Carrie Doyle

I didn't know when I started this book that it was the third one in a series, and although it didn't seem to make too much difference, I feel like I was missing some backstory where Plum and Juan Kevin are concerned, as well as with Captain Diaz.

In this story, Plum gets invited to join the rich and powerful on a yacht after an old friend sees her and lets her tag along to a dinner party. Almost immediately, one of the servers is found murdered, and it becomes Plum's responsibility to find out who did it. She goes undercover for Captain Diaz and the mystery meanders from there.

Seeing that it's a cozy mystery and they don't generally have a lot of suspense, I wasn't expecting to be on the edge of my seat, but there are usually some clues within the story that leads to a suspect (or a few suspects, just to keep you guessing). There were no clues, no piecing together, no suspects. Everyone was a suspect, and no one was a suspect.

None of the characters are exactly likeable, not even Plum. She's just kind of there, getting into other people's business, and getting herself into trouble. I feel like she's weak, not a take-charge woman who can go up against a murderer. I neither loved nor hated her, she was just the protagonist of the story. Juan Kevin, her somewhat-boyfriend, isn't much better. He keeps things from her, even when he says he wants to explain what's going on. None of the yacht members are likeable in any way. There's cheating husbands, people keeping all kinds of secrets, lying about their lives...you know, what rich and powerful people do. No one really had any redeeming qualities that made you want them to not be the killer.

Since this is an ARC and not the finished published version, I am hoping that all the grammatical errors will be fixed. There are also areas where time is a little wonky, and that was slightly distracting.

All in all, this is an okay novel. It's not the best cozy mystery I've ever read, and probably not the worst either. Maybe if I had started with the first book I would feel a little different. If you have read the other two books and enjoyed them, then by all means, keep reading the series. If you haven't read the others yet, either start there or skip them completely, that's up to you.… (mere)

I requested this book unaware that it was a teen book. The entire premise was far-fetched, including the backstory, that a teenager would be better at collecting clues, following leads, and solving a murder than the actual authorities. Let alone, sneaking around a heavily guarded school without being detected, eavesdropping on teachers, and numerous other unbelievable scenarios. Fantastic schemes aside, the timeline lacked momentum and very little pushed the reader to continue. Overall, the final result was an underwhelming mystery for any age.

Sourcebooks and NetGalley provided me with an advanced copy of this book. The opinions are my own.… (mere)

situational-humor, verbal-humor, snobs, snarky, Caribbean, law-enforcement, friendship, cozy-mystery, island-life, resort-hotel, relationships, relationship-issues, Loggerhead Turtles*****

The whodunit is pretty good, but the laughs are nonstop. The descriptions of everything and everyone are great, and the caricature characters had me ROFL. A nice fun read!
I requested and received an EARC of this book from Poisoned Pen Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. (Can't be unbiased! Love this series!)… (mere)