Body at Buccaneer's Bay

Secrets and Scrabble, Book 5

By: Josh Lanyon

Narrated by: Matt Haynes

Dead men tell no tales.

Mystery Bookshop owner Ellery Page and Police Chief Jack Carson are diving for the legendary sunken pirate galleon Blood Red Rose when they discover an old-fashioned diver's suit, water-damaged and encrusted with barnacles.

Further examination reveals the 19th-century suit contains a 21st-century body. Who is the mysterious diver? No one seems to be missing from the quaint and cozy town of Pirate's Cove. Was he really diving for pirate's gold? And if not, what exactly did he do to earn that bullet hole in his skull?

©2021 Josh Lanyon (P)2022 Josh Lanyon

Loved it!

Cute and cheeky as ever! I've found each book in this series to be a satisfying listen. First because Ellery is just a great protagonist, but also the balance between the mystery and the personal drama aspect is well-done. Add to that witty dialogue and a straight forward writing style and the result is a series where there's something for every listener.

So Enjoyable

Love these books~relaxing read with great characters, interesting plot, and super setting. Supporting characters are fun too.

Well done!

amateur-sleuth, bookseller, family, family-dynamics, friendship, island-life, law-enforcement, m-m-cozy-mystery, murder, murder-investigation, relationship-issues, situational-humor, small-town, small-business, verbal-humor, silver-sleuths, puppy*****

It seems that Pirate's Cove is having more mysteries, but the Silver Sleuths can't help because the main suspects are from away, not locals. A wealthy family of misfits have invaded near the end of the season for the yearly regatta (and waaay too much work for Pirate's Cove PD) and have brought a lot of craziness. Meanwhile, while diving, bookseller (and sometime amateur sleuth) Ellery and Police Chief Jack (they might be becoming a couple) come across a vintage diving suit which just happens to have a more recent skeleton inside. That is soon followed by a request (with money for needful things) for Ellery to find out who is trying (ineptly) to murder one of the wealthy misfits. It only gets wackier and more dangerous from then on. Oh, and Ellery's actress mother and producer stepfather are visiting.
Lots of laughs, good sleuthing, friction in several kinds of relationships, and another fine cozy mystery in a great series! Loved it!
Matt Haynes is the laid back voice actor who really knows how to underplay the laughs.

Entertaining

Matt Haynes narration was engaging, upbeat and fun .

Body at Buccaneers's Bay is a wonderful addition to the series which with each new book gets better and better.

Keeps getting better

I just live these. A perfect cozy with no on screen sex, a reasonable and moderately complex mystery and engaging well developed characters. Meanwhile, the narration is perfectly on point. His accents are really good, definitely hitting a little bit of an old noir film sound but it works perfectly in a series that is a clear homage to various genres of mystery. Love it. Best if read in order.

The barking

I loved this series……I can’t lie Watsons barking is my FAVORITE part of the story lol 🥰

Great story. Great narration.

Josh Lanyon has single handedly made me a fan of cozy mysteries because Josh knows how to build tension without adding unnecessary impending violence. I also find myself actually believing that a small island town does have that many murders.

The relationship between Ellery and Jack is in a perpetual state of up and down, but they are starting to trust each other. Naturally, that means that a crisis will occur. Usually that crisis involves a dead body. Every dead body that appears in Pirate's Cove has a very interesting story to tell.

Once again, Josh Lanyon's fluid and lyrical style has created a great opportunity for entertaining narration. Matt Haynes' performance is a great addition to the story. I look forward to the next book, and I will listen to and reread this series many times over.

Good continuation of an entertaining series

Josh Lanyon delivers another good entry in this engaging series. Matt Haynes really does do a good job of bringing these stories to life. His New England accent is inconsistent but if you're not from the area you probably won't notice. Jack continues to be one of the most unlikable characters. I keep hoping Ellery will wake up and settle on the doctor. Oh well. Ellery is charming and fun. He along with the other Pirates Cove inhabitants really make the book a treasure. It's a little like a Hallmark Channel Christmas movie. It's not literature but it is fun and charming and keeps you guessing.

Good but not for me

Nothing really stood out as amazing to me throughout the book. I will say there is a lot to enjoy. It’s a pleasant mystery that comes together quite nicely by the end. Sadly I had very little attachment to the overall story and plot. The moments I enjoyed the most were the simple interactions between the main character, Jack, and Nora. Their personalities clicked well for me but not much else did. That could just be personal and I honestly would recommend this if you have nothing else to listen to to kill some time.

Irresponsible writing

What’s to do most to me, is the irresponsibility of the writer in having her protagonist who is supposedly an experienced scuba diver, take an inexperienced and apparently uncertified partner in the ocean. There’s a reason why scuba divers need to be certified, and to compound the scene, the experienced scuba diver takes the inexperienced one into a wreck. There are many many perils of diving in a wreck, or Kyiv, or deep diving, which is why there are specific courses divers take beyond basic open water and advanced certifications. As a certified diver myself, I am offended! As to the rest of the story, it was OK. I’ve actually written to this writer and pointed out a couple of grammatical errors she makes, but she was not at all receptive to the constructive feedback. If you like this writer, you will probably enjoy this story.