A Deadly Cliché

Today’s post is on A Deadly Cliché by Ellery Adams. It is 278 pages long and is published by Berkley. It is the second her Books by the Bay series and you need to have read the first one to understand the characters. The cover is a beach scene with Captain Haviland, the poodle, on it near the first victim. The intended reader is someone who likes cozy mysteries, interesting characters, and fun plots. There is mild foul language, talk of sex, and mild violence in this book. The story is told from third person close of the main character Olivia. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- While walking her poodle, Olivia Limoges discovers a dead body buried in the sand. Could it be connected to the bizarre burglaries plaguing Oyster Bay, North Carolina? At every crime scene, the thieves set up odd tableaus: a stick of butter with a knife through it, dolls with silver spoons in their mouths, a deck of cards with a missing queen. Olivia realizes each setup represents a cliché. And who better to decode the cliché clues than her Bayside Book Writers group?

Review-This novel picks up very closely to the end of the first one but things get moving very quickly and so much happens in this book character-wise. I liked Olivia in the first book but I am glad to see her growing. She cares for her fellow writers and wants to help them, from getting one the skin treatments he needs to helping another get the courage to get a job as journalist. My one problem with the story is that we never met the killers until the big reveal so we cannot really figure out who they are before but that is the only problem. Everything else about the story was really good and fun, I liked seeing the characters grow together and individually. I look forward to our next adventure together.

I give this novel a Four out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this book from my local library.