This second book in the series continues the story of Summer’s newly discovered family on her father’s side. For most of her life, even her father’s name was unknown to her. Now she knows about her half brother and sister, but she also learns about her extended family, and that news is not at all good. Some of her father’s family members are involved in crime, and have been for years. A cold murder case on the island seems to be the link to the present day kidnapping of an author who was staying with Summer. It’s a much darker story than the first one, with more characters in a intricate and contrived plot. Not at all a typical Christmas cozy even though amateurs are solving the crime, this story is a bit disjointed, jumping from one thing to another. ( )

35 years ago on Brigid's Island a murder happened and it still hasn't been solved. Summer Merriweather has invited a mystery author panel t her store and it includes an author who has written about the unsolved crime. The author is threatened and then disappears and Summer feels that she has to find her guest before something bad happens to her. Could the long ago murder be tied to her new found family?

This book was very intriguing. Tying the past with her future brought depth to the character as well as generating a great deal of interest to the back story.

Looking forward to more. ( )

This holiday season is going to be like no other for Brigid's Island. Bookstore owner Summer Merriweather is hosting a cozy mystery author's panel at her store when one of the author's lives is threatened. What's more, this author based her book on a local unsolved murder that happened 35 years ago. Summer herself has a personal tie to the case, with strange connections between the murder victim and her biological family.

Summer's personal connection to the case was a highlight of the book for me. It heightened the stakes of the mystery and added an extra layer of emotionality and reflectiveness to the book itself. The mystery itself was realistic and many of the featured characters came across as being quite genuine. None of them are perfect, including Summer herself.

Be forewarned, this book can be a bit of a downer at times. There is a good amount of discussion about grief and about Summer's relationship with long-lost family members, so if those are topics you may be sensitive to, you may want to give this book a pass. There is also one scene in the book that I found to be heartbreaking, a word I don't usually associate with cozy mysteries. This book stands out from other cozies I've read in that it takes a more melancholic tone at times so it isn't going to be for everyone, but for me, I liked that it was different than the cozies I usually read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for providing me with an ARC. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

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Summer Merriwether returned home after ten years for her mother's funeral, and learned that she'd left her precious bookstore to her daughter. Summer didn't want it, but in the months following, she still hasn't decided whether she's going to keep it or return to her job at the university. She's also learned that she has half-siblings who are Egyptian and very rich. But when her half-brother Sam hands her a box of photos he'd found of her mother and father together, she still hasn't been able to go through it. But then another box is found at the bookstore, which contains a scrapbook and newspaper clippings of a murder that occurred over thirty years ago, and had ties to her father's family.

To make matters worse, she learns that one of the cozy authors visiting has based her latest book on the murder. Sure, she's not written about the murder itself, but she's taken the bones of the case and used her own speculations -- and personal research -- to write the book, and it turns out someone isn't happy. Since she's received death threats, she figures the safest place to stay will be at Summer's cottage. At least until someone keeps breaking in and takes the box of photos. But why? And why terrorize the author? Unless someone has something they want to keep hidden...like murder...

This is the second book in the series, and while I thought it was better than the first, it still has issues as far as I'm concerned. There's a part of the book in which Summer stated that she came home to see her mother last year for Christmas, but in the previous book she stated she hadn't been home for ten years. Also, she states as how much she misses her mother, but in the last book their relationship was contentious, and for some reason or other she didn't want any part of her previous life.

Also, this book might take place at Christmas, but there is very little about the holiday. Yes, there is decorating, and mention of vegan cookies (ugh), but there is no feel for Christmas, just as there is no feel for the characters.

Summer is all about Summer. Much of the book is about Summer's dissecting her thoughts (the woman seriously needs a therapist) and while she has an irrational fear of spiders (having the fear is alright, but wearing a nylon mask?) it doesn't bother me much because all of Ms. Blackburn's main characters have an emotional, physical, or psychological issue. (I am including the author's books written as Mollie Cox Bryan, too -- so I wasn't surprised when I discovered Summer's problem).

As I've stated in my last review, there are no strong male characters in the book, and I truly am surprised Cash showed up at all. Piper's husband was a surprise -- he wasn't even mentioned in the last book, and I had no idea she was married. He was given exactly one sentence in this book, so he may as well have been wallpaper. The secondary characters aren't really that interesting, and the little snit that Piper had didn't even make sense (read the book and you will know).

However, the writing was good, and as we already know, Summer will solve everything to all its satisfaction, and the climax was interesting, to say the least. The book isn't a bad book at all; and I will read the next in the series to see if Summer has softened at all.

I received an advance copy from the publisher and NetGalley but this in no way influenced my review. ( )

Once Upon a Seaside Murder by Maggie Blackburn is the 2nd A Beach Reads Mystery. It can be read as a standalone if you have not had a chance to indulge in Little Bookshop of Murder. I found Once Upon a Seaside Murder a Debbie downer. There is a lot of sadness, anxiousness, and stress in the story. Summer has several issues that affect her personality. She is grieving the loss of her mother, she zones out, and she is terrified of spiders. We get to hear in detail about her thoughts and feelings. These issues, of course, affect her attitude. I just do not find Summer appealing as a protagonist. Summer is learning about her birth father and family. We get to meet her newly found half-siblings as well as a grandmother plus she learns about a host of other relatives. The whodunit ties to a murder that occurred at Mermaid Point over thirty years ago. There are threats, break ins, and a kidnapping. There was one thing done that was a little extreme for a cozy mystery. The mystery is resolved in the end with complete explanation. I wish Once Upon a Seaside Murder had been lighter and shorter. I hope going forward that Summer starts to move past her grief and fears. There are some good characters in the story such as Glads, Marilyn, Mia, and Aunt Agatha. They are fun and engaging. Let us not forget Mr. Darcy. I also enjoyed the descriptions of the bookstore. I could get lost for hours inside Beach Reads. Once Upon a Seaside Murder takes readers to Brigid’s Island, North Carolina where mayhem ensues when a cozy mystery author is kidnapped, and old secrets come to light. ( )