As a light and engaging series, this one is a winner. Protagonist Ellery is back to being a suspect in a murder only weeks after solving the murder from book 1. That obviously puts the skids on his budding friendship/romance with the local island police chief, Jack.
Although this is the second book in the series, it works very well as a standalone. The author is a technically adept writer and provides necessary backstory without info-dumping. The narrative is lighthearted, including an ensemble cast of oddball small-town characters.
There are some fairly unbelievable plot developments (including a group of senior citizen amateurs trying to help clear Ellery who call themselves the Silver Sleuths), but it's a village bookstore cozy, so it's really part of the whimsy. There's also the required slow-burn on/off romance subplot with the handsome lawman, again par for the course. The language is clean, the murder(s) are off screen and free from violence, there's no sexual content; it's a well written and charming bookstore cozy. The author/publisher has taken pains to make it clear that the romance is between two men, so I won't mention that, but there's absolutely no content which would scandalize anyone's auntie.
Charming, diverting, and well written. I intend to seek out future volumes in the series. Four stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes
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