• book,  Uncategorized

    REVIEW: Corpse at Captain’s Seat by Josh Lanyon

    Secrets and Scrabble: Corpse at Captain’s Seat – Josh Lanyon

    At long last, the renovations of stately Captain’s Seat are complete, and to celebrate, mystery bookseller and sometimes amateur sleuth Ellery Page decides to throw a house-warming party and invite all his New York theater friends to stay for the weekend.

    When a freak snowstorm leaves the house-party cut off from the village of Pirate’s Cove, there’s nothing to do but drink, reminisce, and play board games. Or so Ellery thinks.

    Until he’s trapped in a real-life game of Clue.


    Since the beginning of Secrets and Scrabble, when Ellery Page moved to Pirate’s Cove and inherited Crow’s Nest, a bookstore, and Captain’s Seat, he has been lamenting the sorry state of his sprawling ancestral mansion.

    Fast forward to Corpse at Captain’s Seat, Book 8 of the cozy mystery series the titular house is now renovated. Ellery is hosting a housewarming party with his friends from the island and his old friends from Tisch in New York.

    His New York friends arrived and were suitably awed by Captain’s Seat. But with a snowstorm coming, the party was canceled. Ellery and his friends hunkered down with wine and some board games. It wasn’t long before old habits and old grudges surfaced, the atmosphere made even tenser by the news of an escaped axe murderer loose in Buck Island.

    I loved this! Josh Lanyon was having fun with metas. She’s done it before, but here, she’s layering the meta stuff pretty thick.

    First, Ellery was a former actor, not an especially good one, he’s first to admit. He starred in a cult-favorite slasher series and is known as the Final Boy. He’s set to reprise his role in another sequel of his horror movie franchise. And now, there’s a missing hatchet, and he may or may not be trapped in a house with an axe murderer.

    Ellery is also the owner of a bookstore specializing in mysteries. And he frequently stumbles upon mysteries whether he wants to or not. Even when there is no actual mystery yet, he’s roped in by his friends to solve some historical mystery because of his reputation as an amateur sleuth.

    Here, he was reading Wikipedia about a missing diamond pendant stolen by the ancestor of the axe murderer while his group speculated where it is hidden on the island.

    His fiancé, Jack Carson, is the chief of police. Jack met and quickly assessed Ellery’s college friends. Upon learning that one of their group, Noah, died in a hit-and-run when they were still students, Jack became intrigued with the circumstances of his death and started asking questions.

    Ellery’s friends are mostly jobbing actors:

    Tosh – a talented actress and special events organizer at a theater. She used to be married to Freddie, but she hooked up with Oscar during their stay in Captain’s Seat. Her split with Freddie was amicable

    Oscar – works in film and television. He has a thing for Tosh since their college days.

    Lenny – she’s a Goth girl and is close to Flip.

    Phillip, a.k.a. Flip – is considered the better actor in the group. He and Lenny bunked together during their stay

    Freddie – is a passable actor, but his good looks make him more appealing to the masses. His genial personality made him well-liked. He has a regular stint in the tv drama, LAPD Blues, as a detective

    Chelsea – is the more talented actress but less attractive. She’s bitter about a lot of things. She’s known to pull pranks. She also stole the box of old photos Tosh brought with her. She more or less threw herself all over Freddie causing friction with Tosh

    Belle – she’s engaged to a viscount. She’s a no-show because of a cancelled flight.

    The group reminisces about a murder mystery play they starred in. They found themselves in an actual murder mystery in Captain’s Seat when one of them was lying dead in the secret passageway with an axe to the head. This person allegedly knew something about Noah’s death.

    They played Clue to pass the time while waiting for the police to arrive. Per Jack’s instructions, because they were snowed in and roads still had to be cleared, Ellery is also gathering preliminary statements and securing the crime scene.

    Captain’s Seat, with its countless secret passageways and underground tunnels, is an enigma on its own. Ellery’s ancestor, Horatio Page, was a famous pirate hunter. Buck Island was a notorious haven for pirates, and is full of underground tunnels and hidden lairs.

    I lost count of the tropes and layers here, but this was the best installment so far! Ellery appreciates Jack’s solid dependability and trustworthiness more than ever. The supporting characters all stood out, whether in a good or bad way. The plot was mostly wining, dining, and snarking, but I was engrossed with the group’s history and dynamics.

    However, the resolution was rushed, the big reveal was anti-climactic, and the confession was too convenient.

    Corpse at Captain’s Seat is a reunion of old friends, opening of old wounds, and creating new memories. All in all, a highly entertaining cozy mystery where a party for old time’s sake ends in murder for old crime’s sake.

    Rating:
    4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bits

    Soundtrack: Old Friend
    Artist: Elderbrook
    Album: Friends

    P.S.

    Secrets and Scrabbles must be read in order. Witness Ellery go from fish out of water to Buck Island’s very own amateur sleuth in the following:

    Murder at Pirate’s Cove
    Secret At Skull House
    Mystery at the Masquerade
    Scandal at the Salty Dog
    Body at Buccaneer’s Bay
    Lament at Loon Landing
    Death at the Deep Dive


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  • song,  Uncategorized

    SOUNDTRACK: Old Friend by Elderbrook

    Soundtrack to Secrets and Scrabble: Corpse at Captain’s Seat by Josh Lanyon

    Old Friend by Elderbrook for a book about old friends, same habits, different connections, and new memories.

    Oh, you’re just the same as I used to know
    Always playing games in the strangest ways
    And you come and go, go, go, just like before, ‘fore, oh
    I should’ve known
    Oh, you’re just the same as I used to know
    Always playing games in the strangest ways
    And you come and go, go, go, just like before, ‘fore, oh

    I got a couple old friends
    I swear I’m tryna make amends
    Forget the years I haven’t been
    And we can ride around again like before
    Making them fire on lows
    I got a couple old friends, ya

  • quote,  Uncategorized

    Oh, you’re just the same as I used to know
    Always playing games in the strangest ways
    And you come and go, go, go, just like before, ‘fore, oh
    I should’ve known
    Oh, you’re just the same as I used to know
    Always playing games in the strangest ways
    And you come and go, go, go, just like before, ‘fore, oh

    I should’ve known (I should’ve known)
    And you’re running me of hope (I would’ve known)
    Just walking down my road (I could’ve known)
    It’s in my blood and bones

    But it’s just like an old friend
    Coming up, yeah, I know them
    Drop top in the driveway
    Locked up ’cause it’s slow then
    I’ve been looking for problems
    One look and I’m all in
    Is it late in the morning?
    If I fall down then I can keep crawling

    And it’s just like an old friend
    Coming up, yeah, I know them

    You’re just the same as I used to know
    Always playing games in the strangest ways
    You come and go, go, go, just like before, ‘fore, oh

    I should’ve known (I should’ve known)
    And you’re running me of hope (I would’ve known)
    Just walking down my road (I could’ve known)
    It’s in my blood and bones

    And it’s just like an old friend
    Coming up, yeah, I know them
    Drop top in the driveway
    Locked up ’cause it’s slow then
    I’ve been looking for problems
    One look and I’m all in
    Is it late in the morning?
    If I fall down then I can keep crawling

    And it’s just like an old friend
    Coming up, yeah, I know them
    Drop top in the driveway
    Locked up ’cause it’s slow then
    I’ve been looking for problems
    One look and I’m all in
    Is it late in the morning?
    If I fall down then I can keep crawling

    I got a couple old friends
    I swear I’m tryna make amends
    Forget the years I haven’t been
    And we can ride around again like before
    Making them fire on lows
    I got a couple old friends, ya

    And it’s just like an old friend
    Coming up, yeah, I know them
    Drop top in the driveway
    Locked up ’cause it’s slow then
    I’ve been looking for problems
    One look and I’m all in
    Is it late in the morning?
    If I fall down then I can keep crawling (I should’ve known)

    And it’s just like an old friend
    Coming up, yeah, I know them
    Drop top in the driveway
    Locked up ’cause it’s slow then
    I’ve been looking for problems
    One look and I’m all in
    Is it late in the morning?
    If I fall down then I can keep crawling