A Killing by the Sea

In Kathleen Bridge's A Killing by the Sea, the 2nd installment in the By the Sea cozy mystery series, this installment would sweep you off your feet and captivate you with heightened suspense. For Liz Holt, her life couldn't be better as a writer and living in Melbourne Beach, Florida. But besides the continuous babble with her great-aunt Amelia and her friend Susannah Shay for a part in the play called the Bat, things do get dramatic along the shore. It all started with Liz finding a dead body along the ocean. She already knew it was her family friend Minna's nephew Dylan, a photographer who was making a name for himself as an underwater cinematographer. When she learned about the news, she begins to dig deeper on who caused his death and why. Things are getting deeper for Liz and her boyfriend Ryan, when they might take their relationship up to the next level. But when she ran into Jake, a friend of Dylan, she became suspicious of him and his latest actions. Then Minna's house had a fire and nothing was missing or damaged, except for one thing. Then she took a closer look into Jake's background and learned more about the ship Poseidon and what it has been up to.. including a new murder from a local billionaire. As she pieced together the pieces to this twisted puzzle, it thickened the pot before things got hotter during a hurricane storm to found out who done it and why.

This was a great new cozy mystery to try and add to my TBR list for future reading. This one intrigued me from the title to the story line. I did care for Liz and how she handled all of the drama in her family and even in her own love life. I loved how she cared for others in her community and how she pieced everything thing together from the small bits to the big chunks of the puzzle. I also found Ryan a charming man and attractive eye-candy as well. I loved the Melbourne Beach backdrop with mesmerizing descriptive settings and amazing locations on every scenic page. This would make you want to plank the proverbial plank and take a big deep in the water with drama, non-stop action, suspense and a hint of mystery.

Will you want to check out a Killing by the Sea today?