January 1, 2025
While on the beach, Sarah Grayson, owner of the Maine secondhand store Second Chance, and her friend Cleveland find a body floating in the water. Neither of them recognizes the victim, but others in town identify him as Michael Norris. Fifteen years earlier, Michael was part of a quartet of friends whose party on the beach went wrong when one of them was killed, and one was convicted of her murder. Now Michael's dead on the same spot, and people swear he wouldn't have returned to the site of so much trauma. Together with her friends, Sarah starts to investigate, trying to connect the deaths 15 years apart while proving the local baker had nothing to do with the latest murder. VERDICT The 12th "Second Chance Cat Mystery," following Fur Love or Money, might have a few too many characters, but fans of the series, the author's "Magical Cats" novels (written under the name Sofie Kelly), or Miranda James's "Cat in the Stacks" mysteries will enjoy the book.--Lesa Holstine
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March 15, 2025
A multigenerational band of sleuths probes a murder in coastal Maine. When Sarah Grayson, owner of the Second Chance resale shop, finds a body floating near the shoreline behind a friend's house, her first instinct is to leave investigating to the police. But when local law enforcement seems to be zeroing in on Glenn McNamara, owner of her favorite bakeshop, she knows they must be wrong. Glenn does have some history with the late Michael Norris. Back in high school, they were both at a party where a third student, Frederica Black, was killed. But Andrew Lewis has already served time for Freddie's death, even though he still insists he was innocent. So Sarah gathers amateurs young and old--philanthropist Liz French; Liz's granddaughter, Avery; Glenn's Uncle Clayton; Clayton's girlfriend, Charlotte Elliot; Charlotte's best friend, Rose; Sarah's boyfriend, Mac; and even Sarah's own grandmother--under the guidance of Alfred Peterson, a licensed private eye and Rose's beau. Together they investigate both murders. Their measured, methodical approach produces a nicely paced narrative with clues discovered, suspects eliminated, and new suspicions launched as smoothly as the tides that brought Michael Norris ashore. Their harmonious style will give readers a pleasant sense of what it means to live in a found family, with mutual respect ironing out the occasional bumps in the road and mutual affection ruling all. Murder at its coziest.
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