Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Death at the Deep Dive
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:
We only see the things on the surface….
When Pirate Cove’s favorite—and only—mystery bookshop owner and sometimes-amateur sleuth Ellery Page discovers a vintage diving collection bag full of antique gold coins tucked away for safe keeping in the stockroom of the Crow’s Nest, it sets off a series of increasingly dangerous events, culminating in murder.
REVIEW:
NOTE: This is the seventh 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 🙂
Ellery is hoping for some peace and quiet and time spent not doing renovations with his boyfriend, Jack, who is also the Chief of Police. Since inheriting Brandon, his former boyfriend’s estate, he now has the cash to work on the renovations to the his home, The Captain’s Seat. He’s also been able to hire extra help at his bookstore, the Crow’s Nest. But when he discovers a missing dive bag full of what look to be actual pirate’s treasure in his stockroom, it seems the mystery of what ever happened to Vernon Shandy resurfaces. And Vera “Grams” Shandy very much wants Ellery to look into it.
Needless to say, Jack is less than thrilled for Ellery to be poking around in another murder mystery – even if it is a “cold case”. Of course the Silver Sleuths book club has to get involved too. Vera provides a list of suspects, but Ellery is surprised by some of the names. He definitely would like to know what happened – but Vernon disappeared in 1963 and many of the people who would potentially have any knowledge or were witnesses are dead. That’s not going to stop Ellery and the Silver Sleuths though. When a fresh murder occurs, it’s clear that Ellery is getting close – maybe too close – to discovering what really happened to Vernon Shandy.
Ellery also gets another interesting offer that he’s not sure what he should do about. The money on the table would give him some cushion on both the house reno and the bookstore during the off-season. But he’s worried that it might cause issues in his relationship with Jack. He doesn’t want to jeopardize what he’s building in Pirate’s Cove.
This is such a fun series of cozy mysteries set in this small island town. I really love Ellery and Jack together. Ellery really doesn’t want anything to come between him and Jack. Jack is finally resigned to the fact that Ellery is never going to ignore a good mystery. The pirate’s treasure is just the beginning of the mysteries in this one and I loved how Ellery was able to find out more about his ancestor during his sleuthing. This little town has a lot going on. Nora Sweeney, Ellery’s assistant Manager at the Crow’s Nest and The Silver Sleuths book club continue to entertain, although they weren’t too helpful in solving this murder in the end – not that it mattered 😉 There are also some interesting new developments with Sue Lewis, editor of the Scuttlebutt Weekly who has had Ellery in her sights since he moved to Buck Island. Ellery’s house may or may not be haunted, and oh yeah, Jack has something he keeps trying to tell Ellery but they keep getting interrupted. The plot thickens!
Matt Haynes does his usual great job performing this story. I love his voice choices for all the characters in this series. Nora, Sue, Jack, Ellery – all consistent and spot on and just as I picture them. Watson and his ‘arfing’ are along for the ride again as well causing some trouble for Ellery and Jack along the way while being adorable still. The villains of the piece and the rather colorful characters/suspects are interesting and the surprise, anger and bravado of these characters make the story that much more interesting to listen to. I always look forward to each new episode of this series and I particularly love listening to the audios for another level of enjoyment. Highly recommended.
RATING: 
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