Tuesday, December 28, 2010

A Killer Plot by Ellery Adams


Title: A Killer Plot
Author: Ellery Adams
ISBN: 9780425235225
Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime, 2010
Mass Market Paperback, 320 pages
Genre: Cozy Mystery, Amateur Sleuth, #1 Books By the Bay mystery
Rating: B
Source: Paperback Swap

First Line: Two of Oyster bay's lifelong citizens were in line at the Stop 'n' Shop, gossiping over carts stuffed with frozen entrees, potato chips, boxes of Krispy Kremes, and liters of soda when Olivia Limoges breezed through the market's automatic doors.

Olivia is no stranger to gossip-- she's been its regular subject ever since she came back to town. Preferring her own company and that of her dog, Captain Haviland, to most townspeople, she works on her novel in solitude. Writer Camden Ford has to turn on all his charm, but he finally gets Olivia to agree to join the Bayside Book Writers group. Just when she seems on the verge of making new friends, people begin turning up dead with poems left by the bodies. Anyone with the gift of language becomes suspect, and it's up to Olivia to catch the killer before she meets a poem with her name on it.

There seems to be more and more cozy mystery series using the North Carolina coast as a setting, and I don't mind a bit. This first entry in the Books By the Bay series has so much to recommend it.

I loved Captain Haviland, the black standard poodle. So many people only know poodles from seeing them in the show ring, and I for one can testify that you don't have to keep them groomed in those ridiculous styles-- plus they're some of the most intelligent dogs on the planet. (Yes, I'm a former poodle owner!)

I also loved the new bookstore in town, Through the Wardrobe, and really enjoyed the secondary characters. Olivia proved to be a fascinating main character. She's used to having money and spending it, so it was interesting to see how she used it in her own small hometown which relies so heavily upon tourism. So much of the time she was very prickly and aloof which made it difficult to warm up to her, but she's an onion that has to be peeled back a layer at a time. The more she interacts with the other characters, the more approachable she's going to get.

I'm going to enjoy peeling back those layers as this series progresses!


5 comments:

  1. oooh I found this one at my library and brought it home but was considering taking it back unread (due to, you know, too many books to read). You have convinced me to read it before taking it back :)

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  2. Books by the Bay series?! I am sold - just by the title :)

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  3. I would buy this one just for the cover, lol. Plus, it combines two loves -- dogs and books/bookstores.

    Hope you enjoy your New Year:)

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  4. I loved this one! It was gratifying to see Olivia's growth as a character and I too look forward to the next one in the series.

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  5. Bernadette-- Oh no--the pressure! ;) I hope you have the same reaction to it that I did, although I have to be honest and say that, with what's going on in my life right now, I'm reading a great number of cozies, and it may have turned my mind!

    Molly-- I have to admit that this is one of the reasons I chose the book to read! LOL

    TBG-- Berkley Prime Crime always has the best covers. Happy New Year to you!

    Kaye-- I agree, it was good to see Olivia change once she'd made the effort to get out and about with other people.

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