I received this book for free from in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Murder at Pirate's Cove
by
Josh Lanyon
LGBT, mystery, amateur sleuth, cozy mystery in a Kindle edition that was published by JustJoshin Publishing Inc. on February 29, 2020 and has 240 pages.
Explore it on Goodreads or Amazon
Other books by this author which I have reviewed include Fatal Shadows, Death of a Pirate King, A Dangerous Thing, The Hell You Say, Dark Tide, Somebody Killed His Editor, Fair Play, Fair Chance, "So This is Christmas", Secret at Skull House, Footsteps in the Dark, Mystery at the Masquerade, The Dark Farewell, “A Funny Thing Happened . . .”, Murder Takes the High Road, Fair Game, Corpse at Captain's Seat, Scandal at the Salty Dog, Body at Buccaneer's Bay, Lament at Loon Landing, Death at the Deep Dive, The Boy With The Painful Tattoo
First in the Secrets and Scrabble cozy amateur sleuth mystery series and revolving around Ellery Page on an island off Rhode Island. I think it might be May in Pirate’s Cove.
My Take
It’s a Josh Lanyon! That means it’s fun, and yes, Ellery Page is a gay man, and it’s through his perspective in third person protagonist point-of-view that we view events.
He’s a sweetie who doesn’t particularly care for mysteries, and he’s overwhelmed with inheriting a bookstore that specializes in mysteries. But the boy is game to try, lol.
The one thing I’m not getting is with all this talk about finances being so dire, how does Ellery afford to do all that he’s, um, doing — fixing up the shop and the house, eating out?
Hmm, that Trevor Maples and Tommy Rider sound pretty suspicious.
Ellery’s “new” house sounds like fun with all those bedrooms, each with their own fireplace, trap doors, secret rooms . . .
There are misconceptions and possible scams everywhere, oops, I mean secrets. It’s murders, suicide, and frame-ups.
Nora makes a good point about old people being treated as though they’re on their way out.
While there is action, it’s mostly character interaction and Ellery’s thinking about his new life and how hot Chief Carson is.
The Story
The inheritance Ellery gets gives him a push to do something else with his life, and Ellery grabs onto it, having just ended a relationship.
He’s also getting some interesting offers: the pushy Trevor wants to buy the Crow’s Nest and Nora wants Ellery to hire her — she does know a lot about mysteries and Pirate Cove’s past.
It’s useful knowledge when people start getting murdered, a poison pen letter is delivered, the local paper is screaming viciously, and Ellery is worried about financial and social survival.
The Characters
Thirty-two-year-old Ellery Page is famous for small things: acting in a series of popular horror movies, screenwriting, a Scrabble champion, and being a model. His great-great-great-aunt Eudora Page, a hoarder, left him Captain’s Seat, a decrepit mansion built by Captain Horatio Page, a pirate hunter, in the 1700s, an ancient VW bug, and Crow’s Nest, a mystery bookstore located in Pirate’s Cove on Buck Island just off Rhode Island. George is Ellery’s beloved stepfather. Watson is the puppy Ellery almost hit.
Pirate’s Cove is . . .
. . . a small village that depends upon tourists. The gossipy Nora Sweeny is a retired (and bored) lady who runs the Pirate Cove Historical Society. Or what’s left of it. Cyrus Jones is the current mayor. Elsie is Cyrus’ tweenaged granddaughter coming to visit for the summer. Owned by Tom Tulley, the Salty Dog is a popular spot for drinks and meals. The Fish and Chippies are the house band at the Salty Dog.
Dylan Carter owns the Toy Chest next door to the bookshop and also rules the Scallywags, an amateur acting troupe. Out Damn Spot is good at cleaning things up and is co-owned by Dylan and his niece. Sandy Morita runs a small art gallery on the other side of the Crow’s Nest. Hardware and More is the only hardware store and one of the longest running businesses in the village. Sue Lewis is the nasty, vicious editor-in-chief for the Scuttlebutt Weekly, the local paper. Robertson’s Garage does towing and repairs. Nan Sweeny, Nora’s niece, runs the Seacrest Inn. Dr Vincent is a veterinarian; Imelda is his receptionist. The Monday Night Scrabblers is another social group. Thomasina “Tommy” Rider is the main real-estate agent in Pirate’s Cove, and she’s running for mayor. Ezra drives a taxi.
Chief Jack Carson heads up the tiny police department. His deputies include Officer Martin. Miles is a paramedic. Johnson is the fire chief.
Trevor Maples is a bigshot in Pirate’s Cove, and he really, really wants to buy Ellery out. He’s running for mayor and owns some of the most successful shops in the village, including Gimcrack Antiques and a bicycle rental shop. That braggart, Logan Maples, Trevor’s successful brother, works as director of sales for Aegis Futures.
Janet Maples is Trevor’s ex-wife; she owns Old Salt Stationery. Janet also once worked for the police department, as did Sue Lewis’ niece.
Jonas Landry is Aunt Eudora’s and Maples’ lawyer. Todd had been Ellery’s second love; Jerry had been Ellery’s best friend. Elinor Christmas had been pilfering. The Harmons lost their family dog. Tommy and Trevor got the Carmichael School, where the historical society had been established, condemned.
The Cover and Title
The cover is clear-cut with its ocean current background of blues in a gradient from dark to pale blue. At the very top is the author’s name in a pale yellow with the title immediately below it in a black-shadowed white. Slightly intersecting with the last word of the title is the bronzed hilt of a sword, blood dripping from it with the blade pointed down. At the bottom, crossing the blade is a vintage brown banner with the series info in brown.
The title is true, it’s Murder at Pirate’s Cove, only who truly did do it?
