Murder on Mustang Beach (Outer Banks Bookshop Mystery #2) by Alicia Bessette #bookreview #mystery

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Title: Murder on Mustang Beach

Author: Alicia Bessette

Publisher: Berkley

Publication Date: May 16, 2023

Page Count:  336

My rating: 4 stars

About the book:

When a killer stirs up trouble in the Outer Banks, amateur sleuth and bookseller Callie Padget is on the case, in a new beachside mystery from author Alicia Bessette.

Cattail Island in the Outer Banks is a popular destination for honeymooners and nature lovers alike. So it is a huge blow when the murder of a newlywed grinds the pre-summer season to a screeching halt. Bookseller Callie Padget launches her own investigation, after mysterious customer Geri-Lynn Humfeld, caretaker of the island’s protected wild horses, brings in an irresistible piece of information.

Determined to restore order and safety to her beloved hometown, Callie searches for answers—even as those answers cast suspicion on her soon-to-be boyfriend, Toby Dodge, whose martial arts studio was the scene of the crime. As she digs deeper, Toby becomes the police’s prime suspect. The truth raises troubling questions and sends her scouring the bookshop’s shelves for guidance.

Meanwhile, a well-loved member of the mustang herd—a pregnant mare whose anticipated foal is a symbol of summery hope for locals and visitors alike—may be facing dire circumstances. With help from Geri-Lynn, Callie unearths startling secrets surrounding not only the compromised mare, but the murdered newlywed, too. And when another body shows up, this time on isolated Mustang Beach, she must race against time to stop a killer from claiming any more innocent lives.

Murder on Mustang Beach by Alicia Bessette is the second book in the cozy Outer Banks Bookshop Mystery series. As with most cozy mystery series the books in this series each feature a new mystery to be fully solved so they can be read as a standalone or in any order if choosing to do so. There will be however character development that carries over from book to book for those following from the beginning.

Callie grew up on Cattail Island but had left the small town to pursue a career as a journalist. Callie’s memories weren’t the greatest from her childhood as she had lost her mother to a tragic incident but when Callie loses her job she decides to return to Cattail Island while she decides what is next in her life. Soon Callie began to fit into her small town again even taking a job at the local bookstore working for old friends.

Callie never expected to be using her journalist skills while being on Cattail Island but her need for searching out the truth in stories is certainly coming in handy searching out suspects. Callie learns that another murder has occured in her small community and her friend and potential boyfriend, Toby, quickly became a suspect leading Callie to do another search for the truth but she never expected where that search would take her on the island.

The Outer Banks Bookshop Mystery series is one that I was immediately interested in and began with the first book of the series, Smile Beach Murder. I love a small town beachy setting and the author does a wonderful job bringing the Outer Banks to life in this series so I was happy to return to this tale in this second installment. This was a multi layered mystery and I was happily invested all throughout the story. With great characters along with the great setting I’ll be excited to return again with book three.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Find this book online:

Goodreads  /  Amazon

About the author:

Alicia Bessette is the Edgar Award-nominated author of the bestselling Outer Banks Bookshop mystery series. Before writing fiction, she worked as a reporter in her home state of Massachusetts, where her journalism won a first-place award from the New England Newspaper & Press Association. A pianist, published poet, and enthusiastic birdwatcher, she now loves living in coastal North Carolina with her husband, novelist Matthew Quick. Visit her online at aliciabessette.com and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/aliciabessettebooks