The Body in the Back Garden by Mark Waddell
Series Name: Crescent Cove Mystery Book #1
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Release: August 22, 2023
Format: Print, Digital
In this queer cozy series debut perfect for fans of Ellen Byron and Ellery Adams, Luke Tremblay is about to discover that Crescent Cove has more than its fair share of secrets…and some might be deadlier than others.
Crescent Cove, a small hamlet on Vancouver Island, is the last place out-of-work investigative journalist Luke Tremblay ever wanted to see again. He used to spend summers here, until his family learned that he was gay and rejected him. Now, following his aunt’s sudden death, he’s inherited her entire estate, including her seaside cottage and the antiques shop she ran for forty years in Crescent Cove. Luke plans to sell everything and head back to Toronto as soon as he can…but Crescent Cove isn’t done with him just yet.
When a stranger starts making wild claims about Luke’s aunt, Luke sends him packing. The next morning, though, Luke discovers that the stranger has returned, and now he’s lying dead in the back garden. To make matters worse, the officer leading the investigation is a handsome Mountie with a chip on his shoulder who seems convinced that Luke is the culprit. If he wants to prove his innocence and leave this town once and for all, Luke will have to use all his skills as a journalist to investigate the colorful locals while coming to terms with his own painful past.
There are secrets buried in Crescent Cove, and the more Luke digs, the more he fears they might change the town forever.
Dru’s Short Musing:
This was a fast-paced read that I could not put down until all was said and done.
This well-executed whodunit kept me in the game with crisp writing and a comfortable tone making it easy to follow along with what the author intended. The mystery was nicely done with a nice pool of suspects and the right amount of suspense to keep me wondering who was behind the murder. The clues were plentiful and once I was able to match the clues to the motives, it became apparent who the killer was until the author added a little plot twist that had me re-thinking things. Good choice and from that moment on, I enjoyed watching this play out, as one by one the list of suspects dwindled until there was only one person who could have perpetrated this crime. With visually descriptive narrative, engaging dialogue and a small-town atmosphere, this was a delightful entertaining debut and I look forward to more adventures with Luke and his friends.
FTC Full Disclosure – I received a digital ARC of this book from the publisher.