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Mystery at the Masquerade
by
Josh Lanyon
LGBT, amateur sleuth, cozy mystery in a Kindle edition that was published by JustJoshin Publishing Inc. on February 28, 2021 and has 294 pages.
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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", Murder at Pirate's Cove, Secret at Skull House, Footsteps in the Dark, 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
Third in the Secrets and Scrabble LGBTQ cozy mystery series and revolving around Ellery Page, a bookseller — and amateur sleuth. The focus is on Ellery and the prestigious masquerade with the story set in Pirate’s Cove on Buck Island in Rhode Island.
My Take
Between owning a bookstore and needing to renovate Captain’s Seat, I’m loving this series — all the fun of fixing up a beautiful old house. It does help that Jack used to work for his father’s construction company . . . since Jack has volunteered to help Ellery with the work.
Poor Ellery. That inheritance did come at a pivotal time in his life, but it’s no sinecure. I had to love how Lanyon described the bookstore as “a haunted warehouse full of cobwebs, moldering books, and dusty bric-a-brac. Oh, and the odd lethal weapon.
Lanyon gives an interesting bit of back history on the founding of Pirate’s Cove as a “proper” town as well as a bit on the village’s tunnels.
Ellery gets asked to be Mr April; he’ll be replacing Brett Ainsley. That boy sounds like he’s needs being replaced! Mystery at the Masquerade takes us a little deeper into the life of one family in particular in Pirate’s Cove.
Part of the “cozy” is Jack Carson who pays attention and really cares about his community. Naturally, all the connections Ellery makes in the village also add to it along with the anxious Watson.
Ohhh, “when people truly care for each other, you can see it. It shows in little ways and big ways.” How can you not love that? Love’s path is rocky, especially when one of them doesn’t want to be attracted. It’s a choice of equilibrium or joy.
My one quibble is “great-great-great aunt”? She wasn’t that old!? That or the Page side of the family got busy early in their lives. Oy.
Lanyon uses third person protagonist point-of-view from Ellery’s perspective, so we know everything he knows, feels, and thinks.
The Story
Taken by surprise, Ellery receives one of those coveted invitations to the Mystery Masquerade. Well, as Nora tells him, he is a celebrity.
It seems that the mystery-loving Julian Bloodworth is very attracted to Ellery, and since his and Jack’s confrontation at the Brabys’, well, Ellery is open to romance.
The Characters
Ellery Page, an actor (as Elliot Parker, he played Noah in the B-movie series), a model, a writer, and now the owner of a mystery bookshop, the Crow’s Nest. He had inherited it along with Captain’s Seat, the Dutch Renaissance-style mansion built by his ancestor Captain Horatio Page, a pirate hunter, as well as an old VW bug from his great-great-great-aunt Eudora. Watson is Ellery’s six-month-old black spaniel-mix puppy whom he rescued in Murder at Pirate’s Cove, 1. Nora Sweeney, a retired mystery-loving woman, is Ellery’s only employee, and she has some brilliant ideas as well as being tied into the best gossip. Rupert is the skeleton in the shop. George is Ellery’s mother’s second husband.
The Silver Sleuths Book Club includes Mrs Clarence (she loves spy and espionage), Mrs Nelson, and Stanley Starling.
Jack Carson is the police chief for Pirate’s Cove; he used to be a homicide detective with the LAPD. Hannah had been Jack’s pregnant wife. His men include Officers Martin and Battye and Detective Lansing.
The Scallywags are a local amateur theater guild started in 1898 and led by Dylan Carter, its theater director, who owns the Toy Chest, next door to Ellery’s shop and Ellery’s best friend in Pirate’s Cove.
The Marauder’s Masquerade is the most prestigious and biggest social event of the season, hosted at Bloodworth Manor, a.k.a. House of Blood, by Marguerite, a.k.a. the Pirate’s Granddaughter, who is married to Brett Ainsley, her second husband and a big wheel in finance. The emotionally unstable Julian Bloodworth is Marguerite’s son; his father had been Amory Bloodworth. Thomas Bloodworth, a.k.a. Captain Tom Blood and Gentleman Pirate, had been one of the “Pirate’s Eight”, and went down with his ship, the Blood Red Rose. Maria Catalina Isabella de Fontana had been his bride. Eleanor Gilbert was Thomas’ first wife.
Nan Sweeney, Nora’s niece, owns the Seacrest Inn and is the village’s acting mayor. Sandy Morita owns the art gallery next to the Crow’s nest; Terry is her daughter. The Salty Dog is both bar and restaurant and is owned by Tom Tulley. Libby is his daughter. The Fish and Chippies are the house band for the Salty Dog. Fish is their leader. Felix is Libby’s boyfriend and the son of the former mayor, Cyrus Jones. Felix’s mother, Philippa Jones, is divorcing Cyrus after events in Secret at Skull House, 2. The evil Sue Lewis is editor/owner of the Scuttlebutt Weekly, and she rejoices in libeling Ellery every chance she gets. Mia is Sue’s teenaged daughter. Lucas Roy is one of Sue’s employees and loves true crime. “Cap” Elijah Murphy writes an opinion column. Klementina “Kezzie” Harwood is no lady. Daisy works at the Buck Island Med Center as does Dr Mane. Mr Samms owns the Peevish Pig, a butcher shop where Ned Shandy, a musician works. Ned is part of the notorious Shandy family, and he’s on Jack’s list along with Dougie Hardin and Tip Smith.
Ellery, with his passion for Scrabble, belongs to the Monday Night Scrabblers as well as the Scalawags. Sam Cuddlefish runs the only taxi service. Maggie McGillicuddy. Gail McGillicuddy used to be the cook at the Bloodworths. Nova Glassbottom had been the calendar’s photographer . . . until discovered in flagrante delicto. Janet Maples, Trevor’s ex-wife, owns Old Salt Stationery. Gull’s Wing Café. Jonas Landry is a loose-lipped lawyer; Hiram Charcuterie is another lawyer.
The Barbys both love books. Skipper is their wire fox terrier. Locke Lombard, a financial advisor, owns the Legacy, a 213-foot yacht. The Lyman and Dunmore houses were also hit. September is a newcomer to the village and already Dylan is enthralled. Aunt Martha bakes cakes.
Brandon Abbot had been an old boyfriend of Ellery’s as well as a horror author (Secret at Skull House), after which Ellery inherits everything from Brandon. Other ghosts in Pirate’s Cove include John Mansfield and Ann Rathbone — now there’s a story; the betrayed Rufus Blackwell; and, more recently, Tristan Wallace. Todd had been Ellery’s previous boyfriend. Trevor Maples had been a jerk in Murder at Pirate’s Cove.
The Cover and Title
The cover has the feel of Mardi Gras with the colorful eye mask in teal and gold with its yellow, teal, and purple feathers and ribbons against the black background with its few purple-blue bubbles floating about. At the very top is the author’s name in pink with the title below that in white in a blend of serif and fantasy fonts. At the bottom an aged scroll banner proclaims the series info in black.
The title truly is a Mystery at the Masquerade, for someone killed him.
