Something Fishy This Way Comes by Gabby Allan

Available July 26, 2022

Rating: 4 stars

Catalina Island is home to its own version of Romeo and Juliet as members of two long-feuding families fall in love and plan to marry. But like the ill-fated Shakespeare characters, Leo and Janina find themselves separated by death.

I saw Gabby Allan at an author event in the fall of 2021 and thought she was great, super friendly and funny. The first Whit and Whiskers mystery I thought was a great reflection of her, fun and funny and engaging. Unfortunately I felt like this book was a bit less polished and I found parts of it difficult to follow. I love the island setting and the main circle of characters is great. Whitney is smart and creative, Goldy is sassy and loving as is Whitney's grandfather. The romance with Felix seems to be heating up a bit, which is going to be interesting to watch.

What I struggled with was the peripheral characters who were part of the feud between the two large island families. There were a lot of characters and because there were so many, they weren't well-developed. While I don't mind that because it did keep the story moving, I found myself many times thinking "who's that again?" I also couldn't keep track of the clues as Whitney was discovering them and didn't feel like her thought process was explained.

Overall, I don't really mind getting a bit lost in the story as long as it moves quickly, keeps me chuckling and gives me something pretty to "look at." Though I preferred the first book to this one, I did enjoy this book and highly recommend this fun series!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.