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Come Shell or High Water: 07/30/24
Come Shell or High Water by Molly MacRae and Callie Beaulieu (Narrator) (2024) is the start of the Haunted Shell Shop mystery series. Recently widowed folklorist Maureen Nash has gone to Ocracoke Island for reasons all her own during a hurricane. She comes to in the Moon Shell hours after its owner was murdered on the beach. Maureen, rattled by a slight concussion and possible electric shock, finds herself a prime suspect in Allen Withrow's murder. She also finds that she has unknown ties to him. Further more, her two new acquaintances give her conflicting information on who to trust. But the weirdest thing is the ghostly appearance of a Welsh pirate who seems tied to the shell shop and a shell she found on the beach. As Maureen is from Tennessee, I have to wonder if she's from Blue Plum, and a minor character from Haunted Yarn Shop mystery series. Regardless, the ghost in this series, Emrys Lloyd, seems to work under many of the same rules and restrictions as Genevieve. The mystery itself wasn't that hard to solve once the focus of the book moved from establishing Ocracoke and Maureen's part in it. Getting to that point, though, takes a good half or more of the book. Getting Maureen's wits back after she wakes up on the floor of the shell shop takes way too long. If I had been reading the book in print, I would have gone into skimming mode. Four stars Comments (0) |