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It Takes Two to Mango:
A Tropical Island Cozy Mystery
(Trouble in Paradise!)
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – Caribbean Island
Publisher : Poisoned Pen Press (June 29, 2021)
Mass Market Paperback : 288 pages
ISBN-10 : 1728232333
ISBN-13 : 978-1728232331
Kindle ASIN : B08KHTPFR8
FIRST BOOK IN A BRAND-NEW ISLAND COZY MYSTERY SERIES
It’s all fun in the sun until there’s a murder in paradise
Looking for an escape to the Caribbean? Check out this new series:
- Great beach read
- Perfect for fans of Ellery Adams and Vicki Delany
- For readers of mysteries set in paradise
After Plum Lockhart’s job as a travel magazine editor is eliminated in corporate cuts, she decides she’s sick of cold winters in NYC and fruitless swiping on dating apps—what she needs is a dramatic change of scenery. On a whim, she accepts a job as a villa broker and moves to a beautiful Caribbean island.
However, paradise isn’t as perfect as it seems: the slow pace of island life, the language barrier, and a cutthroat office rival make Plum question leaving her old life behind. But when a client is found dead in the jacuzzi of Casa Mango—a property Plum manages—she knows she’s really in a jam. With a killer loose on the island Plum will have to deal with a stonewalling police chief, a string of baffling clues, and a handsome Director of Security to solve this deadly case!
Dollycas’s Thoughts
The bottom drops out of Plum Lockhart’s life when the travel magazine she works for goes belly up. After she fails to land a job at any other New York magazine she decides to leave the cold weather behind and take a job on the Caribbean Island of Paraiso as a village broker. Thinking it would a vacation in paradise until she could find a new position back in the states she arrives to find she may have made a grave mistake. She is used to the pressures and fast pace of New York and island life is all about relaxation. The fact that she doesn’t speak the language doesn’t help either.
Her first task is to rent out Casa Mango for the holiday weekend. She assumes the place hasn’t rented due to the state of the place so she authorizes some updates and cleaning and rents the place out. Sadly, one of her clients is found dead soon after his arrival and she finds herself in hot water. Murder is not a popular thing in paradise so Plum finds herself pitted against the police chief. The resort’s Director of Security is very helpful and he’s pretty easy on the eyes too. Now she just needs to catch a killer before she is forced off the island by her very unhappy employer.
Plum Lockhart would be labeled a high-maintenance woman by many. She is very confident and has a high opinion of her abilities. She is totally unlikeable and very selfish. She is definitely not made for island life. She meets a similar co-worker who is just as arrogant and high maintenance and I disliked him more than I disliked Plum. After meeting him I was cheering for her. She does receive some good advice that doesn’t really take hold until late in the story. She is still far from perfect but I have hope she continues to improve as the series continues.
The author introduces several island residents and guests and almost all are shady in some way. I really liked Security Director Juan Kevin Munoz. His interactions with Plum are totally entertaining. The man had tons of patience but that could come from the laid-back lifestyle he has lived his whole life. He is smart and fun to be around and I am excited to see what develops between him and Plum.
The mystery laid out by Ms. Doyle was very well plotted and written and there were a ton of suspects. Plum works hard to pin the suspects down but really needs Juan Kevin’s help because he knew the lay of the land and many of the people involved. Several had secrets that made them look guilty and it took a lot of digging to get to the big ah-ha moment when things come into focus.
Let’s face it, an island paradise is the perfect setting for a cozy mystery series. New characters can be introduced in each new story while the core characters continue to develop and grow stronger. Plum makes a great decision at the end that has me anxiously awaiting to see what Ms. Dolye has in store for her protagonist and the residents of Paraiso and all the visitors that come to the island. You can only have so many dead bodies before tourism takes a hit but I see many more exciting adventures in Plum’s future. Trouble in Paradise can be very entertaining for mystery lovers. This book has set this series off to a great start.
Your Escape Into A Good Book Travel Agent
About Carrie Doyle
Carrie Doyle is the best-selling author of multiple novels and screenplays that span many genres, ranging from cozy mysteries to chick lit to comedies to Young Adult.
A born and bred New Yorker, Carrie has spent most of her life in Manhattan, with the exception of a six-year stint in Europe (Russia; France; England) and five years in Los Angeles. A former Editor-in-Chief of the Russian edition of Marie Claire, Carrie has written dozens of articles for various magazines, including countless celebrity profiles. She is also a screenwriter, and her movie Intern (co-written with Jill Kargman) premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.
Carrie has three books that will be published in 2021: Death on Bull Path
Carrie currently splits her time between New York and Long Island, with her husband and two teenage sons.
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Thanks for giveaway. Hope I Win. Would love to read and review the book. The book looks like a very intriguing read. My kind of book
Hope I Win
Thanks for the chance, sounds like a fun book!