I am going to call this upfront a near miss. There were parts of the story that had me laughing out loud but its attempt to rival Carl Hiaasen whose deft touch with satire is unequallled,falls just short of the mark. . The story encompasses the fortunes of a small town in South Carolina that has been abandoned by tourist thanks to COVID. The movers and shakers of the town, the Ten, come up with a bizarre scheme to bring back the hoards. What they did not factor was the tenacity of the great grand daughter of the leader of the ten, an investigative reporter who is determined to unmask the conspiracy around the discovery of a mermaid.

Despite being connected to several of the players, Zoe is determined to reveal the truth about Miss Lucy and even more so when someone close to her is murdered. She does her best to shine the spotlight on the truth. What she does not consider is the overwhelming desire of the average person to believe in the unbelievable. Each time she presents unequivocal evidence, the backlash is intensive. And dangerous. When things look bleakest, Zoe’s rescue will come from an unexpected source. PT Barnum was right. There is a sucker born every minute and some do not want their fantasies disturbed.

The satire is a great testimonial to the current world but as I said at the start, it did not quite reach those halcyon heights. It will have to settle for pretty good. Four purrs and two paws up.

Another reviewer mentioned this was more satire than mystery, and I agree. I don't seem to be in the mood for that. At least I'm not in the mood for the narration by Zoe Porter, who's mostly lusting after a man and comparing how South Carolinians do things with how Brits do them (for some unfathomable reason).

Can't muster to pick-up the book again.

Enjoyed this one very much, another great cozy mystery from author Tamar Myers. Never disappoints, highly recommend!

A small town's quest to get tourists turns deadly in this mystery.

I liked the premise here, but the writing style was just really not for me. I also feel like it just threw the reader in with little context or background. It didn't seem like this was a series but it felt that way in the sense of I felt like I needed background context.

3.25 stars
What a strange journey this book took me on. It started out easily enough - a small town in South Carolina is still reeling from the aftershocks of the pandemic on their tourism industry. How do they entice visitors to come back to their tiny slice of (rather WASPish) paradise? The local town council members decide to "discover" a fake mermaid on a nearby beach, hoping that the ensuing media frenzy will bring tourism dollars back to their town and line their own scheming pockets.

I found the premise of the story a little silly at the beginning, but as the story continued it stopped being funny and became rather terrifying in its implications. This seemingly glib account of society's willingness to believe in something so unbelievable is actually incredibly astute and honestly scared me more than any horror or thriller novel I've read in recent months. How is it that all these seemingly intelligent, hard-working people are suckered into believing such apparent mythical mermaid hogwash? I guess it just goes to show that when the masses are feeling tired, oppressed, angry and afraid, they are apt to believe just about anything they're told that gives them a sliver of hope for a different future, even if it is patently untrue and visible to the most casual of outside observers. (Not pointing fingers at anywhere in particular right now, I'm just saying...)

While the writing style was fun and deceptively simple, this book really stirred up some difficult feelings in me because of what this whole "mermaid discovery" does to the town, the country, and the world at large. So all I'm saying is be prepared. But if you can handle a rather pointed and insightful commentary on "fake news", media agendas, and pandering to the masses in the strangest of ways, then this would be a pretty good book for you to pick up.

Thanks to NetGalley, author Tamar Myers, and Severn House for providing me with an advance digital readers copy of this book for free to read and review. All opinions are my own and provided voluntarily.

A Lively Cast..
In a small seaside town, something fishy is afoot. Tidal Shores, a tiny town shoreside in South Carolina, needs something to resurrect its own fortunes. Badly. But what? There are plenty of ideas being bandied about by its local council - what will reign supreme? Cleverly woven satirical tale, with an edge of mystery, a lively cast and a biting look at the power of the media.

The struggling seaside town of Tidal Shores hopes to revive its fortunes with a series of outlandish tourist attractions, culminating in taxidermist Gunner Jones’s “mermaid,” Miss Lucy. Reporter Zoe Porter suspects a fake, but as mermaid mania sweeps the nation, will anyone believe her exposé before things turn deadly?

This book is marketed as a mystery, but IMO it’s really a satire with a mystery subplot. It’s funny and absurd and an incisive critique of a world where people get most of their news from social media.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

If you're looking for a cozy mystery this book is for you.. I did enjoy it even if it's not really my type but it would be something I would recommend for a specific audience.. The idea was indeed fun and I did believe it was accomplished
Thanks for the opportunity of reading this book

Such a fun read! Highly recommend.

Many thanks to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

A rare miss for me, especially since I've been a fan of Myers. This tries too hard. It's a mash up of a plot about a fake mermaid aka fake news and political corruption all helmed by a reporter looking for truth. It goes over the top and is just too snarky. Thanks to the publisher for the arc. Over to others.

Not a book for me... I read it all, and never really got into it, sorry.

I gave it an extra star for trying to be an original and non mainstream story... congrats!

But, as much as sarcasm is my first language, I found the sarcasm and sardonic wit layered on a little too heavily, even for me. It made it jump all over the place, couldn’t seem to decide on what genre it was and, all in all, seems to have been too “try hard”.

The author is clearly an intelligent and humorous individual... but maybe less is more for this level of humour?

I finished this book still trying to figure out which was the actual point and main thread of the narrative. Was the “mystery” it was toted to be the fact that there isn’t really a solid storyline? Was it meant to be about the mermaid mayhem? The seeming inbred racial elitism of this fictional small town? Or just a literary soapbox to poke fun at American people and their media?

Basically, this book needs a good editor to sit down with the author, find one solid thread and follow it. As right now it seems to consist of a lot of random, tattered threads heavily glued together with far too much “high brow humour”.

I’m clearly not the right reader for this book. Sorry.

Cozy-ish Mystery that features a reporter who's expose about the truth behind a South Carolina small town's "mermaid" takes a sinister turn and draws her into a much darker story.

1/5 stars: This is Myers's stand-alone Cozy-sh Mystery set in South Carolina and features an inquisitive reporter who writes an expose about the truth behind a South Carolina small town's "mermaid". Which it turns out was created by a taxidermist using the top half of an albino ape and a large goliath tigerfish as a tourism ploy to dupe the public and gain publicity. But soon things take a sinister turn and draw her into a much darker story. Myers writes about some very sensitive and tough topics, so take care and check the CWs. Unfortunately, this just wasn't a book for me; leading me to DNF it at 12%.

I received this eARC thanks to NetGalley and Severn House in exchange for an honest review. Publishing dates are subject to change.

Tidal Shores, a small seaside town in South Carolina, has seen its fortunes nose-dive. But not for much longer! The 'Big Ten' on the town council have come up with range of ingenious ideas to get tourists flocking back, from buried pirate treasure to beauty pageants, but it's handsome taxidermist Gunner Jones' plan to dupe the public into believing that his creation 'Miss Lucy' - combining the top half of an albino ape with a large goliath tigerfish - is a real mermaid that wins the day. As Gunner's bizarre creature take Centre stage, inquisitive reporter Zoe Porter isn't fooled by its supposed credibility, but with mermaid mania sweeping the country, will anyone believe her expos�? And when events take a sinister turn, Zoe is suddenly drawn into a much darker story . . .

Let me start by saying this is one of the weirdest books that I’ve read in quite a while. Maybe ever.. Myers creates a zany plot filled with laugh-out-loud moments, but also intrigue and twists to keep the reader guessing. She develops interesting characters that definitely fill the rolls of small town Americana, and readers will love the plucky Gan-Gan, Zoe’s great-grandmother.
I can’t say I loved it, but I also can’t say I hated it

Tamar Myers has three mystery series and 40 books to her credit, and I believe this is the first of yet another mystery series.

A local taxidermist, Gunner Jones, subscribes to showman P.T. Barnum’s maxim: “There’s a sucker born every minute.” Gunner’s hoping to capitalize on the public’s gullibility to revitalize backwater Tidal Shores, S.C., by passing off a bonobo-Goliath Tigerfish taxidermy job as a real-life mermaid (something Barnum himself pulled off with his so-called Fiji Mermaid). Charlotte, N.C., reporter Zoe Porter isn’t fooled for a minute, but enough yahoos fall for it to boost tourism.

My sister-in-law adores Myers’ Belgian Congo series, which I have not read. After tackling The Mermaid Mystery, it’s unlikely I ever will. While this novel was OK, I just lost patience with it and abandoned it at the 32 percent mark. Except for Zoe, the characters are ridiculously over the top, and the plot, while not predictable, certainly wasn’t headed toward becoming anything out of the ordinary.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley and Severn House in exchange for an honest review.

I love Tamar Meyers’s work but sadly this book does not live up to the quality of her previous releases.

** “Zoe, what we’re really doing is selling happiness.” **

Tamar Myers delivers a wacky, tongue-in-cheek story with “The Mermaid Mystery.”

When Tidal Shores, S.C., sees a severe decline in tourism, the town’s Big Ten council decides to take matters into their own hands, by creating a crazy but exhilarating diversion to bring visitors back to their struggling community. Enter: Miss Lucy, a mermaid created by the local taxidermist.

As mermaid hype spreads through the area and eventually the nation, Tidal Shores and its tourism industry grows exponentially — but with growth comes drama and trauma.

Will reporter Zoe Porter, who happens to be the great-granddaughter of one of the Big Ten members, determine the truth? And will she be able to convince the world of the truth?

Myers creates a zany plot filled with laugh-out-loud moments, but also intrigue and twists to keep the reader guessing. She develops interesting characters that definitely fill the rolls of small town Americana, and readers will love the plucky Gan-Gan, Zoe’s great-grandmother.

Told with an almost Mitford-like tone, readers of small town stories and cozy mysteries will love “The Mermaid Mystery,” which is due out Oct. 1. It does feature some mild cursing.

Four stars out of five.

Severn House provided this complimentary copy through NetGalley for my honest, unbiased review.

Let me start by saying this is one of the weirdest books that I’ve read in quite a while. Maybe ever. But I certainly finished it!

The author made a play on the current media fascination with fake news. They then turned it into a mystery that had me scratching my head and going what the heck while also turning the page. Well, I can’t say I loved it, but I also can’t say I hated it.

I really don’t know how to feel about this one. While at first I enjoyed the sarcastic southern charm of these overly satirical characters, their banter become over the top and a little annoying as the book progressed. Maybe it was reader error but what I assumed to be a cozy beach mystery surrounding a small town mermaid hoax inspired by the Fiji mermaid turned out to be an exaggerated take on political corruption and fake news.

I didn't fall in love with this book. I think it would be great for people who are fans of Planet of the Apes or anything more sci-fi/thriller leaning. The book was not bad by any means, I just think I was going into it with unrealistic expectations. It was reader error because I was expecting something I knew the story wasn't. Still liked it, would recommend to friends I know like this genre but I wouldn't personally buy or read again.

The small coastal South Carolina town of Tidal Shores has a problem. Their few restaurants, shops and motels closed during the pandemic and now don’t have the business to reopen. Tourists have abandoned the town for the glitz of Myrtle Beach. How can Tidal Shores, stuck in an earlier century, make headlines? Handsome taxidermist Gunner Jones has an idea. He has created Miss Lucy, a somewhat seamless blend of an albino ape and a large tigerfish. Miss Lucy, after some much needed facial cosmetic surgery, will pass as a mermaid discovered off the Tiger Shores beach. Surprisingly, it/she does make those wanted headlines after a leaked email about mermaid protection becomes a local story and then a national one on a slow news day. What comes next is described by reporter Zoe Porter. It isn’t pretty. The Tidal Shores residents aren’t much better than the hordes of visitors who believe in mermaids and travel miles to pay a fee to see Miss Lucy.

So what is The Mermaid Mystery? There is a murder but does that make it a mystery? Or is it satire? The Reverend Billy-Bob Henderson is not a realistic character (I hope) and provides a somewhat funny, always ugly look at hypocrisy in fundamental religion. There’s prejudice in Tidal Shores, more so (again I hope) than in present day. What is The Mermaid Mystery? I’m not sure. 3 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Severn House and Tamar Myers for this ARC.