Book 68, 2021

The Deadly Daiquiri by Tegan Maher

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Last night I finished the ebook The Deadly Daiquiri by Tegan Maher. It's the first book in the "Enchanted Coast" magical mystery series, which is a spin-off of...some other series. I guess. Story is told in first person by Destiny Maganti, a water witch who works at a tiki bar on the Enchanted Coast.

As a vacation spot for paranormals, the Enchanted Coast is a wonderful working environment for Destiny. She enjoys her co-workers and customers. The only blight is her bitter boss, the disgraced angel Cass. After yet another argument between them, Cass falls over dead. Since Destiny served the drink that killed him, she becomes the primary suspect. She needs to clear her name, because the punishment for killing an angel is death. Fortunately, Destiny has friends and family to help, along with the hot werewolf, Colin. She isn't quite sure if Colin is friend or foe, but when push comes to shove, she may need to rely on him.

It was a fun story. Perfectly "paranormal lite". I liked Destiny as a character, and her talking fox familiar was unique. I appreciated that Destiny had such a strong support system around her. The ending was a bit lackluster, however, if only because the killer was someone pretty much out of left field. It annoys me when a character is slowly piecing together clues and nailing down motives, only to get blindsided by who really "dunnit". Hmpf.

Favorite lines:
- ...I was pretty sure there was a policy somewhere in my employee handbook that made it against the rules to kill your boss.
- "Cass is dead." // "Yeah? I gathered as much from the lack of bitterness on his face and the mango slush dripping unheeded off his nose."
- My anxiety level spiked a little, but I figured Fate surely wouldn't bitch-slap me twice in the same hour.
- "I prefer salads exactly where they were meant to be--on top of a burger."
- "Politicians. I swear they cause more trouble than the rest of humanity combined."

Mostly fun, and I'd read more in the series. Four stars.