Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Body at Buccaneer’s Bay
SERIES: Secrets and Scrabble
AUTHOR: Josh Lanyon
NARRATOR: Matt Haynes
PUBLISHER: JustJoshin Publishing
LENGTH: 6 hours and 15 minutes
RELEASE DATE: February 11, 2022
BLURB:
Dead men tell no tales.
Mystery Bookshop owner Ellery Page and Police Chief Jack Carson are diving for the legendary sunken pirate galleon Blood Red Rose when they discover an old-fashioned diver’s suit, water-damaged and encrusted with barnacles.
Further examination reveals the 19th-century suit contains a 21st-century body. Who is the mysterious diver? No one seems to be missing from the quaint and cozy town of Pirate’s Cove. Was he really diving for pirate’s gold? And if not, what exactly did he do to earn that bullet hole in his skull?
REVIEW:
NOTE: This is the fifth book in this series and contains spoilers for the previous books. Each story begins after the previous book and the characters and the relationships build from one book to the next. I recommend listening to them in order 🙂
Book five opens with Ellery and Jack going out on a diving trip. Jack loves to dive and Ellery is a good swimmer and now a competent diver. The next week is going to get really busy during the annual Regatta, so they go out to check out one of many shipwrecks. But when an unwelcome visitor causes them to duck out of harm’s way into a different wreck. While they wait it out, Ellery discovers an old diving suit. But when they bring the suit up, they discover a body inside. Just when the whole “Ellery always stumbles onto a murder” thing was starting to die down . . .
Meanwhile, Ellery has received another threatening anonymous note at the Crow’s Nest, the bookstore he’s inherited. Jack isn’t happy that Ellery hasn’t upgraded the security equipment at the store and doesn’t have cameras – or the case would be solved! But Ellery’s conserving any cash he has because the Captain’s Seat also needs a lot of work – none of which Ellery can really afford. And Jack’s already covered enough of his recent expenses.
The Regatta is about to kick off and Ellery’s mother and stepfather are visiting. Ellery’s mother, Talia Alexander, is a pretty famous actress and his stepfather, George Alexander is a director. They are a bit of a cause celebre with some of Ellery’s friends. They are eager to meet Jack, but Talia, Ellery’s mother doesn’t seem sold. George seems to really hit it off with Jack though 🙂
An opportunity arrives for Ellery to make some bank when Odette Wallace, the widow of an extremely wealthy man, hires him to look into the mysterious attempts on her life. Her dearly departed husband was a nasty little man by all accounts and his children have absolutely no love for Odette. In fact, they are convinced that their father didn’t die of suicide but was instead murdered by Odette because he had once again threatened to divorce her.
While Ellery is investigating, they Wallace children really do seem sincere in their belief that their father did not commit suicide. Ellery isn’t exactly thrilled with this line of investigation since Colby Wallace, aka Rowdy, had a past “history” with Jack – meaning they went to college together. Rowdy is the most convincing in the Odette blame game. But it still doesn’t make sense to Ellery that Odette would be able to pull it off. At the very least, she would have had to have help. But who? And what was the burglar looking for who has broken into Ellery’s home and business?
When there is another murder that hits the Wallace clan, Jack and the Pirate’s Cove PD are able to piece together the whole story. It’s clear who the real culprit was and is and this time Ellery was not the one to solve the case 😉 All in all, a busy week for the Regatta and all the good folks of Pirate’s Cove. Despite the drama and craziness, it even ends up a successful family visit for Ellery and his parents and Jack 😀
This series is so much fun! I really like Ellery and Jack. In this story, they continue to figure out how they will work as a couple. Jack still worries about Ellery – his past is his past and it will always affect him. He still has to learn to trust this with Ellery and determine how much he’s willing to risk being hurt again. Ellery is still working out how such a great guy wants to be with him. He’s also used to being on his own and chafes a bit at the sometimes heavy handedness that Jack seems to want to saddle him with. He does realize that it’s because Jack cares, but he also thinks Jack needs to give him more credit. They do disagree, but they are learning how to do that within their relationship. And there is a pretty big concession from Jack that makes it all worthwhile in the end. Between their relationship growth and the fact that Ellery is not the solver of the murder in this one, things end up a good place for them.
Matt Haynes continues to do a great job with this series. I absolute love his Watson bark 😛 His voices for all of the lovable characters of Pirate’s Cove are spot on and consistent. From Nora, Ellery’s Assistant manager, to the teens going off to college to the rest of the townsfolk, I love his choices. We get a lot of new characters here to and some great accents thrown in. I’m a really picky audiobook listener and I have to say that Matt Haynes is becoming a favorite. The emotional pitch of these characters – particularly Jack and Ellery as they are finding their way together as a couple is really pretty perfect. I can’t wait for the next book in this series and I hope it goes on for a long time! Cozy mystery and small town story lovers will really enjoy this one. Highly recommended.
Jack and Ellery spending more time together. Jack reluctantly letting Ellery into his space. Meeting the parents. Former aquaintance.
RATING: 
BUY LINKS:
Audible
Authors Direct