The Audiobook:
Much Ado About Nauticaling by Gabby Allan
Published July 27th 2021
Date read: July 19, 2021
The Characters:
Whitney, her brother Nick
Her roommate Mirabel and ex Felix
Buy it on Bookshop.org | Amazon
The Plot (from Goodreads):
After far too many years in the Los Angeles corporate world, Whitney Dagner has come home to Santa Catalina Island off the California coast to help her brother Nick run Nautically Yours, the family tourism business. Between gift shop shifts selling all manner of T-shirts and tchotchkes and keeping her feline Whiskers in fine fettle, she pilots the Sea Bounder, a glass-bottom boat showing tourists the underwater sights of aquatic plants, marine life–and a murder victim?
The self-proclaimed Master of the Island, Jules Tisdale was a wealthy man with business interests throughout Catalina who was about to be honored as Person of the Year before someone strangled him with his own tie and tossed his body into the water. That someone appears to be Nick, who had a raw deal from Jules and no alibi the night of his murder. To clear her brother’s name, Whit will have to investigate Jules’ shady associates and not exactly grief-stricken family members–with the unwelcome help of Felix Ramirez, police diver and Whit’s ex-boyfriend who’s looking to rekindle their relationship.
The Review:
I’ve never read a “rom-cozy” before, but I’m so into the idea of it! I don’t read cozy mysteries often, but I always love them when I do. And we all know that romance is one of my favorite genres!
I’ve read a couple of small-town island mysteries lately, and I really love that setting. It’s not quite as small as a closed-room mystery, but there are only a handful of characters. I really enjoy searching for clues. The descriptions of Catalina were beautiful, and it made me really want to take a trip there!
I really loved Whit as a character. She was just so determined and energetic, and she seemed like someone I would want to be friends with in real life. Goldy was awesome too–I really enjoy spunky seniors, and she was just so snarky and fun. I’m excited to see more of both of them in the next book. Nick, on the other hand, was obnoxious. Shouldn’t he be the one rushing to clear his own name?? Or at least be a little grateful to Whit for all her work.
There wasn’t much “rom” in this rom-cozy, but the setup was definitely there for a second-chance romance in the next book. We meet Whit’s ex Felix, who she left behind when she moved to Catalina. She wasn’t interested in long-distance, but there didn’t seem to be much bad blood over their breakup. I’m excited to see how it plays out in the rest of the series.
Much Ado About Nauticaling was the perfect light addition to your beach bag this summer!
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