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4.5
"A Deadly Cliché" is book no. 2 in this series about a strong-willed, self-contained, woman of wealth who lives in the fictional seaside town of Oyster Bay, North Carolina. Olivia Limoges (like the china) goes quietly about her business, living simply but comfortably, spending time with her standard poodle, Captain Haviland, unobtrusively helping her neighbors when she can, and, of course, solving murders.At the start of this book, Olivia is walking Captain Haviland along the seashore when she sees something that catches her eye in the distance. She investigates and finds what's left of a man's head hidden under a bucket. The next thing she knows, the town is hit by a string of strange but harmless burglaries, until someone else gets killed.Olivia and the members of her writing critique group, the Bayside Book Writers, spend time trying to solve the crimes and decode the cliché hints left at each scene. Oyster Bay Police Chief Sawyer Rawlings, a member of the writers' group, reluctantly asks the group to keep its ears open and share any gossip regarding the crimes and deaths. Olivia is instrumental in solving the murders, while solving the 30-year-old mystery of what happened to her father.I was caught up in the story, from the opening scene of the town preparing for a major storm, through the various crimes, to the surprise ending, and I was bereft when the book ended. The characters are memorable, complex and likeable, even the secondary ones.Olivia reminds me of Kate Fansler, from Amanda Cross's collegiate mystery series. Like Cross, Ellery Adams writes a clean, literate series with complex dialogue and captivating plots and subplots. I feel smarter when I'm done. And I have such a great time along the way, I don't realize she's slipping in some education.Adams also writes the Charmed Pie Shoppe mysteries, which while completely different from the Books by the Bay series, are equally entertaining and well-written.Show moreShow less
