Genre: Mystery
Rating:

When Munin Cooper, known as the Witch of Oyster Bay, warns Olivia Limoges that death is coming, neither of them realize that it is the older woman herself who will soon be found dead. And Olivia’s instincts tell her that something—or someone—more sinister than a mystical force is at play…

Olivia has a lot on her plate preparing for the Coastal Carolina Food Festival. When she hears the news of Munin’s untimely death, however, finding the murderer takes priority. The witch left behind a memory jug full of keepsakes that Olivia knows must point to the killer—but she’s got to figure out what they mean.

With handsome Police Chief Rawlings by her side, Olivia starts to identify some of the jug’s mysterious contents—and finds its secrets are much darker than she suspected. Now Olivia must enlist the help of the Bayside Book Writers to solve the puzzle behind the piece of pottery and put an end to a vengeful killer before any more damage can be done…

Series: A Books by the Bay Mystery

Review

For fans of:  Connie Archer

When oak-barrel heiress, restaurateur, and aspiring author Olivia Limoges is summoned by Munin Cooper – a woman who lives alone in the swamp and is known as the Oyster Bay witch, she’s certain she’s being scammed and refuses to make the trip.  But then she hears Munin claims to have something that belonged to her long-dead mother, and curiosity gets the best of her.  So out to the swamp she treks.

Olivia arrives to discover that Munin has made for her a memory jug – a clay vessel with keepsakes and trinkets fired into its surface.  And among those keepsakes and trinkets is nestled a necklace her mother used to wear.  All Munin will tell Olivia, however, is that death is coming, and says of the jug:  “It holds all of the answers you seek as well as those you might not want to know.  My gift can protect you in the days to come.  It can also undo you.  The truth waits inside.”

Olivia’s uncertain what to make of the woman, her words, or her gift, but she accepts the jug and heads home.  Days later, Munin dies under suspicious circumstances.  Did Munin know she was in danger and provide Olivia with the means to bring her killer to justice?  Or is Olivia about embark on a wild goose chase inspired by the ramblings of a crazy person?

Written in Stone is the fourth of Ellery Adams’ Books by the Bay Mysteries, and it’s a decidedly uneven read.  The setup is neatly executed, the premise upon which the mystery is based has great potential (I love the idea of someone being given a memory jug that contains clues to a puzzle that doesn't yet exist), and the climax really packs a punch, but unfortunately, the rest of the tale just doesn’t live up.  Adams relies far too heavily on coincidence to get from point A to point B, making the whole book feel contrived and far-fetched.  She doesn’t capitalize on the groundwork she laid (which is a shame, because what’s there is fascinating). And she doesn’t she earn her dark and emotionally charged ending, which has the regrettable effect of making what should be a poignant scene feel cheap.

I think the main problem is that Adams isn’t quite sure what kind of a book she wants this to be, causing the whole thing to feel kind of schizophrenic.  Parts of it feel like some sort of bizarre comedy. (Witness the book’s opening, which takes place in an Andrew-Lloyd-Weber-themed diner named Grumpy’s that’s run by a roller-skating dwarf.)  Parts of it feel like something out of a bodice-ripper.  (There’s little chemistry between the frosty Olivia and her Hawaiian-shirt-wearing cop of a boyfriend, making their already-out-of-place sex scenes feel even more awkward and tonally jarring.)  And Adams’ attempts to make the book fit the theme she’s selected for the series (that Olivia and her friends are aspiring novelists and keep encountering criminals who leave behind literary-themed clues) feel like such an afterthought that they detract from the plot rather than adding to it.

None of the story’s supporting characters transcends his or her stereotype, and as a protagonist, Olivia’s a bit of a mixed bag.  On the one hand, I absolutely LOVE how little she seems to care what others think of her; she’s audacious to a fault, which is refreshing in a genre where most heroines are all sweetness and light.  But this character trait also makes her a bit unapproachable.  Her dialogue is too stiff and too formal, and none of her interactions or relationships feels genuine or earned.  And her odd backstory makes her even less easy for the reader to identify with (what is an oak-barrel heiress and why would the paparazzi follow one around?).  No matter how hard I try, I just can’t get a handle on her – either as a character or as a person – and for that reason, she and her story both lack life.

Reviewed by Kat

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