Now, most people who know me will automatically assume that I am talking about the world's greatest teen detective, Nancy Drew, and her friends, George Fayne and Bess Marvin. I mean, let's face it - the descriptions match almost perfectly! However, they would be, and even I was, surprised to find out that I'm actually talking about Cass Donovan and her two friends, Stephanie Lawrence and Bee Maxwell from the Bay Island Psychic Mystery series.
I recently picked up the first three books in the series (wow, just like Nancy Drew, who started back in 1930 with a three-book set of books!), figuring I loved mysteries and I loved psychic tales, so the combination should make for an enjoyable read. And it did, no doubt there. I just was not ready for the strong similarities to Nancy Drew and friends that I found - author Lena Gregory must be a fan, as I can't imagine all of it to be pure coincidence.The underlying premise is somewhat traditional - young woman moves away from small town, her parents die, she returns to her hometown, but things have changed. Cass Donovan, however, is a psychiatrist who now runs a psychic shop on the boardwalk of Bay Island, just off the New York coast. While she doesn't see herself as a true "psychic" per se, she is quite intuitive and is often able to help others in a myriad of ways. But there is a shadow looming over her, something that happened back in the city that she doesn't want to talk about and is the reason she left her psychiatric practice behind. But what happens when that shadow follows her to Bay Island in this first book, Death at First Sight, and she suddenly finds herself faced with the same choice?
Cass is helping here friend Bee stage the annual fashion show on Bay Island. But Cass comes across something unexpected when she arrives early to the theater and discovers a body - that of a woman with whom she just had a rather loud, and public, run-in. Although Cass calls the police, she quickly finds that she is the prime suspect! Bee and Stephanie are on her side, of course, but it seems the entire island, where news travels fast, suddenly believes she is a murderess! She has to prove her innocence before she is locked behind bars for a long time. But who killed Marge Hawkins? Was it her timid daughter, Ellie, who disappears shortly after the murder? Or was it Ellie's abusive husband, who Marge discovered to be cheating on her daughter? Or was it, unthinkably, Bee, who has his own hatred for Marge? Or could it be that dark-haired stranger with the sexy Southern drawl, who has more secrets than anyone and carries a gun hidden under his shirt?
Gregory provides plenty of twists in this story, that's for sure. I honestly believed I had it figured out (from some very obscure clues - at least what I thought were clues - that pointed to a not-so-obvious person as the killer), and I was so proud of myself for having caught on. The only problem is, those "clues" were nothing more than red herrings, if that, and Gregory pulled the rug out from underneath me with the final reveal of the killer. Of course, it made sense once the reveal occurred, but that didn't take away from the suspense as Cass was not only taken captive by the killer, but also forced into a deadly game of cat and mouse in a dark woods.
Once again, I was extremely fortunate to pick up a series that drew me in and made me love the characters and story right from the get-go. While I'm not usually a fan of the so-called "cozy" mysteries, this series is a definite must-read on my list now!
RATING: 10 big, furry, lovable Beasts out of 10 for a well-crafted murder mystery and a Nancy Drew-worthy protagonist and friends!
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