Cozy mystery full of suspects and prospects

I confess that the hot weather found me sitting near a fan with a book. “The Corpse in the Cabana” by Shéa MacLeod is the first in her Viola Roberts series of cozy mysteries.

It opens with Viola and her friend, Cheryl Delaney, arriving in St. Petersburg, Florida, for the annual Novel Writers of America conference. Viola’s genre is cowboy/romance. She knows her books are more entertaining than literary fare but is thrilled to make a living doing what she loves.

As the women relax in the bar, Cheryl notices a middle-aged woman dancing with a much younger man. Viola explains that the woman is Natasha Winters, a famous romance writer with a nasty personality. Her soon-to-be ex-husband, Jason, is glaring at the dancers.

Viola can’t help wondering why he’s here. Jason helped Natasha get to the top, but she fired him when he had an affair with her assistant, Piper.

Viola’s musings are interrupted by fellow romance writer Lucas Salvatore. While most women would have swooned attention from the tall, handsome man, Viola is suspicious. At almost 42, single and solidly built, Viola isn’t looking for romance in her own life. Though, she must admit that Lucas gives her an unexpected shiver.

To everyone’s shock, tipsy Cheryl gets in a cat fight with Natasha and the two must be separated. Too keyed up to sleep, Viola takes a midnight stroll on the beach and discovers Natasha’s body. She’s been stabbed in the back.

The handsome Detective Costas pegs Viola as a prime suspect. Naturally, Viola decides to clear her name despite Costas’ warning.

She quickly learns that Jason gets monthly payments from Natasha, so he wouldn’t want her dead. Young Kyle has an alibi, but Viola still suspects him.

Her continued snooping becomes dangerous when she’s pushed down a marble stairway during a tour of a haunted hotel. Once again, Detective “Hottie” Costas warns Viola to stay out of the investigation.

Now she has a posse. She’s joined by Cheryl, Lucas, plus writers Maggie and Lu. They’re all stunned when Kyle’s former girlfriend, Angie, is found dead. The young woman worked in the hotel spa and had no connection to Natasha or writing.

Attending workshops and sleuthing are exhausting, and Viola gets very little down time. The one night she turns in early, she discovers a snake in her bed. With great effort, Viola stays calm, calls for help and waits until a wildlife expert removes the offending reptile. It looks like a deadly coral snake but turns out to be a harmless look alike.

This event solidifies Viola’s hunch about the killer. She throws a large sundress over her pajamas and marches to the hotel bar. She’s looking for Kyle. She confronts him, saying that she knows that he killed Natasha by mistake. His real target was Angie. When he realized that Angie had seen the killing of Natasha, he decides she must go, too.

Viola’s snooping makes her a target and just as Kyle attacks, Viola’s posse and the police arrive. This book ends with Detective Costas driving Viola and Cheryl to the airport and the potential for a future romance with Lucas Salvatore.

BOOK: The Corpse in the Cabana (Viola Roberts Cozy Mystery, Book 1)

Author: Shéa MacLeod

Publisher: Shéa MacLeod

Year published: 2016

Number of pages: 205