Secrets and Scrabble #5
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?
Some authors can write in multiple genres and excel at every one, Josh Lanyon falls into that category but there is just something special about her mystery-telling talent. Secrets and Scrabble series furthers the proof of that.
No matter how much mayhem lurks in the pages, there is almost always an element of lightheartedness when it comes to amateur sleuths. Ellery Page is the epitome of amateur sleuthing but he's not alone which is another element about this series that I love, he is joined by the Silver Sleuths reading group, or at least they try to work their way into the investigations, and though they may not always get as much sleuthing in as they'd like, they almost always manage to offer information to Ellery. Now sometimes that info isn't always the answer, sometimes it leads Ellery in the opposite direction which in itself is also helpful(just not quite how they planned😉).
Pirate's Cove is filled with an eclectic cast of characters, most are so wicky wacky there's minimal to no chance we'd ever meet someone like them in our communities and yet Lanyon has a way of making them very real, very . . . well not "next door" but definitely "pass by and nod to in the toilet paper aisle". It's the ability to create unique yet familiar characters that lets the reader get lost within the story. By "lost" I don't mean "completely befuddled swearing to oneself 'WTF is going on?'" I mean getting so absorbed into the story you become a customer in Ellery's bookstore that has to be forcibly pushed out the door at closing time.
This is sounding more like an overall series review so let me talk about Body at Buccaneer's Bay for a minute(and it will be brief as I refuse to spoil any aspect of the mystery). Ellery and Jack are growing closer and closer but once again outside forces, mainly Ellery's acceptance of an amateur sleuthing job, find a way to sneak a wedge into the relationship. And that's all I'm going to say about the mystery part of this entry, yes I know that is very vague indeed but let me just add it's deliciously fun. Nora continues to help, Watson is still an attention junkie, and Ellery's folks arrive. So many treats to gobble up.
One scene I will talk about and that is Nora signs Crow's Nest up as a stop on Kit Holmes' upcoming book tour. Love it when authors throw little cameo mentions of characters from their other series' into the mix, it just connects it all into one big world. Not sure if we will get to see Kit actually on his book tour in a future entry but if we do, even if just a one page scene, I can see Nora filling Kit in on all the intrigue that happens in Pirate's Cove and then seeing Kit pull Ellery aside and telling him what not to do when bodies start piling up at his feet. The potential for them to "work a case" together has my Lanyon-loving brain going into overdrive, what a pure fun romp of mayhem-ry that would be😉😉.
Back to Buccaneer, there is just so many good things about this entry and despite the potential(I won't spoil the whats, wheres, or what ifs) for death and danger, I was smiling from beginning to end. Ellery Page and Jack Carson(and my old movie loving brain still chuckles when I picture the actor Jack Carson's portrayal as the beat cop in Arsenic and Old Lace even though Lanyon's Jack is much better at his job) just keep getting better, both as a growing couple and in their investigations with all the trials and tribulations the criminals of Pirate's Cove throw at them. Chock up another winning gem for Josh Lanyon.
Gulls circled overhead, mewing plaintively.
Water sloshed and lapped against the side of the rocking boat. The hot bright August afternoon smelled of diesel and brine and rubber and…liverwurst.
Ellery said, “Hey, do you remember that poison pen letter I got a while back?”
“Yep.” Jack spoke absently, double-checking the regulator and hoses of Ellery’s diving equipment.
Jack was a certified diver. Scuba was his one and only hobby, so it was no surprise he owned his own gear, but Ellery was renting everything from his flippers to his air tanks, and Jack was not a believer in leaving anything to chance.
“Whatever came of that? Anything? I mean, did the lab find any fingerprints?”
Jack glanced automatically toward the bow of the Fishful Thinkin’ where “Cap” Elijah Murphy sat in the cockpit, eating a sandwich and arguing amiably with whoever was at the other end of the ship to shore radio. Although technically employed at the Scuttlebutt Weekly, Cap was no reporter. He contributed a weekly column wherein he detailed his fierce objections to any and all changes to Buck Island in general and the village of Pirate’s Cove in particular.
“No. That is, the only decipherable fingerprints were yours.”
When Ellery didn’t respond, Jack squeezed his neoprene-clad shoulder, turning Ellery to face him. “Why? I really do think that letter was just…local hysteria over Trevor’s murder.”
Ellery’s smile was wry. “I thought so too. But.”
“But?”
“I got another one yesterday evening.”
Jack’s blue-green eyes narrowed. “You…”
“Same as before. No stamp. No return address. Heck, no mailing address. Just my name printed on the face of the envelope. Hand delivered to the Crow’s Nest.”
“By who? Did you see who dropped it off?”
“No. We were busy all afternoon, and then I let Nora leave at three because we were closing early anyway.” Ellery’s parents had arrived on Saturday’s five o’clock ferry and he’d wanted to be there to meet them. They were spending the next ten days on Buck Island. “I only noticed the letter as I was locking up. It was propped on the base of Rupert’s case.”
Rupert was a glass-encased resin skeleton clothed in vintage pirate costume which “greeted” customers as they entered the bookshop. The case was positioned just a few feet from the front door, so someone could easily enter the shop, leave the envelope, and duck out again without ever being seen from the front desk.
Jack’s brows formed a single dark, forbidding line. “Did you open it?”
“Of course. It didn’t occur to me it was another anonymous letter until I was already reading it.”
Jack’s scowl deepened. “What did it say? I hope you kept it.”
“I kept it.”
“Good.”
“It was pretty much a repeat performance. You will die was the central theme.” Ellery said it lightly, but the truth was, he was troubled by the reappearance of his poison pen pal. Like Jack, he’d dismissed the original anonymous threat as his neighbors’ suspicion that he’d murdered Trevor Maples.
If that wasn’t the reason, what was?
Saturday Series Spotlight
**Books #6-7 have not yet been released
so check the author's website for approximate dates**
Bestselling author of over sixty titles of classic Male/Male fiction featuring twisty mystery, kickass adventure and unapologetic man-on-man romance, JOSH LANYON has been called "the Agatha Christie of gay mystery."
Her work has been translated into eleven languages. The FBI thriller Fair Game was the first male/male title to be published by Harlequin Mondadori, the largest romance publisher in Italy. Stranger on the Shore (Harper Collins Italia) was the first M/M title to be published in print. In 2016 Fatal Shadows placed #5 in Japan's annual Boy Love novel list (the first and only title by a foreign author to place on the list).
The Adrien English Series was awarded All Time Favorite Male Male Couple in the 2nd Annual contest held by the Goodreads M/M Group (which has over 22,000 members). Josh is an Eppie Award winner, a four-time Lambda Literary Award finalist for Gay Mystery, and the first ever recipient of the Goodreads Favorite M/M Author Lifetime Achievement award.
Josh is married and they live in Southern California.Her work has been translated into eleven languages. The FBI thriller Fair Game was the first male/male title to be published by Harlequin Mondadori, the largest romance publisher in Italy. Stranger on the Shore (Harper Collins Italia) was the first M/M title to be published in print. In 2016 Fatal Shadows placed #5 in Japan's annual Boy Love novel list (the first and only title by a foreign author to place on the list).
The Adrien English Series was awarded All Time Favorite Male Male Couple in the 2nd Annual contest held by the Goodreads M/M Group (which has over 22,000 members). Josh is an Eppie Award winner, a four-time Lambda Literary Award finalist for Gay Mystery, and the first ever recipient of the Goodreads Favorite M/M Author Lifetime Achievement award.
SMASHWORDS / iTUNES / SHELFARI
EMAIL: josh.lanyon@sbcglobal.net
Body at Buccaneer's Bay #5
KOBO / WEBSITE / GOODREADS TBR
