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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2662 KP) rated Something’s Guava Give in Books

Feb 27, 2025 (Updated Feb 27, 2025)  
Something’s Guava Give
Something’s Guava Give
Carrie Doyle | 2022 | Mystery
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Death on the Beach
New York transplant Plum Lockhart is beginning to get some traction for her new villa brokerage agency on the Caribbean Island of Paraiso. However, trouble comes knocking in the form of her former colleague Gerald who insists Plum go help out his boss’s daughter who is being held by the resort’s security. Plum regrets getting involved when Arielle is found murdered the next morning. Now Gerald is insisting that Plum help him solve the crime, and he’s shown up in person. Will Plum solve the case before her patience with Gerald runs out?

I struggled a bit with the first book in the series, but I’m glad I gave the series a second chance. Plum was a much better, more relatable character. Gerald still annoyed me, but the rest of the cast were fun and did a good job of keeping me guessing. The mystery was strong. A couple things seemed a little rushed, but overall it was good and reached a logical solution. Reading this book made me want to hop a plane for a tropical resort. I’ll definitely book time for the final entry in the series.
  
Murder Takes the Stage
Murder Takes the Stage
Colleen Cambridge | 2024 | Mystery
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
A Brutal Crime
A producer is interested in turning one of Agatha Christie’s stories into a play, so housekeeper Phyllida Bright has reluctantly returned to London. She’s hoping she can stay in the rented house supervising the household staff. But that’s before Archibald Allston is found dead in an armchair on stage, and Phyllida is asked to figure out if foul play was involved. She grows more suspicious when the actor playing Benvolio in a production of Romeo and Juliette is bludgeoned to death on the balcony the next day. Can Phyllida discover what is happening before another death occurs?

Fans will know we’ve been given hints about Phyllida’s past before, but we get some answers in this book, which I enjoyed. Enough of the staff come along for the trip, so that part feels like a normal part of the series. And I’m curious to see what some of the developments mean for future books. The mystery was a little focused on events over actual deduction, but there was still enough here to keep me entertained. The ending, while being a little over dramatic, was also satisfying. Fans will be happy with this entry in the series.