chez_jae | Book 68, 2019

Castle Moon by Mary Bowers

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I continued my tear through "Tropical Breeze" cozies by reading Castle Moon. This 7th installment was in Taylor's first person pov again. Yay!

Taylor is a practical woman, and she is still in denial about having any special abilities. The last thing she wants to do is go ghost hunting in a creepy old castle with her friend, Edson Darby-Deaver. However, when the owner of Castle Moon, Oliver Moon, makes her an offer she can't refuse, Taylor reluctantly agrees to accompany Edson on a fool's errand. Part of the bargain was that Taylor has to bring along her cat, Bastet, but Bastet immediately abandons Taylor to hang out with one of the three secretaries that are employed by various family members. Since Taylor has known Jeralyn since she was a teen, she doesn't mind that Bastet has temporarily shifted her affections.

Oliver is convinced that the castle is haunted by one dour old relative or another, and he claims that the spirit tried to kill him. He wants Taylor and Edson to remove the ghost. Taylor finds herself far more taken aback by those living in the castle, including Oliver's sisters: the insipid Fawn and the brash Maxine. Then there's Oliver's great-nephew, Horace, who likes to lurk and eavesdrop. Taylor has to keep reminding herself of the reward for staying and going through with this farce. During their investigations, Taylor loses time and learns later that she was able to touch certain family items and relate their history. It seems as though she's been possessed, but she refuses to believe it.

When a family member is found dead, no one knows if it was murder or suicide. Taylor is convinced it was murder, and when another member of the household dies under mysterious circumstances, Taylor and Bastet, along with Edson, will have to call upon all of their cunning and skills to catch a killer before anyone else dies.

I enjoyed this installment. There were several subplots going on, which included jealousy, romance, and secrets. Characterizations were wonderful, and the atmosphere was just creepy enough.

Favorite lines:
♦ Cats always seem to either under- or over-react.
♦ "Personally, I prefer a cozy mystery...The ones you can read while eating lunch and not lose your appetite. Sure, there's murder but they're nice murders. Then justice triumphs and you're happy because you didn't like the victim anyway."
♦ "Not everybody who reads Harry Potter books is a kid."

Least favorite line: "It's the kind the owner can reprogram periodically, and the default installation code of 1111 has been changed."

Very good story, four stars!