THE HERRINGBONE HARBOR MYSTERY

Four friends continue their habit of bringing murderers to justice.

Wealthy widow Birdie Favazza, lobster company owner Cass Halloran Brandley, yarn studio owner Izzy Chambers Perry, and Izzy’s aunt Nell Endicott form a close circle of amateur sleuths in Sea Harbor, Massachusetts. When Squid, the frightened dog of well-regarded business owner Nick Cabot, turns up at the home of Birdie’s teenage granddaughter, Gabby, who runs a dog-walking business, Gabby knows something bad has happened. Nick is widely beloved in Sea Harbor, and plenty of people have been encouraging him to run against longtime mayor Beatrice Scaglia, whose announcement that she’ll never let that happen gives her an obvious motive when Nick is found shot dead in the burned ruins of his house. In addition to Beatrice, there are other people who didn’t like Nick. Bobby Palazola, the chef at Gracie Santos’ Lazy Lobster and Soup Café, had a sterling reputation as a Boston chef and blames Nick for the bad reviews he’s been getting. And Gracie and Cass are wary of Marco Costa, who works part time helping Bobby buy fish. Marco used to work for Cass, who didn’t trust him, and he overheard the two women asking Nick about him, since the men were neighbors. Slowly, the four women, who—except for Izzy—were born and brought up in Sea Harbor and are related to many of its residents, begin to gather tidbits of information they eventually shuffle into a pattern that will uncover the killer.

A deep dive into the characters’ lives and relationships brings depth to a puzzling mystery.