Murder at North Pond by London Lovett [Review]

Murder at North Pond (Frostfall Island #1) by London Lovett
Format: ebook
Source: purchased
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: February 23, 2022

Frostfall Island
1. Murder at North Pond - Paperback | Kindle
2. Death by Rocky Road
3. Ice Cold Killer
4. Bakery Bump Off
5. Harvest Moon Misfortune

London Lovett
| Website | Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):

When Anna St. James graduated college with a business degree, she never expected to find herself running a boarding house on a small island off the east coast. But life throws a lot of curves and Anna has certainly had her share of them. Now, settled into life as owner and landlady of the Moon River Boarding House on Frostfall Island, Anna couldn’t imagine living anywhere else or without the unique and somewhat eccentric tenants she considers family.

Anna would be perfectly content baking and keeping house but Frostfall Island, lovely, remote and somewhat wild, always manages to throw a curve of its own. Most of the time, Frostfall is a charming island with a busy fishing boat harbor and town that attracts summer tourists. But occasionally, quite occasionally, if that’s a phrase, there’s an unexpected murder. Without a dedicated police force, the locals look to Anna to solve crimes. She’s not entirely sure how she landed the role of amateur sleuth but she takes her side job seriously.

When a man dies in a pirate battle reenactment, Anna steps into gear. Only this time, she has a parallel mystery to solve. Her newest tenant, Nathaniel Smith, is quite the puzzle, a puzzle who came with a piercing blue gaze and a trove of secrets.

Thoughts on Murder at North Pond: Okay. We're hitting up a new series with a new locale and a new (VERY quirky) cast of characters. The island is small, but it has more than its fair share of murders. Apparently. I mean, this time, we're only dealing with one, but there have been others before and Anna has had to step in and take the reins in solving them.

But before we get to the murder, let's talk about Anna and her boarders. Anna is...well, she's resigned to being freshly turned 40 and she's (mostly) happy running her boarding house. She's still dealing with the past in little, unexpected ways (because THINGS HAPPENED in the past that set her on this particular path) and she's content with the group of boarders who have become like family to her. Well, mostly content. Her newest boarder is a little standoff-ish and a lot mysterious and Anna's honestly not sure at first if he's going to fit in with the others and their quirks.

Then a murder happens and Anna has to play the dual role of landlady and amateur detective. She doesn't have any fancy backup, but she puzzles her way through clues and motives until she gets the job done.

A little mystery, a charming island with a BIG small town vibe, a mysterious new tenant, and one lady who's trying to do her best with what she's been given. *thumbs up*