Review: Engaging Mystery
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 10 16, 2013
Sharly Johnson, an insurance investigator, goes to the seaside community of Moon Bay at her estranged cousin’s request to help solve a puzzle.  Upon her arrival at her cousin’s beach front mansion, Sharly finds her cousin dead in the library, from a bullet to the head.Her training kicks in and she feels compelled to solve the mystery of her cousin’s death -- particularly since the small town sheriff is not the sharpest knife in the drawer and takes the easy path of the death being the result of a burglary gone bad -- and solve whatever puzzle it is that brought her there.  Sharly is also motivated by regret for the years she and her cousin lost touch, and wants to do right by her cousin.The supporting characters are well-drawn – the lazy, unlikeable sheriff, the hot deputy, the cranky housekeeper, the crankier cat, and all of the murder suspects.  The author sets the scenes so well, I could almost smell the moisture, feel the fog and sit down with Sharly, the cranky housekeeper and the hot deputy for a meal of salmon, salad and soft dinner rolls.I was intrigued by Sharly’s job as an insurance investigator and would have liked to see more details about what that involves.  I liked that the deputy was willing to accept her help, rather than the standard “Oh, aren’t you cute, now go away and let the police handle this” response.  The ending was satisfying – crime neatly wrapped up, a pet with a new forever home, and the possibility of a romance in the future.  I hope that this was just the first in the series