunked

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The First Two Pages: “Making Up for Lost Time” by C.W. Blackwell

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Publication Day Review: Sex and Death on the Beach: A Florida Beach Mystery by Elaine Viets

 

Sex and Death on the Beach: A Florida Beach Mystery is the first book in a new cozy mystery series by Elaine Viets. Filled with a host of colorful and eccentric characters, a great setting, a couple of mysteries, and plenty of humor, the result is a really good and highly entertaining cozy style mystery. All too soon the read is over leaving one wanting more.

 

Norah McCarthy owns and operates the apartment building known to all as “The Florodora.” Inherited from her grandmother, Norah keeps the traditions surrounding the building alive and well. This happens even though developers want the place and there are issues with upkeep of the building and the grounds. The place is over one hundred years old. That means history is everywhere inside and outside of the building. Located in Peerless Point, Florida, a beach town between Fort Lauderdale and Miami, the place is full of a cast of characters who are renters and also family.

 

History is important and part of everything at The Florodora, but the kind of history that has been just uncovered is the kind of history that Norah McCarthy could really do without. The pool is broken. Again. The Sykes brothers have been using a mini excavator to tear up the courtyard so that they can get to the pipe problem. Again. They still have not gotten to the pipe, but the work is done for now.

 

They have found a buried body.

 

All indications are that the body is of Sammie Lant. A notorious porn star who had recently been riding a wave of publicity built on her riding a certain college athlete on the beach. The video went viral and the public went crazy.

 

She also had tried to rent an apartment at The Florodora only to have Nora McCarthy emphatically tell her no. Sammie had tried again two more times and had gotten nastier each time. The last time, back in April five months ago, the two women had a very loud and very public argument which had resulted in the police being called. Eventually, a local cop, Jordan DeMille, escorted Sammie off the property as Sammie loudly complained that Norah had threatened her life.

 

She had.

 

Now Sammie lies dead in a hole near the pool at The Florodora. As it happens, the same cop who heard Norah threaten Sammie months ago is a Detective. Norah, who is worried that one of her residents might have done the dead, never thought of herself as a suspect. In the eyes of Detective Jordan Demille and other members of the Peerless Point Police, she most definitely is a suspect. Not the only one, but a suspect of significant importance.

 

Now Sammie is dead and buried on her property and that is a huge problem. If only Liam and Lester hadn’t found the body. But, they did, and the media is soon all over everything and hounding residents. With things getting worse by the hour and day, and DeMille and crew seemingly focused on her, it isn’t surprising that Norah starts investigating as best as she can. The goal, with a little help from her friends, is to clear her good name and restore peace and tranquility for all at The Florodora.

 

Way easier said than done.

 

Sex and Death on the Beach: A Florida Beach Mystery is a highly entertaining cozy mystery read. Plenty of eccentric characters, a complicated backstory, and lots of action and suspense make the read a real page turner. This fast read with plenty of humor hooks the reader into various mysteries, past and present, and gradually reveals them all. Strongly recommended.

 

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4533dqT

 

 

Published by Severn House, I picked up my reading copy via NetGalley without any expectation of a review. I went and got the book last week after I read the guest post by Elaine Viets for my blog where she provided the first chapter. 

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2025