Thank you Simon and Schuster Canada for the ARC copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

When Peter receives a letter from his long lost grandmother, he's thrust into a world of treasure hunters, secret societies, and complex family history. In Maple Bay, there is the myth of the pirates who've left behind a treasure that for years, people have been flocking to this sea side town to find. Our three protagonists, Peter, Dandy, and Cass end up in an intertwined tale of betrayal, treasure, and family secrets.

This novel started out for me, slow, but quickly found its stride and even had some twists that I wasn't expecting. Dandy reads as much older than her age of 14, a quirky teenager who fits right in with the adults who look down on her. Cass feels the most relatable, curious about the treasure but not holding out hope.

This novel is definitely good for those people looking for a mystery read that has many twists and turns.

I. LOVED. THIS. BOOK!! 10/10 Sooooo good, sooooo fun, sooooo murdery!

Twisted family secrets and mysteries is my jam! Add in a small Canadian town, pirate treasure, murder, and twists? Delicious 🤤

It's been a while since I've managed to stay awake to read a couple of chapters of a book at bedtime, let alone 60% of a book! The first big twist had me yelling WHAT THE *BLEEP* and having to put the book down to process it. Never would I ever had guessed that one! I was totally gunning for the, now-very-obvious, red herring. It's why I love mystery thrillers, you think you've figured out the formula, but oh no friends, this one will kick you in the knees when you're bracing for a throat punch.

The premsie: A small, coastal town in Nova Scotia has been at the centre of a legendary pirate treasure that tourists and locals alike have been searching for for nearly a century. Five of the town's oldest residents meet once a month to try and figure it out, they call themselves the Treasure Hunters Club. After one of them dies, leaving his young granddaughter a clue, and two other strangers come to town, also with clues and ties to the treasure, more Club members begin to die, under very suspicious circumstances. It's then up to the sleuthy teen, the failed author, and the long-lost grandson to bring the pieces together, solve the mystery, and find the treasure. But not without twists, family revelations, strange encounters, and more murders.

4.5 ⭐️

Mystery, family secrets, adventure and opportunities all weaved into a delicate tapestry. I loved the twists and turns that kept me guessing while also intrigued! Beautifully paced and exciting.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the digital arc of this book!

This book was not only thrilling and full of mystery, but the plot and characters kept you on your toes throughout. Dandy, Peter and Cass's point of views gave perspective, and small pieces of the puzzle where each piece provided more questions and answers throughout. Set on the east coast of Canada, this book was such a treasure for those who loved The Goonies and Nancy Drew!

When I received my copy of The Treasure Hunters Club I was not sure what to expect. This is not my typical read and I am so glad I went in blindly. What a great book!

There was murder, mystery, history, family troubles, finger pointing, accusations and of going treasure hunting. I literally could not out this book down!

I loved how the story was told in multiple POVs and dual timelines. It connected the characters from the past to the present. There were characters you loved and some you were not too fond of.

I wish I could go on and on about this book but I just don’t want to get anything away. I want everyone to have the element of surprise as I did. That ending!!! I was totally blown away, I did not expect that at all.

Thank you to @simonandschusterca for my advanced copy for my honest review. This book publishes on October 15, 2024 and I encourage you to add it to your TBR. It is really great read!!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Read if you like:
💰 friendship drama
💰 triple POV
💰 lots of characters
💰 hidden treasure mystery
💰 a little romance with your murder 🤪🩷

As a Canadian girlie, I love a novel set in Canada! We really do have the most beautiful scenery here, and I love when that is represented in a book 🩷 The author did a really great job describing the scenery and the setting; I was able to perfect picture the scene that he was setting up.
I really enjoyed the author’s writing style, it felt very natural and enjoyable to read.
I really really enjoyed this story because it reminded me of the stories I used to love to read as a child, but it was obviously an adult book. The nostalgia is real 🩷🩷
I love more than one point-of-view books so much because it’s like we are getting multiple stories in the same book 🤪 This was a triple POV which was pretty cool.. I am used to single or double POV, so it was fun to see THREE sides of the story!
I was hooked right from the very first page! I didn’t really know what I was getting into when I started this, but what a wild ride it was!!! Murders and treasure and soooo many untrustworthy characters… even a little romance thrown in the mix 🤪 This was truly a very enjoyable read that should honestly be turned into a movie!

Small town mystery set in Canada! Treasure and pirates and more. Exciting and enjoyable read. A great cozy mystery read for the -ber months!

I loved everything about this book!! This treasure hunting mystery is full of twists and turns, set in beautiful Nova Scotia, Canada! This book is full of likable characters, a great plot, and I can actually visualize this becoming a movie or TV Series!! And I'll be watching!!

Set in the sleepy town of Maple Bay, The Treasure Hunters Club serves us a mystery wrapped in small-town gossip and laced with historical society investigation. This town is rumoured to host the lost treasure of the Obelisk - a treasure left after a clash between ships centuries ago. The reader follows three main characters in this story who slowly become entwined as the book continues: Peter, a 40-year-old drifter who's just learned his ultra-rich grandmother has been trying to find him for most of his life; Dandy, a teenage detective who was tasked in a letter by her recently deceased grandfather to continue his legacy in trying to locate the treasure; and Cass, a thirty-something washed-up YA author who's been granted the opportunity of a life-time to recharge and write in Maple Bay while she dog/house-sits for her dead father's rich best friend. As the mystery unfolds, readers are sent down several misleading paths -paths which only grow more urgent as more of the elderly Treasure Hunters Club members who wind up mysteriously dead. Members who all have information on the legitimacy of this legendary treasure...

This was extremely homey for me, being a Nova Scotian who grew up surrounded by nautical myths and legends of buried treasures. The fact that the townsfolk recognized so many tourists seek the treasure each year, and the opening of the treasure hunt to the wider historical world at the end of the book, really made me think of the legend of the Oak Island treasure! This wasn't all that led to the homey, small-town, atmospheric feeling though - Tom Ryan did a fantastic job setting the scene without going on long-winded descriptions. Sometimes those scene-setting sounds or visuals even came back with startling clarity, for example when we learn near the end that the clanking of the furnace isn't actually the furnace being on the fritz... it's the real Peter who's been chained in the basement the whole book. This "oh it's the sounds of an old house settling" suddenly becoming a massive reveal was unexpected but quite good at reframing the entire story at a moment's notice.

I also want to admit that I genuinely did not see the twist coming. And that's saying a lot, because one of my biggest gripes with myself is that my mind goes into overdrive the moment a mysterious element exists in a book and I almost always figure things out way too far in advance. But not this time. Well done, Tom Ryan.

As for criticisms, there's only a few pretty minor things I think are worth even raising. The first of which is that, despite Dandy being a teenager (and at one point Cass even calls her fourteen - perhaps that's something that will be corrected before print, though), she and most characters seem to speak at the same age-level. What I mean by this is that, if you didn't know the ages from the descriptors in-text, the dialogue makes it seem like every character is mid-thirties. The second thing is that I'm not sure I understand why Peter's chapters were in first-person, yet both Cass' and Dandy's were in third-person. Just when I was about to reconcile this with myself, the twist that "Peter" was actually Ricky, Peter's old roommate, threw that attempt to the wind. If Peter was actually two separate characters, why did both of them get first-personal narration?

This was a solid read that got better as the story progressed. The multitude of perspectives that the story is told through, in addition to the switching between them was a bit difficult to follow at times. The fact that there was also a mix of first and third person narrative didn’t lend nuance to the writing as it should have. At several points, the writing felt juvenile, which isn’t a bad thing, per se, but made me want for more. I think it’s also really important to note that this work shouldn’t qualify as part of the LGBTQ+ genre, due to the lack of explicit queer representation within the story.
All that aside, the story aged like a fine wine, got to be a real page turner, and included a grade-A plot twist. I could clearly visualize the action in my mind, and the thoughts of several of the characters were so relatable and thought provoking, that I can forgive the choppy writing style.
Lastly, I’m not thrilled with the ending, but it did tie up basically all the significant loose ends.
All in all, this was a great read, and I’m grateful to the publisher and NetGalley for receiving this as an ARC!

This is set in Nova Scotia and our store in in Nova Scotia, so it just fits. Plus, he's a wonderful author and the book has everything. Treasure, clues, humor and action. Can't wait to see this one in real life and sell, sell, sell to all of our customers. Thanks for the ARC.

Book Review
The Treasure Hunters Club by Tom Ryan

Thoughts and Tropes
🇨🇦Small town Nova Scotia
🏴‍☠️Pirates and Treasure ( sounds a bit like Oak Island meets Goonies)
👀Mysterious circumstances leading to Dead people
YA/New adult
Meddling seniors (love it when seniors get up to no good)
Inheritance
Family drama and history cloaked in local legend
Multiple POV
Cozy mystery

MCs
Dandy- at times her character felt young and others she felt more adult, very
Precocious
Peter- he seemed pretty straightforward, mid life crisis, stuck in life until he learns of his grandmother
Bree- bookstore owner, fast friend, speaks her mind
Mirabel- grandmother with secrets and stories
Cass -author, mid life, also stuck, takes on a house sutting arrangement as a way forward

Side characters (The OG 5)
Archie, Henry, Red, etc
Loved reading about the past, how things started, where are they now…. Great opportunity for the author to drop clues and crumbs along the way
For me these chapters usually led to more questions than answers

Overall
The twists and turns blindsided me at the ending but overall, this book was an enjoyable read with bright characters that light up the pages.
IMO, This book has potential as a series…. I would happily go visit Maple Grove again.

Thank you to @netgalley and @simonandschusterca for my digital ARC in return for an honest review. Opinions expressed are my own.

This was recommended by someone at an event and I was so happy to add this to my list! It’s brilliant and you will not be disappointed. Don’t ask, just buy and enjoy!

I must first start by thanking both NetGalley as well as the publisher Simon & Schuster for my eARC in exchange for my honest review.
A true Adventure mystery! Atonement is the background to this wonderfully written book. This story is a trip, and you have an all-access pass that will never stop pulling you through.