Pages: 265

Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press

Published: December 29, 2020

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

My Review: Another great addition to the Seaside Café Mystery. A fast-paced but well-plotted read.

We get to join Everly and her aunts at Halloween/Election time in Charm, NC and things are not as cute as they seem. While the little ghosts and goblins are running around looking for treats there are scary things happening to Everly making her wonder who should she trust. Someone thinks Everly has a treasure map that will lead them to a great fortune from many years ago. Can Everly survive to see if her aunt wins the local mayoral election?

I enjoy the pace of this series. I always find myself diving headfirst into the book like Lou diving into his plate of fresh shrimp. I never want to come up for air until the last page. I only wish Grady wasn’t so wishy-washy and either let Everly go or treat her with the love she deserves.

A few yummy recipes are included.

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher, Poisoned Pen Press, through NetGalley. Any opinions expressed in the above review are entirely my own.

NetGalley: Could this be the bitter end for Everly?

It’s almost Halloween, and the small island of Charm, North Carolina is decked out for the festivities. When Everly Swan agrees to close her iced tea shop early to help her aunts host their annual haunted historic walking tour, she expects some good-natured spooks. But the night turns grave when one of the ghostly actors is found dead. To complicate matters, the victim scratched Everly’s name into the ground before she died, making her a key suspect.

Everly’s potential boo, Detective Grady, takes the case—and he definitely doesn’t want her getting involved. But Everly doesn’t have much of a choice when a phantom sailor straight out of local legend starts leaving her threatening messages… With a local election under way, ghosts on the loose, and a search for long-lost buried treasure, Everly can’t help but stir the pot!

The fifth book in Bree Baker’s acclaimed Seaside Café Mystery series, Closely Harbored Secrets is a frighteningly fun read!