Haunted Shell Shop #2
Molly MacRae’s Haunted Shell Shop series returns with There’ll be Shell to Pay. Our shell shop sleuth and malacologist, Maureen Nash, is settling into her new home on the island of Ocracoke. The shell shop is named Moon Shell after a beautifully and intricately carved shell on display – a shell that is also the tether for accidental pirate ghost Emrys Lloyd. While Maureen’s introduction to Ocracoke in the first book in the series was possibly the most disastrous one any new resident could dream of, she has now made plenty of friends around the island, including the Weaver siblings that live across the way, Bert and Gladys, and is settling in nicely to make the Moon Shell her own.
Ocracoke is busier than ever as the island keys up for the annual pirate jamboree. But it isn’t the jamboree that has Maureen excited to return to the island, it’s the ever evolving secrets of The Moon Shell and its history. This time Emrys has taken it upon himself to become a spectral sleuth of the house, and has found a secret he is more than eager to share with her. The secret he finds this time is a collection of rare shells and shell decorated furniture. All, including the shells, are all worth quite a bit of money. But her elation is dampened when a Victor Sullivan shows up snooping around for some of the rare shells present in that specific collection.
As if that suspicious arrival isn’t enough for Maureen, she soon finds herself pulled into another mystery thanks to an old friend visiting the island with her Fig Ladies, named because of their online chat group that is all about, you guessed it, figs. Apparently the island has quite the thriving fig culture. One of their group members, Lenrose, shows up acting a little strangely and also happens to be the wife of Maureen’s suspicious visitor. To make things more confusing, when the fig ladies find a body near where they are staying, Emrys informs Maureen that the deceased is really Lenrose Sullivan, despite seeing her alive and well at her husband’s side. Emrys will not budge on his claim, so much so he puts Maureen at risk of becoming a suspect in his attempt to get the police to listen to him. With a mystery this convoluted, Maureen is going to need a bit more help than her usual team of Gladys, Bert, and Emrys at her side. Good thing the fig ladies are just as ready to investigate for the sake of their friend, and with six amateur, and inventive, sleuths and one ghost, it’s only a matter of time before the truth is uncovered.
For those who read Molly MacRae’s first Haunted Shell Shop Mystery this is a must read as readers get to experience the more regular day to day life of Maureen and Emrys. The mystery is still something they work on together, but it’s enjoyable to see the two of them falling into a companionable rhythm at the shop. New readers will enjoy There’ll be Shell to Pay for the diverse and quirky cast and mystery, but I do feel this is one where reading the first book will really help to enjoy the series to the fullest. As There’ll be Shell to Pay is the second book in the series, it builds a lot on events and plot devices from the first book. I very much enjoy the friendship between Maureen and Emrys, and Molly MacRae’s take on what life with a ghost might be like. I recommend the Haunted Shell Shop Mystery series to any fan of the paranormal cozy genre. – Carla Schantz