Review: Dead in the Pond by Dahlia Donovan (Grasmere Cottage Mystery #2)
Note: An advanced reader copy (ARC) was provided by the publisher via Give Me Books Promotions.
I know of a reader or two who equate cozy mysteries with "campy" mysteries. In short, they're entertaining but not all that stimulating in any other way. Well, I'm not entirely sure what sort of cozy mysteries they've been reading, but I'm thinking they need a dose or three of Dahlia Donovan's Grasmere Cottage Mystery trilogy. I felt like the third part of the amateur sleuthing duo of Valor Scott and Bishan Tamboli, paying close attention to the clues, which were few and far between and oh-so-mind boggling! Entertaining, yes, but don't doubt that Donovan's series is the sort that actually makes you take a long, hard look at potential suspects while trying to solve the mystery of who it is that's murdering people who are tied to Valor and Bishan and what they're motives could be.
(Fair warning: I'm going to be mentioning things here that could very well be taken as spoilers, so tread carefully if you've yet to read the first book because you DO need to read these books in order--they are NOT standalones.) After being freed from police custody, Bishan Tamboli is still trying to acclimate to life back in the cottage he shares with boyfriend Valor Scott. Learning that their beloved housemaster was the latest victim of the still unknown killer, Bishan finds himself trying to figure out the puzzles--not anagrams!--the killer's left behind each and every time they've taken yet another life. Maybe if they're able to decipher the killer's messages, they'll come closer to learning who it could be, but will they be able to do so before even more lives--including theirs--are taken again?
(Fair warning: I'm going to be mentioning things here that could very well be taken as spoilers, so tread carefully if you've yet to read the first book because you DO need to read these books in order--they are NOT standalones.) After being freed from police custody, Bishan Tamboli is still trying to acclimate to life back in the cottage he shares with boyfriend Valor Scott. Learning that their beloved housemaster was the latest victim of the still unknown killer, Bishan finds himself trying to figure out the puzzles--not anagrams!--the killer's left behind each and every time they've taken yet another life. Maybe if they're able to decipher the killer's messages, they'll come closer to learning who it could be, but will they be able to do so before even more lives--including theirs--are taken again?
This book had me writing down a list of suspects, and I found myself scratching off a couple of names by the end of this installment for reasons that you'll just have to learn on your own. I love a story that actually has me sitting up and paying attention. I also feel like I got to know Bishan better in this second book, thanks to the switch in third-person perspectives from Valor to him this time around. Things were also taken up a notch as far as both the mystery and romance aspects were concerned, and while this may be more of the former than the latter, those glimpses that I get from the relationship between Bishan and Valor made it clear how committed these two were to each other, and that's enough for me. Dead in the Pond gets five stars. PS: Book three will be so worth the wait! ♥
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Read my reviews for the Grasmere Cottage Mystery series:
Dead in the Garden (book one) - 4.5 stars - My Review
Dead in the Pond (book two) - five stars - My Review (posted above)
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Release Date: 07 October 2018
Date Read: 13 October 2018
Date Read: 13 October 2018
Learn more about Dahlia Donovan.
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