Apologies for the (very) late November posting; work has been crazy. Reading was been my salvation. This draft was written in November 2024 but not published until April 2025, because sometimes life happens and things get upside down.
Murder at the Rusty Anchor by Maddie Day The is the first in the Cozy Capers series that I have read. The Cozy Capers are a book group on Cape Cod who get drawn into mysteries. The group spilts up different parts of the investigation, with each member taking on a different suspect or the victim for their Internet sleuthing, and they report on the results to each other via text. It's a cute catch that works well, allowing a diverse cast of characters to interact a lot without the heroine, Mac, having to dash all over town. Mac is on her way to work at the bike shops she owns when the door to the Rusty Anchor bar bangs open and Yvonne runs out, screaming that she's just found a body. The cast is large, as I mentioned, and includes Mac's husband, his off-page sister (who is having a crisis that is creating turmoil in the family), the 5 or 6 members of the book group (and their spouses and children), two police, Mac's parents, her brother and his girlfriend and their child, her grandmother, and now we got to the suspects. It's a lot to keep track of, but Ms. Day does a reasonably good job of not confusing the reader but keeping each distinct. The mystery is not puzzling, and the whodunit was easy to figure out. A few inconsistencies and typos were easy overlook, but I cannot forgive the most egregious: Mac makes herself a cup of tea at the end of one chapter, and at the beginning of the next chapter, sits down on the couch and takes a sip of her whiskey. But it's a pleasant visit to Cape Cod, and the group of characters, while a bit treacly, are nice enough to spend a couple of evenings with. Cozy readers who like big arcs straddling the series will enjoy this on (I'm not a fan myself, but I know I'm in the minority here). Net Galley
