Florida makes a great setting for this series. In addition to the beauty of a barrier island and a hotel with such a fun background, fishing and hurricanes come into play after a body washes ashore. I really like the quirky characters and hope to continue to catch up with the series.

What a wonderful group of characters! They are so well developed and you feel like you know each one personally. Aunt Amelia and her sidekick macaw, Barnacle Bob, are so entertaining. I enjoyed all of the references to various TV shows and commercials that Aunt Amelia appeared in over the years. And then you factor in a murder mystery and you are in for a delightful read.

The relationships between the various characters are varied...budding romance, friendships, family, frenemies, jealousy...a little bit of everything. And such wonderful pets are scattered throughout. I want to move to the Indialantic By the Sea and live with this amazing group of people.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lyrical Underground for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

4 Stars

This is the second book in the A By The Sea Mystery series by Kathleen Bridge

Basic premise: Liz finds a dead body on the beach with an antique gold coin underneath the corpse. She decides to get involved in the investigation but is asked over and over to stay out of it.

Loved the quirky Aunt Amelia. She was quite a hoot. Although, her constant litany of her acting credits do get a bit tiresome after awhile. There is a big pirate theme in this story and that makes this even more interesting to the reader. BUT … Somehow I thought the pirate thing verses the acting stories made the whole plottline hard to follow and disrupted the mystery aspect of it all.

I thought the mystery was pretty good. Hard to follow at times and the flow of the text did feel a bit choppy but the characterization was better. The middle of the story felt muddled when the focus changed to Aunt Amelia instead of the mystery. But I caught back up with it in the last third of the book.

As far as the love connection goes… I am not totally buying this relationship between Liz and Ryan. It just feels off to me. Sometimes it is hard to tell ages when you read a book so it is hard to guess whom I would like better to fill that part. Not to mention the comparisons between citizens and actors is really difficult. I am not sure many of the fans of the cozy genre would even know who many of these actors were.

Overall, it was a pretty good read and I look forward to reading more in the series!

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.

Thrilling story with a plot that kept me turning the pages, really well written with great characters. Highly recommend to everyone who is a fan of this genre.

This is the second book in the By the Sea mystery series. I read the first book and was intrigued by the setting and the characters, and the second book did not disappoint. I really love the setting and it's so well described I wanted to go to Florida to try to find it.

In this book, Liz finds a body washed up in front of the hotel. Liz doesn't think it's an accident, especially when the local homicide detective shows up. As a hurricane approaches, Liz tries to solve the murder.

I love the cast of characters and look forward to the next book in the series. Thanks to Kensington Lyrical Underground and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is book 2 in the By the Sea Mystery series. It is an easy stand alone read set in Florida. Liz lives in her family's historic hotel on the beach and is working on her new novel. When a local fisherman is found dead on the beach it is apparent he was murdered. With a new treasure hunting boat in the area it has locals in an uproar. Pets play a big part of this series and it has a light romance brewing. I received a copy of of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The second in the By the Sea series will have readers excited to be back in Florida for the latest mystery. Liz and her new boyfriend are formidable sleuths.

Princess Fuzzypants here: A Hurricane is just one of the challenges facing Liz, her family and friends. A popular young man’s body washes up on the beach, after disappearing off a fishing boat. What is initially assumed to be a tragic accident turns out to be murder. What is the connection between his passion for photography, a theatrical troupe, sunken treasure and a wealthy man who owns multiple businesses? Did that connection get him killed?
Nothing is straight forward and there are some huge twists that neither Liz nor the reader see until the very end. It is a good mystery set in a great location with fascinating characters. From Liz to her great-aunt, to her father, the key characters are smart and well fleshed out. What makes this series even more enjoyable is the cast of misfits that blend into the larger “family” that interact at the Indiatlantic. Her great-aunt seems to rescue these “strays” making the extended group all the richer and more interesting.
I have enjoyed the series from the beginning. These are characters with whom the reader can relate. Adding to my pleasure are four legged family members. I happily will check in again and again.
I give five purrs and two paws up.

In Kathleen Bridge's A Killing by the Sea, the 2nd installment in the By the Sea cozy mystery series, this installment would sweep you off your feet and captivate you with heightened suspense. For Liz Holt, her life couldn't be better as a writer and living in Melbourne Beach, Florida. But besides the continuous babble with her great-aunt Amelia and her friend Susannah Shay for a part in the play called the Bat, things do get dramatic along the shore. It all started with Liz finding a dead body along the ocean. She already knew it was her family friend Minna's nephew Dylan, a photographer who was making a name for himself as an underwater cinematographer. When she learned about the news, she begins to dig deeper on who caused his death and why. Things are getting deeper for Liz and her boyfriend Ryan, when they might take their relationship up to the next level. But when she ran into Jake, a friend of Dylan, she became suspicious of him and his latest actions. Then Minna's house had a fire and nothing was missing or damaged, except for one thing. Then she took a closer look into Jake's background and learned more about the ship Poseidon and what it has been up to.. including a new murder from a local billionaire. As she pieced together the pieces to this twisted puzzle, it thickened the pot before things got hotter during a hurricane storm to found out who done it and why.

Liz Holt has moved to her Aunt's historic hotel on a barrier island in Florida. She's supposed to be an author, but doesn't seem to be doing much writing after she discovers the body of a fishing crewmember on the beach. It's soon obvious that he didn't just drown, and Liz begins to investigate the people on the island who knew this man. She's aided by her girlfriend, her boyfriend, and her father, who is a lawyer and just happens to be dating the detective on the case. Subplots abound, including an approaching hurricane, the various animals at the hotel, a play that's in rehearsal, and the lure of sunken treasure. Another ongoing theme is the fact that her Aunt used to be an actress in the 50s and 60s, and they often refer to her roles in various sitcoms of the day. A fun read!

A Killing by the Sea by Kathleen Bridge is the second book in the By the Sea Mystery series. Liz has settled into life at the Indialantic by the Sea. The peacefulness is broken by the discovery of the body of a fisherman who went overboard. I enjoy the series although I wish less time were spent on Liz's aunt's former tv and film career. I also find Liz's love interest to exhibit some red flags in his behavior. He tends to run off and pout like a two year old if Liz does not act exactly like he wants. The series has promise with the growth of a few characters.

Liz Holt has returned to Melbourne, Florida after a disastrous breakup and is now living happily in the home of her childhood, the Indialantic by the Sea hotel with her father and great-aunt Amelia. She's also at the beginning of a new relationship with ex-firefighter and arson investigator Ryan Stone, who's moved here to help his grandfather run the deli at the hotel's emporium.

When everything at last seems to be going swimmingly for Liz, she sees a body on the beach and discovers it's the nephew of another emporium tenant, Minna, also a friend of Liz's. It's more tragic when it's discovered that Dylan was murdered, not merely fallen overboard the ship he was on, which is what everyone thought. But who would want to kill the young man who was also a budding photographer? While there is no dearth of suspects, it's not going to be easy to figure it out. Yet that's what Liz and Ryan have decided to do, even if they have to do it on the down low, since the lead detective also happens to be Liz's father's girlfriend, and has warned them away.

But when Minna's house is set on fire and Dylan's belongings have been rifled through, Liz is sure there's more to the story and wants to find out the real reason Dylan was killed, and if the killer didn't find what they were looking for, maybe she and Ryan can find it first...

I have to say that I really struggled with this book. I've said many times before that I'm a great believer in details, and there were several inconsistencies and things that didn't make any sense, which are in spoilers below:

BEGINNING OF SPOILER
For instance, it was little things like Liz noting that agent Pearson was wearing a jacket with a sleeveless blouse. If she wore a jacket, how did Liz know the blouse was sleeveless? (I get the jacket was white and the blouse black, but I'm guessing the jacket wasn't see-through or Charlotte has not sense of style, because who would wear a see-through jacket with a black blouse?) Also, she mentions as to how this isn't the first dead body she's seen/ Where? In the first book, she didn't discover the body and only saw it covered by a sheet. We're also not told why Dylan had Minna's last name if Minna is divorced and Dylan was her sister's son. Wouldn't he have a different last name? It is possible, but these are details, and details count.

Then there was the fact that it was mentioned that all the shops in the emporium were divided not by walls, but by four foot partitions. The words are: "...turned their heads to their right at the four-foot partition that divided the emporium shops from each other." Since this isn't explained further, do we take it to mean that this is all that divides the shops? Not walls? Because adults are taller than four feet (not counting little people), so these shops aren't separated at all, nor are they stores. They're basically just sections in one big building. You can look over a divider that short and see the 'shop' next door, and hear everything that's going on. Must be fun to be browsing books and listening to conversations about what they have next door. It's also mentioned in the last book that Kate has huge bookshelves. So they're obviously taller than the dividers, and the shop next door would see the back of them which would be an eyesore in my opinion. This also becomes a problem because if there are no walls, no one can lock up their shop. Then if someone stays late with a customer all the other shops are apparently "open" because with only dividers, there wouldn't be doors. So anyone at all could just walk through and take things. (People aren't always as trustworthy as you think, especially in this town). Or do they force everyone to enter and exit at the same time? As I've stated above, details count.

I also felt like the Indialantic hotel was a misnomer, because it didn't seem like one (since in both books she's only had one guest - and that was the last book; although it is mentioned that it's kept as a sort of boarding house), but merely a throwback to Amelia's past that she kept around as part of her memories - creepily like Miss Haversham from Dickens' Great Expectations. She surrounds herself with others like her - an eighty-one-year-old chef who thinks a script is a menu (why is this man even cooking anymore?) a housekeeper in her seventies who's had a hip replacement but apparently has no problem cleaning rooms, changing linens, scrubbing toilets, etc. (which is what housekeepers do), and going so far as to help out cooking in the kitchen. Nope. When was the last time you saw a maid/housekeeper either cooking or serving food to you in a hotel? And why is she doing the shopping for Pierre? Shouldn't a chef be choosing his own food and not trusting it to someone else unless they’re his trained assistant? I wouldn't send a neighbor/friend out to buy vegetables and meat for me, and I'm not even a professional chef. A boat captain that's in his seventies. A permanent boarder that’s eighty-three. And now, another elderly ex-actress who constantly snipes at Amelia and those around her. What fun. This place isn't a hotel; it's a retirement home for those who have no money so Aunt Amelia can foot the bill. Yes, they work there - part-time - but each has a 'suite' of rooms (!) and get room and board for their keep, so yes, she's footing the bill. My thoughts are this should be renamed the Indialantic Retirement Home.

Not to mention every single one of them is in excellent health (except for Pierre's memory loss which brings us back to why is the man still cooking instead of enjoying a leisurely retirement?) It doesn't seem realistic somehow; not a single one has any ailments - arthritis, heart condition, bad knees, etc.; not even Greta with her hip replacement (I fully expect her to take up hula dancing in the next book). While I know there are older people who are in good condition, there are many more whose health isn't what it was when they were in their fifties. Why doesn’t Amelia hire real help and allow these people to retire already? I'd hate to think I'd still be working in my seventies and/or eighties.

Then everyone in the book is compared to an actor (mostly from the 60's but not all). I'd like to think there weren't that many doppelgangers in this small town, but apparently I'm wrong. Instead of describing people, we're told they look like actors, and it gets annoying. Even the 'big kahuna' on the beach looks like - yup, you guessed it - the 'Big Kahuna' of the movie Gidget, Cliff Robertson. Seriously? (But note to Liz: if he does, dump Ryan for this guy. Cliff Robertson is a heck of a lot more masculine, not to mention better-looking, than that guy from Poldark, which is who Ryan is supposed to look like).

By the end of the book I was honestly getting tired of Amelia spouting her acting credits (and plots) over and over and over. Besides, anyone who thinks Basil Rathbone was the best Sherlock Holmes (Nigel Bruce was a bumbling Watson, to boot) instead of Jeremy Brett obviously hasn't seen any other Sherlock (sorry; had to add that because I was getting really irritated by her). She's not an interesting character, even if there are supposed 'exploits of her youth' thrown into each book. She really does seem sad and a lot like Miss Haversham, although unlike the latter, she wasn’t left at the altar. Personally, I think she never married not because she decided against it, but because her three fiancés just couldn't take listening to her talk about her TV appearances anymore.
END OF SPOILER

This is the second book in the series but I felt that it was mainly centered on 1) Aunt Amelia's exploits; 2) Romance; 3) The mystery; when the mystery should have been #1 and Aunt Amelia should have been #3. We learn a lot about Amelia's TV shows, and almost everyone has a romantic interest; but Liz never gets close to danger and there's no nail-biting moments at all; it's more romance than mystery, and more Aunt Amelia than romance.

The worst thing is we're still not told the entire story of what happened to Liz to cause the scar on her face (although we're getting closer to finding out) and then it’s added in that we don't know what is going on with Susannah - why she's there and too broke to pay her way. (She's also pretty arrogant in telling Liz she needs to put her phone on vibrate. What business is it of hers?). So now there are two things that should be explained and haven’t been done so: what happened to Liz, and why is Susannah living at the hotel?

At the end, I struggled with the mystery, mainly because it was broken up so much by everything else going on that it seemed almost an afterthought; this wasn’t really a mystery at all, even if there was a murder; it was a book about Aunt Amelia and her career and exploits, with a “murder lite” thrown in. I really didn't care about the victim because not a lot was said about him, and I didn't see why Liz was even investigating because Charlotte isn't an inept detective and the police were doing their job. It just seemed 'off' to me.

I give three stars for the writing which was very good, but as you can read, I had a difficult time with this book, and I'm sorry for that. The reasons why are written above, and again, I am really sorry that I just couldn't get into the book. I'm a big believer in paying attention to details, and there was just so much missing for me.

This is the second in series. I highly recommend the first in this delightful series. This is a strong well crafted cozy series with a charming coastal Florida setting,, savvy smart protagonist and always a great sleuth with fun supporting charcters.
Liz Holt grew up at Melbourne Beach, Florida and has recently returned from New York City after an abusive marriage ended. She is healing amid her family and learning to be happy again. She and her father live with her great Aunt Amelia at her formerly famed resort hotel., Amelia is a active smart and lively eighty year old former actress who adds a lot of humor and wit to the story. She has some friends to live in her hotel permanently. There is a close fun group of people who form a friendly community of friends, cats, dog and parrot. Fenton, Liz's dad lives in the hotel and so does Liz.
When a close friend and nephew of one of their friends is found by Liz dead on the shore of the resort Liz and her friend, Kate,,try to find out what happened to cause Dylan's death. Dylan was a popular photographer who is well liked by all and his murder makes no sense. Liz is determined to find out who murdered him on the heels of solving her first murder after returning to town. She soon begins to find more clues and suspects that the local police who want her off the case. She is not be deterred and soon solves the case with help from her friends and family who want this murder to be solved as well.
This was a fun mystery series with quirky charcters, a great Florida coastal setting and always a good sleuth and whodunit . I did not figure out the true suspect and was surprised by the ending. , I highly recommend this series for your reading enjoyment for all who love a good mystery .

Thanks to NetGalley for ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I’m afraid I did not finish this book. It was heavy on scenery and short on character development. The writing was all over the place. I wanted to like it but just couldn’t get into it.

A Killing by the Sea is fun, action packed mystery with a great setting and a cast of interesting, quirky characters. Liz Holt grew up at Melbourne Beach, Florida and has recently returned from New York City after an abusive marriage, newly divorced. She and her father has lived with her great Aunt Amelia at her formerly famed resort, Interlantic by the Sea hotel, shops and grounds, since the death of her mother when Liz was a young girl. Amelia is an sprite and lively eighty year old former actress. While her hotel is not open to the public, she does allow some friends to live in her hotel permanently, some free. There is a lively, close knit and fun group of people who form a little community of friends, cats, dog and parrot. Fenton, Liz's dad lives in an apartment on site and is an attorney. Liz lives in a former pavilion and is working on a novel. When a close friend and nephew of one of their shop owners and friends is found by Liz dead on the shore of the resort after disappearing from a fishing vessel, Liz and her friend, Kate, and boyfriend, Ryan, try to find out what is behind Dylan's death. Dylan is a photographer whose work is on display with his aunt Minna's work. Dylan is well liked by all and everyone is upset by his death. Did he see something that he should not have? There is a big group of suspects that appear to be suspicious but the ending was a bit of a surprise. Fenton's lovely girlfriend, Police Detective Charlotte Pearson, is not happy with Liz and friends' interfering with her investigation but they do find some important clues.
This was a fun mystery with a great cast of characters in a interesting setting and even a hurricane to complicate events. I did not read the first in the series and I did have a little trouble following the people and events at the beginning but as the story unfolds, I had no problems following.
Thank you to Lyrical Underground and Kensington Books through NetGalley for the complimentary ARC to read and review. The opinions stated are mine only.

Liz never thought coming back to live in Florida after 10 years in New York City would turn out to be deadly. After an ugly ending to her relationship with her boyfriend (good riddance to bad rubbish as the old saying goes). In this, the second mystery, Liz is happily living in a nice little beach cottage, back in the family fold. Her great Aunt, a former character actress from the 1950's and 1960's runs a slightly worn around the edges hotel, one with an olympic sized pool, cottages.....plenty of room for her "strays", both human and four legged furry ones. The Indialantic By the Sea hotel and Emporium has a wonderful cast of characters. The stores that make up the emporium side of things range from clothing to books to art to food and inland boat tours. More to be added by the end of this entry.
As things are progressing with the stage play, The Bat, and plans are coming together for a Pirate weekend event, complete with a hunt for buried treasure, Liz finds murder and treasure hunting have literally landed at her doorstep. Leaving her cottage one morning she comes across a corpse washed up on the beach and, sad to say, it is someone she knows. Her new boyfriend, Ryan, is working as a PI for her father, a semi retired lawyer and, along with just about everyone else in her vast circle of friends, the investigating begins. If that wasn't hard enough, along comes a hurricane named Roberta to really shake things up.
The hotel is the sort of place I would love to call home. It's a family, everyone looking out for each other, each with a special personal story-life event that has brought them here. It's a safe haven, with or without a hurricane. I'm looking forward to the third book - there are some delightful hints scattered at the end of this mystery that I want to know more about. This can be read as standalone but I'm almost positive that, if this was your introduction to Liz and her family, you will want to go get a copy of the first mystery, Death by the Sea.

A Killing by the Sea by Kathleen Bridge is the 2nd book in the By the Sea Mystery series, and another great book. Liz Holt returns to her home town of Melbourne Beach, Florida and her family's Inn, Indialantic Hotel . Liz has been living in New York, and she's happy to be home and be with family and friends. When the body of a young man from a fishing crew, washes up on shore, Liz is determined to get to the truth. There are twists and turns around every corner. I found this book to be a quick read, with a well developed plot and characters. If you love funny cozy mysteries, I recommend this book. I am anxiously waiting for the next book in the series. 

This review is based on the ARC provided by the author and/or the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Living by the sea and working in her aunt's hotel is fun and she loves her aunt and tales of what she did in the past. She never expected to find a dead man on the beach. The worst part is she knows him...

Lyrical Underground and Net Galley let me read this book for review (thank you). It will be published September 25th.

They determine that his death was not accidental but was murder. But who on the boat did it?

She and her boyfriend visit Jake's house and learn he must be doing more than he's supposed to be on those boat cruises. He wouldn't be able to afford it just by bringing in fish.

He's not the only one who has more money than he should. Then there's another murder. Who killed him?

As they work they way through clues and guesses in this cozy you find yourself rooting for the girl and her boyfriend to find the truth. They do. This one was a fun read with a touch of romance. I liked it.

Stand alone – absolutely. This is the second in the series. I usually enjoy books set in Florida. The story was interesting and I was surprised upon reveal.

What I did like:
The cast of characters – their diversity.
The main characters are evolving. This one is set in Melbourne.
Lots of twists and turns, leading to a not so easily picked culprit.
References to show from the 1960s and 1970s.

What I did not like:
Many characters – distracting.

Looking forward to another installment.

Loved it! A delightful mix of murder mystery, romance, pets, quirky friends and relatives, location, and so much more. I am eager to read the next one in this charming and entertaining series.