Review of COME SHELL OR HIGH WATER by Molly MacRae

COME SHELL OR HIGH WATER (A Haunted Shell Shop Mystery Book 1) by Molly MacRae will be released on June 25, 2024 by Kensington.

When recently widowed Maureen Nash visits Ocracoke Island soon after a hurricane goes through, she doesn’t expect to stumble over a dead body. The murder victim is Allen Withrow—a shell shop owner who was planning on leaving the store and the rest of his belongings to Maureen’s husband. The only reason Maureen isn’t a suspect is because Allen was murdered sometime before she arrived on the island. Working with her new landlords and the ghost of former pirate, Emrys Lloyd, Maureen tracks down Allen’s killer.

COME SHELL OR HIGH WATER got off to a bit of a rough start. The first few chapters jump back and forth in time and it takes a while to figure out exactly why Maureen is visiting the island in the aftermath of a hurricane. Once that got sorted out, COME SHELL OR HIGH WATER moved along quickly to the conclusion. The pirate ghost was a fun addition and he was able to provide Maureen with information about the victim that she would not have been able to learn otherwise.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.