The Body in the Back Garden by Mark Waddell

Available August 22, 2023

Rating: 4 stars

Luke Tremblay returns to Crescent Cove, a charming little seaside town in Canada, after the death of his aunt. The trip is well-timed, giving him a bit of distance from recent drama back in Toronto. There are so many mysteries surrounding the quaint village. What happened to his aunt? Why is a strange man trying to get into his house? Then there's a murder, a break-in, a decades-old secret someone is willing to kill to keep quiet. Luke can't leave until it's all straightened out but the longer he stays the less certain he is about his own future.

This book was a very quick read. Though it started out a bit slow with long paragraphs full of descriptions that might have gone a bit deeper than was strictly necessary, once we got the lay of the land (Luke's background, setting the scene in Crescent Cove, meeting the characters) things really began to flow. I love the setting of Crescent Cove, a small town with just enough tourists to keep it hopping but far enough off the beaten path to keep it cozy. Luke's cottage with it's view of the water and fully stocked library is adorable. There's also some heat between Luke and the handsome Mountie. Though I did find it very easy to nail the killer and there wasn't much in the way of investigation (more of that would have made this book a 5 star for me), it was still a fun read.

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.