If a book cover has a lighthouse, a big front porch, and a dog, it’s a book I pick up. A Killer Plot has been on my want-to-read pile for a while and I finally got it from the library. The setting is located on the North Carolina coast and Ellery Adams fills the tale with the sights, sounds, and feels of the ocean. Definitely my kind of book.

The story itself did not disappoint. Olivia Limoges is a wealthy building owner in Oyster Bay; confident, self-sufficient, and finally opening herself up to new friends. When the man who encouraged her to join the Bayside Book Writers is found dead, she and her fellow writers are determined to find the killer.

I especially liked the uniqueness of each of the story’s characters. At first, Olivia is more reclusive, friends only with her dog, Haviland. As the story progresses, she begins to care more for those around her. Her book group is made up of an eclectic group of writers: a mom, a bartender, a computer geek, and Oyster Bay is filled with even more variety of individuals, including two different gentlemen who seem to have feelings for Olivia.

As Olivia searches for the murderer, I appreciated how the chief of police keeps details to himself, encourages Olivia to stay out of it, yet also invites her help. It lets the reader in on important details, but not too many, so the investigation naturally unfolds, allowing readers to discover who the murderer is at the same time as the characters in the story.

A Killer Plot is the first book in the Books by the Bay Mystery series. It starts the series off well and I already care what happens to the characters in the next books. For a well-paced story with a plethora of fascinating individuals, A Killer Plot is for you!

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I checked out this book from the library for my personal use. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”