Cozy Capers Book Group #7
Maddie Day’s cozy capers book group series celebrates its seventh addition with Murder at Cape Costumers. Makenzie “Mac” Almedia run a bike rental and repair shop known as Mac’s Bikes in Cape Cod. She has extensive family there, and lives with her husband, Tim, and her African Grey Parrot, Belle. Mac and many of her friends are part of the cozy capers book group. While the group does spend time discussing the books they read, they also indulge in some investigations of their own when the need arises, often times to help clear the name of a member of the club, family member, or a friend in the community, of suspicion.
Murder at Cape Costumers takes place during Halloween, and the town is all decked out in its spooky finest. An upscale new costume shop called Cape Costumers has opened just in time for everyone to make sure that they are well dressed for the holiday. Owners Shelly Hitchcock and Harini Whitt seem ready to integrate into the Cape Cod community, and one of them even hopes to join Mac’s book group. As Halloween comes around, Tim’s sister and her two children also come to visit. Mac is especially excited to sit for her sister in law’s new baby, as she and Tim are trying for a rug rat of their own. It isn’t until after Halloween that things become truly scary.
Shelly’s boyfriend, Enzo, an older member of the community, turns up dead under very suspicious circumstances. Around the same time Tim’s sister goes out for a night to take a break from mom duties, only she doesn’t return. Two mysteries face now Mac and her group, and they are more than eager to take up the challenge and figure out what they can do to help, much to the chagrin of local law enforcement, who keep trying to prevent the book group from joining the investigation. This time around Lincoln Haskins, state police homicide detective, is back in town and on the case as well. Mac is surrounded by supportive family and friends who are all willing to go the extra mile to help her find Tim’s sister, as well as unravel what could have happened to Enzo.
Life is messy and complicated, and Mac must face some of the harder challenges in Murder at Cape Costumers. Not the least of her problems is trying to bond with her husband’s sister, who has a history of mental illness and, despite her love of her children and brother, seems wholly uninterested in getting to know Mac. When she goes missing, Mac has to comfort and help a distraught husband, as well as the daughter who is old enough to realize her mother is missing. Solving a murder is actually a welcome distraction from the worry and constant waiting involved with a missing person’s case.
Longtime readers of Maddie Day’s cozy capers books will be on the edge of their seats for the entire book. New readers will not have any trouble following the plot or getting to know the characters. Given the events, however, I would suggest reading some of the prior books to truly appreciate the tension and drama here. I also enjoyed that author Maddie Day has Mac called out on multiple occasions for asking questions and poking her nose into things that don’t really have anything to do with her. Not that it discourages her at all – Mac is methodical and determined to find the truth no matter what, and isn’t afraid of ruffling a few feathers in the process. – Carla Schantz