Overdue Reviews - Dead Storage + Death by the Sea

 

Goodreads:  Dead Storage by Mary Feliz

Blurb:  Despite a looming deadline, Maggie thinks she has what it takes to help friends Jason and Stephen unclutter their large Victorian in time for its scheduled renovation. But before she can fill a single bin with unused junk, Jason leaves for Texas on an emergency business trip, Stephen’s injured mastiff limps home—and Stephen himself lands in jail for murder. Someone killed the owner of a local Chinese restaurant and stuffed him in the freezer. Stephen, caught at the crime scene covered in blood, is the number one suspect. Now Maggie must devise a strategy to sort through secrets and set him free—before she’s tossed into permanent storage next . . .

My Thoughts:  I really enjoyed the first book in this series but was a bit more meh on the second one.  For the third book I just really didn't care.  I did like that Maggie communicates with her husband and her sons and I loved the dogs.  As for the plot of the mystery it seemed a bit contrived and got a bit lost in the search for different characters.  I don't think I will continue this series.  My Rating:  Just Okay (2 Stars)

Goodreads:  Death by the Sea (A By the Sea Mystery #1) by Kathleen Bridge

Blurb:  The Indialantic by the Sea hotel has a hundred-year-old history on beautiful Melbourne Beach, Florida, and more than a few guests seem to have been there from the start. When Liz Holt returns home after an intense decade in New York, she’s happy to be surrounded by the eccentric clientele and loving relatives that populate her family-run inn, and doubly pleased to see the business is staying afloat thanks to its vibrant shopping emporium and a few very wealthy patrons.

But that patronage decreases by one when a filthy rich guest is discovered dead in her oceanfront suite. Maybe this is simply a jewel theft gone wrong, but maybe someone—or many people—wanted the hotel’s prosperous guest dead. Only one thing is sure: there’s a killer at the Indialantic, and if Liz lets herself be distracted—by her troubled past or the tempting man who seems eager to dredge it back up—the next reservation she’ll book could be at the cemetery . . .

My Thoughts:  I've read a few books in another series by this author and had not been the biggest fan so I was a bit wary going into this book.  This mystery however was a lot of fun!  I enjoyed spending time at the glamorous old hotel and with Liz's even more glamorous aunt.  There's a fun quirky community with a rather flirty old captain, a former mystery writer, and an assortment of dogs and cats.  The mystery was interesting with a victim that couldn't have deserved it more.  My main issue is that it felt like it got a bit lost with all the world building.  I almost missed the murder and the reveal was a bit more pronounced but still a bit rushed.   If you're a cozy fan I think you'll enjoy this one but if you're looking mostly for a solid mystery you might get a bit frustrated.  My Rating: Liked It (3 Stars)