Did not enjoy this as much as the first one, nor nearly as much as books 1-3 of the "society," books. Still gets some stars because Adams comes up with unusual and interesting murder scenarios, and this one was just plain ..... weird (but original.)

Only TWO stars though, because - even though I tend to agree with Adams' positions - the relentless, often clumsy, insertion of social commentary gets on my nerves! On top of the aggressive diversity of the characters, it makes the books unnecessarily "of the world," instead of being light escapism from it.

I will probably read the next "society," book and maybe try other Ellery Adams series, but I think I'm done with this one. Our heroine Limoge's generosity borders on narcissism, or maybe some weird savior complex, despite her professed resistance to being recognized for it. Like the moralizing, this wouldn't be a big problem except that it's so overdone. It is a not-so-cozy distraction from the lovely setting, the unusual mysteries and otherwise passable writing (her "philanthropy," also tends to highlight that Limoge is more of a lucky, nosy control freak than a clever amateur sleuth.)

And one last complaint while I'm on a roll and feeling petty...enough with the damn dog already! I love dogs, but aside from him being spoiled to the point of a heart attack looming, it's really disgusting how much time he spends in restaurants and commercial kitchens being catered to by staff. Sure hope they are washing their hands.

****
Also a warning- some characters' exceptionally bad parenting is blatantly attributed to their being Jehovah's Witnesses. Hard to believe the author and editor thought this was not a problem. I am not a Witness, but I was shocked on behalf of Witness friends. I know enough about them to know the assertions made about JW beliefs here are probably flat wrong, and at the very least not universal or official as implied. ( )

Too many things happening all at once, and too many of equal narrative weight ( )

I read the first book in this series earlier this month and got hooked. Unfortunately adulting took over my life since then with summer DIY projects sucking up all my reading time. But....thanks to hoopla and my lovely digital library card from a nearby metro library....I downloaded several more Books By the Bay stories. I can adult....and listen. Perfect!

A Deadly Cliché is the second book featuring Olivia Limoges and her friends from Oyster Bay, NC. I love reading cozies set in NC since I live here. The people in this series remind me of folks I know from the small NC town I live in. All that's missing is the nearby beach since I live in the western mountainous portion of the state. There are 8 books in this series.

Olivia is walking her dog along the beach hunting for washed up treasures that she saves in a collection. She spies an upside down sand bucket and smells something bad. Thinking some kids or tourists might have trapped a crab or other animal under the bucket, she lifts it up. Oh, it's something dead alright. Just not a crab or another sea creature. It's a man. Dead. Soon the local police are investigating the murder and a strange string of burglaries. At each scene odd things are left....a stick of butter with a knife stuck in it, a doll with a silver spoon shoved in its mouth... Olivia realizes each display refers to a cliché. When the burglars kill a homeowner, the case gets much more serious. Who is leaving the clichés and why? Soon Olivia and her writer's club friends learn that trying to track a killer can be dangerous.

I enjoyed this story. When I first started reading this series I had a really hard time liking Olivia. But as her background developed, I came to understand why she is so prickly and difficult. This second book has a lot more background development for her and other characters. I'm enjoying the mysteries and the side stories about the characters, too. Olivia's memories of the loss of her parents and growing up with her grandmother are very emotional. It makes it easier to keep reading when she acts like an asshat.

This series has been on my TBR shelf for at least a year waiting for me to find time to read it. I'm glad I finally decided to jump in and read. Very enjoyable cozy mystery series! I'm already listening to book 3, The Last Word! ( )

I liked the first one but this one was so much better! I loved the personal aspect that Olivia has to deal with in this one. And the mystery is interesting as well. ( )

While out walking her poodle on the beach, Olivia Limoges finds a dead body buried in the sand with a plastic pail on it's head. The town of Oyster Bay, North Carolina has been hit with a string of burglaries, could the body be connected to the burglaries? At every one of the crime scenes, the thieves set up odd tableau which Olivia realizes each setup represents a cliché. The town's residents also have to get ready for the hurricane that is coming right towards the coast. To top off her busy week, Olivia gets a letter informing her that her father, who abandoned her and was thought to be lost at sea and even possibly dead for the past thirty years, is still alive.

The characters are engaging and they each have their good and bad traits so that the reader is able to connect with them in one way or another. The members of the Bayside Book Writers, are becoming more than the sum of their parts they are becoming nice cohesive team, as they learn, grow, and develop. This development is most noticeable in Olivia and Laurel, but does include the entire group. The twists and turns of the mystery keep the reader guessing as they try to figure out how the body on the beach and the robberies are connected to each other. I liked that Olivia and Sawyer Rawlings the towns police chief are starting to fall for each other, I hope this relationship continues to grow. I also liked that Olivia's friendships with the writer's group are still continuing to grow and become stronger. I like that Laurel decides to take a chance and get a job at the local paper to have a life of her own instead of staying home and taking care of her twins while her husband is the breadwinner in their household. I didn't like that Olivia's father had changed his name and remarried and had another child while not staying in touch with his daughter and let her think that he was dead while he was living on an island that was 15 miles away from the coast of Oyster Bay. ( )