A Killer Plot

As a young child Olivia Limoges left the coastal town of Oyster Bay, North Carolina after the mysterious disappearance of her fisherman father. Years later, still haunted by his disappearance, Olivia returns to her hometown. No longer the unhappy child found abandoned in a floating boat, Olivia is now a mysterious, sophisticate and wealthy woman working on her first novel. Olivia is convinced the only companion she needs is her faithful poodle, Captain Haviland. However, after joining the local writer’s group, Olivia begins to make friends only to have one brutally murdered. Devastated, Olivia and her fellow writers take it upon themselves to assist the police chief, Sawyer Rawlings (a potential love interest for Olivia) in solving show more the murder.

I’m a huge mystery fan of all kinds, but I’m particularly fond of cozy mysteries, especially those with a theme. I picked up A Killer Plot because Olivia is a writer. (Something I dream of myself.) It sounded just like the kind of book I would enjoy. I was not disappointed. Adams has created well-developed characters that the reader will enjoy getting to know. Each one is diverse and interesting, from feisty waitress Dixie, who insists on being referred to as “dwarf” rather than “little person” to Millay who changes her color highlights often and feels very protective of the rough and tumble fishermen who hang at Fish Nets, the bar where she works.

Often when a series debuts, the main character is not as well developed as Olivia. But Adams has created a character of great depth. There is more to Olivia than just her money, sophistication and aloofness. The fact that she is a woman of mystery is introduced early on and we get to see her grow. She is my favorite character and I’m looking forward to learning more about her.

One final reason I found this book so entertaining goes back to the theme: writers. I’ve read other stories where one or more of the characters are writers. Some have even belonged to writer’s groups just like the Oyster Bay Writers. What singles out Adams’ book from the others is that reader gets a glimpse of what it’s like to be a writer. We get to see some of the process and we get to see how a real writing group operates (though granted, most real life groups don’t get involved in solving crimes). I enjoyed reading their works in progress almost as much as the main story. This is a series that has a lot to offer and I can’t wait for the next one. show less

I really enjoyed this book, much more than I thought I would. Ellery Adams writes with a clean, logical style that has enough character description to keep you reading. She excels with her descriptions about the location. I pictured myself in Oyster Bay standing on the beach, tasting the salt air or feeling the pressure of the humidity while I walked the shops of downtown. Olivia Limoges was an interesting character who I want to know more about, and while I'm not overly fond of the romantic triangles believing they are over-done in the cozy mystery genre that storyline didn't overshadow the main story. I was surprised almost to the end about who did which for me is very satisfying. Can't wait to read more.

I love it when I find a good cozy mystery series set in NC where I live. I've had the Books By the Bay series on my TBR shelf for months waiting for the school year to end so I could indulge myself. Summer is here....and I cracked open book one as soon as I could! Glad I did!

Olivia Limoges is a wealthy heiress, but life wasn't always like that for her. As a child, she lived in Oyster Bay, NC with her parents. Then her mother died during a violent storm and her father disappeared. Olivia was then raised by her wealthy grandmother. As a young adult, she inherited the family money and lived a jet-set life for years. She returned to Oyster Bay to open a restaurant. Unfortunately her standoffish, brusque manner makes her the subject of much show more gossip in the small town and she finds herself with few friends. At the coaxing of a writer friend, Camden Ford, she joins a local writing club, The Bayside Book Writers, fixing up a building on her property to give the club a place to meet. Unfortunately Camden is soon murdered, a mysterious haiku poem left at the scene of his death. Other deaths follow....all with haiku left near the bodies. Olivia and the Bayside Writers are on the case. Who thinks they have a poetic license to kill? And can the lively writers solve the case before more people die?

I had a hard time liking Olivia at the beginning of this story. In fact, I almost stopped reading the book several times. I found her rude, spoiled and just unlikable. But......as her character developed and I learned more about why she is prickly as a hedgehog....I began to understand the character better and started enjoying the story. She is definitely a strong female main character, and she has flaws. But Olivia starts to learn about herself and begins to grow as a person in this story. Just get past the part where she is being an ass......don't stop reading! It gets better...I promise! The side characters are all quirky, fun and help round out the group of amateur sleuths.....an edgy punkish rebel, a worn out mom, a sweet man with low self esteem, and a widowed police chief....just a nice group of creative folks. And a great group of friends for a cranky, spoiled restaurant owner. Add in her pampered poodle and it's a nice well-rounded diverse group.

The mystery is engaging, even if the haiku poems left seemed a bit over-the-top. It's a cozy mystery....over-the-top is expected. The book moves along at a nice pace, with plenty of suspects. The background theme of the writer's group and Olivia trying to find some peace about her past did not overpower the mystery but added dimension to the book. Ellery Adams does not write fluffy cozy novels, but really develops her characters and puts some depth into things. I like that for the most part, although sometimes it does get a bit too emo for me. There is a bit of a slight love triangle/confusion in relationships sort of plot device that starts in this first book. I hope it gets resolved quickly. It's just too tropey of a plot device in cozy mysteries.....and to be honest Joanne Fluke's Hannah Swensen used up all my patience with it. Overused and often annoying. I'm hoping the situation is decided and finished quickly.

All in all, a nice start to this series. I'm already reading book 2. I like the characters, the location and the writing style. Glad I finally found the time to read this series! show less

First Line: Two of Oyster bay's lifelong citizens were in line at the Stop 'n' Shop, gossiping over carts stuffed with frozen entrees, potato chips, boxes of Krispy Kremes, and liters of soda when Olivia Limoges breezed through the market's automatic doors.

Olivia is no stranger to gossip-- she's been its regular subject ever since she came back to town. Preferring her own company and that of her dog, Captain Haviland, to most townspeople, she works on her novel in solitude. Writer Camden Ford has to turn on all his charm, but he finally gets Olivia to agree to join the Bayside Book Writers group. Just when she seems on the verge of making new friends, people begin turning up dead with poems left by the bodies. Anyone with the gift of show more language becomes suspect, and it's up to Olivia to catch the killer before she meets a poem with her name on it.

There seems to be more and more cozy mystery series using the North Carolina coast as a setting, and I don't mind a bit. This first entry in the Books By the Bay series has so much to recommend it.

I loved Captain Haviland, the black standard poodle. So many people only know poodles from seeing them in the show ring, and I for one can testify that you don't have to keep them groomed in those ridiculous styles-- plus they're some of the most intelligent dogs on the planet. (Yes, I'm a former poodle owner!)

I also loved the new bookstore in town, Through the Wardrobe, and really enjoyed the secondary characters. Olivia proved to be a fascinating main character. She's used to having money and spending it, so it was interesting to see how she used it in her own small hometown which relies so heavily upon tourism. So much of the time she was very prickly and aloof which made it difficult to warm up to her, but she's an onion that has to be peeled back a layer at a time. The more she interacts with the other characters, the more approachable she's going to get.

I'm going to enjoy peeling back those layers as this series progresses! show less

It took me a much longer time than expected to work myself through this cozy mystery set in a small coastal town in North Carolina called Oyster Bay. The main character, Olivia Limoges, is a wealthy woman in her 40's who has returned to live in her childhood town, buying up many of the buildings and becoming the landlord to what seemed like half the town. She is reserved and miserly in the beginning of the book, living quietly with her standard poodle, Captain Haviland, and working on her historical novel. When she joins a local writer's group, she abruptly changes and becomes overtly friendly, generous and civic-minded. She is befriended by a gay author who is in town researching a famous, wealthy family for a tell-all type book. When show more this man is found murdered at a local park that has created a development controversy due to a small Confederate cemetery on its grounds, Olivia can't help but become involved in investigating what happened.

Somehow, I just could not connect with Olivia Limoges. I think she was just too perfect...beautiful, rich, smart, well-educated, well-mannered, witty, generous and perfectly politically correct in everything she said or did. She has even taken "several courses on administering canine first aid." Oh, and the dog was perfect too. At one point Olivia tells the Chief of Police that, "Haviland has the killer's scent down now and he can identify him! Trust me, the Captain earned perfect scores in all his tracking courses. He has more training than your combined K-9 unit." The murder mystery itself was well-constructed and nicely plotted, I just had a difficult time sympathizing, or even liking, the main character. show less

Oyster Bay, North Carolina used to be a well-kept secret, but since a national magazine rated it one of the best places to live / vacation, the population has swelled and economic growth has increased. Olivia Limoges has recently returned to Oyster Bay; wealthy, single and aloof, she owns a number of commercial buildings as well as her family homestead. A chance encounter with a group of writers, draws her out of her shell, but before she had establish herself with the group one of them is murdered.

This is a pretty interesting cozy mystery, featuring a group of aspiring authors who together try to solve the murder of one of their group. I like Olivia Limoges, though I was picturing her as much older (and eventually figured out she’s show more probably in her mid-30s, or perhaps early-40s). I like that her faithful dog – a standard poodle named Captain Haviland – is a DOG, not a character who helps solve the crime (though his ability to track does come into play). I also like that Olivia and her friends do not take unnecessary chances; they are curious and do meddle (wouldn’t be much of a cozy mystery without SOME intervention by the amateur sleuths), but they seem to know when to back away and let Police Chief Sawyer Rawlings step in.

I thought Adams did a good job of setting the scene. I really got the sense of a small sea-side community that relies on tourist trade in season, fishing year-round, and is struggling with issues of new-found wealth and investment. As is typical of most cozies, there’s a pretty large cast of supporting players, not a few of whom are pretty colorful (a roller-skating dwarf waitress, for example) I found a few of the relationships stretched credulity, but not enough to mar the fun.

Adams includes several interludes where the writers’ group members share chapters from the books they are working on. Well … I could have done without those. The reveal seemed abrupt and it happened a good 50 pages before the book ended, which made me wonder if there wasn’t another twist coming up. That kind of extra padding really isn’t necessary.

Still, it held my attention, it had a good pace and I enjoyed trying to figure out who-done-it. I’ll definitely read another in the series. show less

Oyster Bay, North Carolina better be careful, or it's going to fall off of Time's "Top Ten Best Kept Vacation Secrets" list! Wealthy Olivia Limoges has returned to the town and is part of the re-vitalization of town by being a restaurant owner and a landlord to many of the new businesses in town. Olivia's poodle, Captain Haviland, seems to be her best friend in life until the Bayside Book Writers group invite her to join them. A murder in town, coupled with haiku clue, get the writers group involved in some detecting. Adams secondary characters, like rollerskating Dixie, gentle, yet deep police chief Rawlings and all of the Bayside writers shine in this debut novel. I definitely look forward to their next mystery.