I’m pleasantly surprised. I actually kind of liked this book. The first part of it, anyway.

It’s a few months after the events of the first book and it is Christmas time. Summer is still running the bookshop her mom has left her, and avoiding opening a box her half-brother has given her. Marilyn and Glads are still helping out at the shop all the time, despite having actual day jobs and organizing a Cozy Mystery Writers Meet-up. They’ve invited three cozy mystery writers to Brigid’s Island: Peg, Lucy and Mimi.

Mimi’s written a book that’s loosely based on an unsolved murder that took place on Brigid’s Island 35 years ago. Before she’s even arrived on the island, she’s received a threat to stay away from the island. Which she doesn’t, but it’s decided - due to the threat - it’s better she’d stay at Summer’s house rather than at the B and B. Not entirely clear why.

Meanwhile, Summer receives a second box, this time from the storage room at the bookshop. This box has a scrapbook her mother kept with newspaper clippings from the old murder. Naturally, Summer is intrigued.

Then one of the boxes is stolen from Summer’s house and Mimi disappears. It seems someone wants the past to stay in the past.

Actually, it is up to this point I liked the story. Sure, the author is again mostly writing for word count: thoughts are repeated too many times and there are unnecessarily long descriptions. But not actually all that much is happening in the sense of plot developments. Until, rather suddenly, there is a full confession of the guilty and an arrest by the police.

I’m sure this could have been a tighter story. There are too many characters hanging around the bookstore that serve no real purpose, and the characters of Peg and Lucy should have been fleshed out better for them to be hanging around for a few days extra.

I read an ARC through NetGalley.