As a professional storyteller, Maureen Nash can’t help but see the narrative cues woven through her life. Like the series of letters addressed to her late husband from a stranger—the proprietor of The Moon Shell, a shop on Ocracoke Island, off the coast of North Carolina. The store is famous with shell collectors, but it’s the cryptic letters from Allen Withrow, the shop’s owner, that convince Maureen to travel to the small coastal town in the middle of hurricane season. At the very least, she expects she’ll get a good story out of the experience, never anticipating it could end up a murder mystery . . .
As a first in a series not bad and will continue the series. I loved the story of the Moon Shell and Maureen is a fun character. That being said there were parts that fell flat or confused me. As I stated the first book glitches.
#ComeShellorHighWater #NetGalley

This is such a fun read! I loved the story and the idea of a haunted shell shop. The main character, Maureen goes to Okracoke Island, a place where she used to vacation with her family prior to her husband's death last year. Maureen has an interest in shells and hopes to find some on shore in the wake of a hurricane

Maureen stumbles over a body in the woods and is found by Burt and Glady, an elderly brother-sister duo who live next door to the Shell Shop. Maureen also meets a ghost, Emrys Lloyd, a 16th century pirate. Initially, there was a lot going on in the book and it was difficult to get into, however I think that matches the mood the author was going for, as Maureen had been electrocuted by a lamp in the shell shop and was found by Burt and Glady unresponsive on the floor. As Maureen, our narrator, is coming to, the scene was chaotic and some understandably disjointed from her point of view.

I did enjoy the book and liked the way the story went. I am looking forward to more books in the series.

Molly MacRae's first book in a new series happens to be very well-written once you get into it a lot is going on but it is worth the time to read. It's a fascinating book with different characters so you don't know who the killer is. Maureen Nash has found some pretty scary times and talking to a ghost helps her find a lot of the answers that she needs answers for. The book leaves you hanging in the end so I am looking forward to the next book that will answer all the questions she left us hanging with on the last page. Thank you, NetGalley for the book. It was an enjoyable read.

Paranormal cozy mysteries can be hit or miss. While I did not love this book, the series does have potential. First books in a series are hard to judge. I felt the introduction of the characters and setting could have been smoother. I am interested in reading a second book.

Come Shell or High Water by Molly MacRae is the first book in the new paranormal cozy A Haunted Shell Shop Mystery series. As with most cozy mystery series the A Haunted Shell Shop Mystery will feature a new mystery to be solved in each book so they can be read as a standalone if choosing to do so. Of course there will be some character development carrying over from book to book for those who follow from the beginning.

Maureen Nash was recently widowed and is retired from her job as a malacologist, someone who studies mussels, and is also a folklorist weaving stories. When Maureen received letters address to her former husband from a man who owns The Moon Shell, a shop on Ocracoke Island, off the coast of North Carolina she can’t help but be curious and decides to visit the Island but just happens to arrive right after a hurricane has passed.

What Maureen didn’t expect to find on the Island was a dead body as soon as she arrived and when it’s found to be the very man she came to see she becomes a suspect looking to clear her name and with the help from some new friends and a ghost she finds on the island Maureen vows to find the murderer herself.

I am normally a huge fan of books that cross over genres with being someone who likes to read a lot of different genres myself so Come Shell or High Water by Molly MacRae seemed to be right up my alley. Unfortunately though this one got off to a very rocky and dare I say confusing start for me so I found myself trying to keep up. It sort of dumps a reader in but also then switches back and forth between different things in the beginning so it was hard to get hooked into the story. Probably not a series I will return to myself but others did enjoy this one more than I did so if you like a cozy with some paranormal and a lot of quirkiness this may be for you.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

I'm a huge fan of the Highlands Bookshop Mysteries and I knew I'd love Come Shell or High Water. Molly Macrae creates a wonderful "sense of place" in her novels. They are carefully researched and as a frequent visitor to Okracoke I appreciated all the realistic details. I love combining a paranormal element with the cozy mystery format. The dialogue is witty, entertaining and the characters are beguiling and memorable. Definitely recommending to my friends. Another winner for this talented writer.

This was a fun cozy. Maureen is at loose ends. Recently widowed, she isn't quite sure what to do with herself. She remembers fun family vacations in Ocracoke Island, North Carolina which is a barrier island. She found some letters from a proprietor of a shell shop on the island addressed to her husband. Maureen loves shells and decides why not? She arrives on the island just after a hurricane. She is renting a very small house. She decides to stretch her legs and go to the beach. While at the beach she finds a rare shells with writing/painting on it. She also finds a dead body. She wakes up in the shell shop. Soon she is plunged into finding the true murderer. She meets quirky residents as well as a ghost who lives in the shell she found.

The story is entertaining and kept my attention. It provides a nice escape.

This was the first cozy mystery that I've read by this author but it won't be the last. If you enjoy cozies with a touch of paranormal then this one is for you. In this case, the paranormal character is the ghost of a pirate who was killed long ago. The main character, Maureen, has the fascinating job as a professional story teller. It's unclear whether or not she will be using particular skill set throughout the series but it does seem interesting. She does however have the knack of solving murders! I loved the Outer Banks setting and there are other characters that keep the story flowing. I'm looking forward to reading more in this series.

A cozy mystery with a splash of seaside charm, and a great beginning to a new series. The plot is clever with a bit of humor.. Some of the plot twists are a bit predictable but still engaging. I loved the characters , especially the elderly siblings.
Many thanks to Kensington and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I have always enjoyed this authors books. Characters were interesting. I liked the setting but I found the start hard to follow.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Princess Fuzzypants here: When Maureen is dropped off on Ocracoke Island by her park ranger friend immediately after a hurricane swept through, she probably thought the drama was behind her. The widow has come to the island to find answers to cryptic letters she and her late husband have received from Allen. The mysteries have only just begun when she literally stumbles over Allen’s corpse and then wakes up, confused and disorientated, in his shell shop. She has no idea how she got there and neither do the elderly couple, Glady and Burt. Ghost Emrys whom only she seems to see might have some answers. That is if his very existence does not make Maureen wonder what is real and what is fantasy.

I was hooked from the get-go by the fascinating and quirky characters who will keep you guessing as to who did what to whom. The story that weaves back and forth over almost three centuries is held together by a special shell. Maureen and Emrys form a friendship that will allow them to solve the murders and perhaps begin to answer why Emrys has been trapped in this ghostly plane for so long and what was the secret Allen wanted to share with her husband.. It is the first of a new series and I am looking forward to seeing where life- and death- leads our two heroes. Five purrs and two paws up.

.

Come Shell or High Water is the first book in a new light paranormal cozy shopfront mystery series by Molly MacRae. Released 25th June 2024 by Kensingon on their cozy imprint, it's 304 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. For Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book is currently included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free.

The author is prolific and experienced especially with the genre. This is a nicely written, entertaining, and engaging series starter with a light paranormal twist set in the Outer Banks. The MC is a widowed folklorist and former malacologist (invertebrate snail/shell expert), hence the seashells. Arriving during hurricane season, she's trips over a body, almost gets drowned, and meets the ghost of a pirate.

Being firmly cozy, there are eccentric and quirky characters aplenty. The book starts with a chaotic and crisis filled opening (MC Maureen is very nearly drowned), and an abundance of characters to start with, but for readers who bear with the chaos, it soon resolves into a fun and readable story.

The unabridged audiobook format has a run time of 10 hours 26 minutes and is capably read by Callie Beaulieu. She has a well modulated alto voice and delineates the characters clearly, and manages to make the often rapid fire dialogue understandable in context. Sound and production quality are high throughout the read.

Four stars. It's a promising start to a new paranormal cozy series. It would be a good choice for public library acquisition, home use, or a buddy read.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

I love that our protagonists, Maureen Nash, is a former biologist! Such a fun perk. This was such a whimsical, para-cozy mystery. Even though there wasn't as much haunting as I expected, I loved the humor. I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a fun cozy and some laughs!

Brought to you by OBS Reviewer Jeanie

I looked forward to this opening mystery of its new series since I first heard about it. Happily, it exceeded my expectations in the kind of wonderful way that will keep me eagerly looking for the next one. The author delighted this appreciative reader and armchair traveler with descriptions of Ocracoke Island in the Outer Banks.

Maureen had driven to Hatteras Landing to take the ferry to Ocracoke. Hurricane Electra was leaving the area, continuing to dump heavy rains and strong winds that shut down the ferry. She ran into Patricia, a local National Park ranger and a good friend from their college days. Against policy, Patricia gave Maureen a hair-raising ride to Ocracoke in her park service boat and later, a ride to the tiny rental she would live in for the next three weeks.

Maureen’s destination is Moon Shell, to meet the owner, Allen Withrow. He sells collectible and costly shells from the quaint old shop. She has fond memories of visiting it when she, her late husband, and their sons spent several summer vacations on Ocracoke almost fifteen years ago. When the rain had almost stopped, Maureen walked to the nearby beach before going to Moon Shell.

At the beach, Maureen saw a huge, amazing shell in the water that she struggled to capture and take with her. Scenes had been hand-carved into it, and she wondered how the rare find ended up in the ocean. Within a short time after leaving the beach through a wooded area, she tripped over something – a man with a knife sticking out of his chest! She ran. A short time later, she awoke inside a building without her shoes or socks. She heard voices that she didn’t recognize, and the people speaking didn’t know who she was or if she was alive.

Glady and Burt, elderly yet active siblings, lived across the street from Moon Shell. They were close friends with Allen. What little she remembered was that she ran through another downpour toward Moon Shell, clutching that huge shell, wanting a safe place in case the killer was nearby. She got an electrical shock when, unable to see the water on the floor due to the darkness, she tried to turn on a lamp. Glady and Burt had run there after seeing the light flash inside to find Maureen lying on the floor. They thought she was someone Allen was expecting to arrive and help him at the shop. As readers, we don’t know why Maureen is there until later in the story.

They contacted Deputy Frank Brown before going back out with Maureen to find the man she tripped over. When Maureen, Glady, and Burt found the man, he was lying face down. Deputy Brown arrived, turned the man over, and said that the dead man was Allen. He had a deep wound in his chest, the knife was gone, and the back of his head had been hit hard. Deputy Brown quickly determined Maureen to be his prime suspect.

Maureen had to recover from the electric shock and the horror of having tripped over a dead body. Then later in the shop, she met Emrys Lloyd, a ghost from the 18th century. Maureen never believed in ghosts before. Now, as she searches for a killer to save her own skin, one of those she relies on for help has a flickering wardrobe, including a tri-corn hat and knee breeches, but no skin or bones. As she, Glady and Burt became friends, Maureen certainly couldn’t tell them about Emrys…

This is Molly MacRae at her finest. With excellently described, primarily middle-aged or older characters in this fabulous mystery, she has offered a cozy mystery that is a compelling, suspenseful read. There are twists and turns that surprised, delighted, and even frightened this reader at times, and a bad guy I never anticipated. I highly recommend this first of what I hope is the beginning of a long running new series. And where else would we find three recipes for Burt’s tasty muffins?

A great start to a new series! Wonderful characters in an incredible setting. This book will keep you guessing until the end.

Molly MacRae’s Come Shell or High Water is a captivating read set on the picturesque yet stormy Ocracoke Island. From the moment Maureen arrives, the novel plunges readers into a whirlwind of excitement and intrigue. She narrowly escapes a series of harrowing accidents, discovers the body of a local person with a mysterious link to her late husband, and encounters Emrys Lloyd, the ghost of an eighteenth-century pirate. MacRae masterfully blends suspense, charm, and a touch of the supernatural to create a story that is both thrilling and heartwarming. (I reviewed an advance reader copy and all opinions are my own.) The island setting adds a unique, atmospheric backdrop, making this book a must-read for fans of cozy mysteries and ghostly adventures.

Maureen Nash finds some letters addressed to her late husband from someone she doesn't recognize. The letters have her traveling to a shop called Moon Shell on Ocracoke Island which is off the coast of North Carolina. The letters were quite cryptic and from a man named Allen Winthrow who owns the Moon Shell shop. Her trip doesn't start out well especially after finding the body of one of the locals. She is intrigued from the start and knows she wants to dig into just what is going on. Who killed this man she found and why are her first questions. Follow along and see where the clues take her will she get what she came for in the end?

I know I'm late at the party but a series of accidents and a wrong date on my diary made me being a bit late
I loved Haunted Yarn Shop Mystery Series as it was an excellent mix of paranormal and cozy mystery and loved Highland Bookshop series as it was a lot of fun.
I had high expectations in this new series as there's a paranormal, a lot of secrets and mysteries, and it's set on a island.
I wasn't disappointed as Ms McRea did her magic again delivering a story that introduce us to a ghost related to a shell, a murder, and a woman who must understand why a shell collector and shop owner got in touch with her former husband.
I have to admit I was a bit confused at the beginning but I wasn't able to put it down as more twists, secrets and details were revelead and I was having fun with Maureen, Emrys, Burt and Gladys.
An excellent closed circle mystery set on an island, a murder during a storm that made impossible to leave or reach the island.
Have fun and read it, I can't wait to read the next story.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to Kensington Cozies for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Holly MacRae has started the Haunted Shell Shop mysteries with Come Shell or High Water. Maureen Nash is a widow with sons who inherits a shop on an island off North Carolina. When she arrives in a storm she stumbles over a corpse and looses her immediate memory. As she remembers, she finds evidence for many suspects and a missing treasure from the pirate age or more current. The mysterious shell she finds is a relic of the shop bequeathed to her and also the anchor for Emrys, a pirate ghost of the eighteenth century, who haunts the shop. Read and enjoy this ghostly cozy.

I mostly enjoyed this book. It’s different from the usually cozy mysteries. I found the first half slow as there’s really not any investigating going on. The killer reveal is completely out of the blue. I also found all the shell puns annoying. #ComeShellorHighWater #NetGalley