"Closely Harbored Secrets" By Bree Baker: Review/Giveaway

Review by Sandra Murphy

Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win a copy of the book and links to purchase it.

Everly Swan owns Sun, Sand, and Tea, an iced tea café in Charm, North Carolina. It’s election time, and her Aunt Fran is running for mayor against Mary Grace and a former Senator.

It’s also Halloween. And Everly’s BFF Amelia’s book launch. And time to bake half a dozen rum cakes a day, some for locals and some to ship out. All in all, Everly’s got more tasks on her To Do List than she has flavors of tea, and that’s twenty different kinds a day. 

---

➡ switch to KingsRiverLife.com for more articles ⬅

---

Image Source Poisoned Pen Press

Aunt Fran and Aunt Clara run the annual ghost walk tours to pass along history of the small island. Guides tells stories as they walk from site to site and upon arrival, costumed locals take over. This year, they’ve partnered with Preservation and Retelling of Unrecorded History, Kitty Hawk chapter. Dixie, one of their members, claims the role of Mourning Mabel. The story says Mabel took up with a married man who built a lavish home for her. When his wife found out, she walked out into the sea and drowned. Riddled with guilt, Mabel threw herself off the widow’s walk. Mabel’s house is now Everly’s home and tea shop. As with any island, rumors abound about buried treasure. 

Things get truly spooky when Mourning Mabel misses her cue and is found dying near the memorial built for the original Mabel. Trying to help, Everly gets blood on her hands, is found next to the body, and a weapon is nearby. Good thing the detective is her love interest, or getting there. 

Threats follow, accusing Everly of having a map. She doesn’t. In the meantime, Grady thinks they should just be friends. What a time to opt for that talk!  

This is book five in the series. Lou, the seagull, and Maggie, the white cat, are prominent in the story, always a plus. Everly is settling into life on the island once again. Change is coming, always a cause for anxiety. Readers will look forward to what happens next.  

 Recipes include savory sweet potatoes with maple syrup, bite-sized apple pies, and lemon basil iced tea.   

To enter to win a copy of  Closely Harbored Secrets, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line "harbored,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen March 6, 2021. US residents only and you must be 18 or older to enter. If entering via email please include your mailing address in case you win. BE AWARE THAT DUE TO THE CURRENT CRISIS THERE MAY BE A DELAY IN SHIPPING THE WINNING BOOK. You can read our privacy statement here if you like.

Check out other mystery articles, reviews, book giveaways & mystery short stories in our mystery section in Kings River Life and in our mystery category here on KRL News & Reviews. And join our mystery Facebook group to keep up with everything mystery we post, and have a chance at some extra giveaways. And check out our new mystery podcast which features mystery short stories and first chapters read by local actors! A new episode went up this week.

You can use these links to purchase the book. If you have adblocker on you may not be able to see the Amazon link:

Closely Harbored Secrets

Sandra Murphy lives in the shadow of the Arch in St. Louis Missouri. She writes about eco-friendly topics, pets and wildlife for magazines and reviews mysteries and thrillers for KRL. A collection of her short stories, published by Untreed Reads, From Hay to Eternity: Ten Tales of Crime and Deception can be found at all the usual outlets. Each one is a little weird and all have a twist you won't see coming.

Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.