I'll start by saying ignore the back of the book. The publisher's description is incorrect - although Charlie found the body, he was never one of the prime suspects.

Briar Creek is in an upheaval after a salvage company arrives with plans to dig up Captain Kidd's buried treasure, which can supposedly be found somewhere on Pirate Island. It sounds too amazing to be true, except that Mr. Riordan, the owner of the salvage company, has Captain Kidd's very own treasure map. The treasure hunt could turn Pirate Island into a huge tourist attraction, but it would also cause ecological damage. While Milton Duffy, a well-known and well-liked member of the Friends of the Library, tries to protect the island, Trudi Hargrave, the head of Briar Creek's tourism department, does everything she can to help Riordan's work move forward. Then Trudi turns up murdered, and Lindsey finds herself in the thick of things as usual.

This is probably the best book in the series so far. I loved the way the mystery tied in with Briar Creek's history. If I had one complaint about the way things worked out, it was that it took a lot longer than I expected for Trudi to finally be murdered. Which sounds terrible, but waiting so long for the death I knew was supposed to happen made the book drag a little. Plus, Trudi was kind of annoying.

The fact that Sully and Lindsey were finally dating didn't lessen Sully's appeal. I was happy to see that Sully was still giving Beth rides and waiting to make sure she got into her house okay before driving off. Little things like that really demonstrated that he wasn't just being nice in the previous books in order to spend more time with Lindsey. He also handled the sudden appearance of Lindsey's ex-fiance, John, surprisingly well. I expected aggravating amounts of jealousy, and instead he opted to trust Lindsey, stand back (mostly), and let her deal with John in her own way. Unfortunately,

I continued to like Officer Emma Plewicki - I hope she gets more page-time in future books. The real surprise, however, was Chief Daniels. In the first book he was a stereotypical small town cop, too focused on his initial assumptions to even consider other possibilities. In this latest book, he had visibly mellowed, and I actually found myself liking him.

This was a great entry in the series, although I'm worried about what the ending will mean for the next book. Crossing my fingers that McKinlay doesn't drag this development out too long.

Extras:

• The Briar Creek Library Guide to Crafternoons
• Readers Guide for The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• Lindsey's pattern for her cross-stitch sampler ("Books are my homeboys.")
• Recipe for Charlene's cucumber cups stuffed with feta

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)

*I requested a copy of this audiobook from the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review.

Cass is working to learn to use her magic with control, with Aidan's help. She returns home with an artifact for a client, and to rebuild their magic inventory at the shop, when she's approached by Mathias. One of the organizations Cass and her deirfiur fear, Alpha Council, is looking for her. They've lost something of great value and have heard from Aidan of her Seeker skills. With the shops lack of inventory since the break-in, meaning rent will be a terrible struggle to meet, the million dollars to simply meet with the Alpha Council and hear them out is tempting, then, if she takes the job the additional million dollars... The tipper of scales is that lives are at risk, and the thought that helping the Alpha Council could help her if she ever gets caught.

Laurel returns to voice Cass and crew in this second book. Oh, when she voices Aidan in the first chapter, I just smiled. I love her accent for him. Laurel voices new characters we come across with a different accent, vocal tone, personality, and emotion for the moment. I enjoy this as it brings the story to life and shows a bit of difference among the characters we see. The audio seems seamless and no distractions in the background. It's all about the story when I'm listening to Laurel.

Something I really like about Cass, and it stuck out to me in the first book along with here too, she's not our normal find the ancient artifacts and sell them kind of gal. Cass and her sisters find the artifacts that are old, where magic is starting to decay and could become dangerous. They remove the magic from these artifacts and place it in a replica of the item, then return the original to the sacred place it has been kept for years. She tries her hardest to not ruin the secret places, though that's not always possible.

In this book Cass is learning to trust a bit further than her close circle of her two sisters. The events in this book show that others think dearly of Cass, Nix, and Del, along with doing anything to help them. The reason, the three sisters have been great friends that will do what they can for friends, and their friends know it. We even get to see Cass realizing Aidan is trustworthy, that he's not going to hurt her by turning her in. Cass's actions show she's not the dark, killing and greedy sponge that people thing FireSouls are. Though, she does realize something about her FireSoul in this book.

I do enjoy Aidan. He seems like a perfect gentleman, though that is what throws up the red flag for Cass and she tries to keep moving slow with him. Sure, they've kissed and she'd love more, but she wants to get to know him. He does help Cass to learn her magic, pushing her to the edge of her limits to learn and get control of them. He also tries to protect her, even when the ceiling is falling in, he'll throw himself between Cass and the falling rocks.

We start to learn more of Aidan and the Origins in his family past with Cass, even about shifters too. We also start to learn with Cass about her own past. Through dreams Cass learns how they escaped the cell and that monster of a man, even how she became a mirror mage.

I really like that we get more time with Nix and Del in this book too. We got some time with them in the previous book, but this one they are more involved earlier on. Of course we get our Aidan time too. ;) The time feels well balanced between friends, sisters, and growing love.

I'm enjoying this series thus far. It's fun, relaxing, and I really like the personality of Cass and Aidan. Then there are the small hints of what we learn about Cass that has me curious. Not to mention that Monster Man from her past in that terrible cell.

The new novel by Leigh Cross, The Crooked Albatross and Sweet Fanny Adams, is out now!

Who would’ve thought that a memoir from the eighteenth century would have caused so much trouble? Eight adventurers sail to Cocos Island on the converted tuna clipper, Sweet Fanny Adams, to dig for the fabulously rich Loot of Lima.  They are backed by an amphibious aircraft, a Grumman Albatross, under the command of Van Dusen, a cashiered, ex-U.S. Navy pilot, with ulterior motives.

And the eight adventurers? What a collection! British nutcases, a timber cruiser, a prospector, a cook, the cook’s wife, they are not necessarily what they appear to be either.