Winners and a Review - A Deadly Cliche - April 1st

Author: Ellery Adams
Publisher/Format: Berkley (2011), Paperback, 304 pages
Characters: Olivia Limoges, Haviland the poodle, Chief Rawlings, the Bayside Book Writers Group
Subject: murder, missing person
Setting: fictional town of Oyster Bay North Carolina
Series: Books by the Bay mysteries
Genre: cozy mystery
Source: review copy from Berkley Crime


Back a few weeks ago when I posted the contest for this one, I hope I whetted your appetite with my demi-review:

Olivia Limoges, out walking with her beautiful companion Captain Haviland--the poodle on the cover--discovers a dead body on her town's pristine beach.  At the same time, there seems to be a growing crime spree in her small town, giving Police Chief Rawlings more than enough to keep him busy, and the Bayside Book Writers Group lots of fodder for future stories. To complicate the plot even more, Olivia has just been given a clue that her father, thought to have been lost at sea over 30 years ago, may in fact still be alive, and she seems to be developing more than professional feelings for Chief Rawlings (in addition to or instead of her current lover????)

Enough to get you interested? If nothing else, that gorgeous doggie sure beats a bare-chested Lothario for cover art in my book.  And of course it has a lighthouse! I know I'm not going to be doing much else until I finish this one. I'll give you my final review when I announce the winners to our giveaway.

 Well I finished it and it was even better than I imagined it would be.  The double mysteries of the crime spree in Oyster Bay, and the question about Olivia's father are both solved in a well-written, well-crafted plot that leaves plenty of room for more adventures in future volumes.  Haviland shines, Olivia's life is expanding, and we are getting to know a terrific cast of characters, each of whom has lots of room to grow, but is already developed enough to reside permanently in our affections already.

I am so excited to be able to give our lucky reader the chance to jump on the bandwagon.  So

Anita Yancey-it's you.
Congratulations.

I'm sending an email to you, so send me your US mailing address and we'll get the book right out to you.