Beach Reads and Deadly Deeds: A Cozy Mystery of Secrets, Suspense and a Beachside Romance
"The literary escape I didn't know I needed--a luxurious private resort, a steamy romance, and a captivating cast of sleuths and suspects . . . Allison Brennan has crafted the perfect summer read." --Elle Cosimano, New York Times bestselling author of the Finlay Donovan mysteries
Featured on Katie Couric Media's "10 Books to Read Once You've Finished Watching 'The White Lotus'"!
In this sun-dappled mystery from New York Times bestselling author Allison Brennan, a risk-averse bibliophile gets in over her head when strange notes in a book draw her into a real-life investigation.
Mia Crawford is responsible to a fault. She has to be. Between her high-demand job and taking care of her grandmother and her cats, she has little time for anything else. What time she does have, she pours into reading. Mysteries, romances, thrillers...books filled with women who are far more impulsive than she would ever dream of being. Now, forced into taking a long-overdue vacation, she finds herself on a luxurious private island where she just might have a chance to reinvent herself--for a little while, anyway. She can explore the island. Flirt shamelessly with a cute bartender. Have a vacation fling. Live like a heroine in one of her favorite novels.
Or she can curl up with a good book on the beach. Turns out reinventing yourself is easier planned than done. But when gossipy notes written in the margins of an old book turn out to be clues to the disappearance of another guest, Mia finds herself diving headfirst into a dangerous adventure. With everyone at the resort hiding secrets of their own, she'll have to solve this real-life mystery before she becomes the next target.
Featured on Katie Couric Media's "10 Books to Read Once You've Finished Watching 'The White Lotus'"!
In this sun-dappled mystery from New York Times bestselling author Allison Brennan, a risk-averse bibliophile gets in over her head when strange notes in a book draw her into a real-life investigation.
Mia Crawford is responsible to a fault. She has to be. Between her high-demand job and taking care of her grandmother and her cats, she has little time for anything else. What time she does have, she pours into reading. Mysteries, romances, thrillers...books filled with women who are far more impulsive than she would ever dream of being. Now, forced into taking a long-overdue vacation, she finds herself on a luxurious private island where she just might have a chance to reinvent herself--for a little while, anyway. She can explore the island. Flirt shamelessly with a cute bartender. Have a vacation fling. Live like a heroine in one of her favorite novels.
Or she can curl up with a good book on the beach. Turns out reinventing yourself is easier planned than done. But when gossipy notes written in the margins of an old book turn out to be clues to the disappearance of another guest, Mia finds herself diving headfirst into a dangerous adventure. With everyone at the resort hiding secrets of their own, she'll have to solve this real-life mystery before she becomes the next target.
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Community Reviews
Let me just start by saying Beach Reads and Deadly Deeds gave me exactly what it promised: books, bikinis, and baffling behavior. Is it a beach read? Absolutely. Is there a deadly deed? Sure. Is it going to change your life or blow your mystery-loving mind? LOL, bless your heart.
Our heroine, Mia Crawford, is a Type A, book-loving, cat-owning, grandma-caring human spreadsheet who is suddenly whisked away on a vacation she didn’t ask for—probably because she needed a break from being aggressively responsible. I was intrigued by the setup: notes in a book leading to a disappearance? Sign me up. That’s my bookish kryptonite. But unfortunately, we left the realism on the mainland.
First: THE ROMANCE. Oh boy. Nothing says “character growth” like going from socially awkward introvert to making heart-eyes at a bartender 4.7 seconds after landing on the island. Ugh, instalove. 🙄The kind where you read it and go, “This would be cute if I were 14 and watching a Disney Channel movie.” But alas, I’m not. I’m an adult who expected at least one conversation before they started swapping life stories.
Second: the clues were legitimately fun. I had high hopes, I won’t lie. Marginalia mystery is a niche genre I would like to champion. But then the resolution flopped like a soggy towel on a pool chair. All that clever breadcrumbing, and it wraps up like a Scooby-Doo episode directed by someone who had to finish the script before lunch. I figured out the BIG SECRET around chapter eight. Which means either I’m a genius (possible), or this twist wasn’t as twisty as it thought it was (more likely).
Still, I breezed through it in an afternoon, which is kind of the point, right? It didn’t demand much brainpower, the pacing was decent, and the setting made me want to book a vacation. Somewhere without murder, preferably.
So, if you like your mysteries sunny, your romances instant, and your twists more “Ohhh, that’s it?” this one might be worth a spot in your beach bag. Just don’t expect to fall in love… unless you’re Mia.
Our heroine, Mia Crawford, is a Type A, book-loving, cat-owning, grandma-caring human spreadsheet who is suddenly whisked away on a vacation she didn’t ask for—probably because she needed a break from being aggressively responsible. I was intrigued by the setup: notes in a book leading to a disappearance? Sign me up. That’s my bookish kryptonite. But unfortunately, we left the realism on the mainland.
First: THE ROMANCE. Oh boy. Nothing says “character growth” like going from socially awkward introvert to making heart-eyes at a bartender 4.7 seconds after landing on the island. Ugh, instalove. 🙄The kind where you read it and go, “This would be cute if I were 14 and watching a Disney Channel movie.” But alas, I’m not. I’m an adult who expected at least one conversation before they started swapping life stories.
Second: the clues were legitimately fun. I had high hopes, I won’t lie. Marginalia mystery is a niche genre I would like to champion. But then the resolution flopped like a soggy towel on a pool chair. All that clever breadcrumbing, and it wraps up like a Scooby-Doo episode directed by someone who had to finish the script before lunch. I figured out the BIG SECRET around chapter eight. Which means either I’m a genius (possible), or this twist wasn’t as twisty as it thought it was (more likely).
Still, I breezed through it in an afternoon, which is kind of the point, right? It didn’t demand much brainpower, the pacing was decent, and the setting made me want to book a vacation. Somewhere without murder, preferably.
So, if you like your mysteries sunny, your romances instant, and your twists more “Ohhh, that’s it?” this one might be worth a spot in your beach bag. Just don’t expect to fall in love… unless you’re Mia.
This was a fun read. It was fun trying to figure out who did what throughout the book. The small romance was sweet in the book as well. ☺️
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