Something Fishy This Way Comes - A Guest Post, Review, & Giveaway

I'm pleased to let Whitney Dagner take over Cozy Up With Kathy today. You can find Whit on the pages of the Whit and Whiskers Mystery series. SOMETHING FISHY THIS WAY COMES is the second book in the series and was released last month.

Hello there, island visitors! Jump on into my golf cart (because I’ll be in my seventies before I could get an actual car on island—rules and all that) and let’s take a little jaunt around this place I like to call home. Our grandparents, Goldie (don’t call her Grandma or you risk your life) and Pops, have now retired, or so they say. That left Nick to run the boat tours on Catalina all by himself. I couldn’t let him have all the fun. So I dragged my best friend Maribel Hernandez over with me from our corporate world in Long Beach, and we became residents of this beautiful little town of Avalon. Maribel, my cat, Whiskers, and I are starting fresh here on Catalina and nothing can ruin that. I’m coming back to my favorite place from my childhood, and Maribel is experiencing life on the island to the fullest.

By the way, I’m Whitney Dagner, Whit for short, and I’ll be your guide around the island of Santa Catalina. We have stores galore, including my own little novelty shop, and buffalo too (seriously, someone left them after a movie shoot and now they’re our island friends, though I wouldn’t get too close). And Nick and I run the glass-bottom boat tour in the bay. We take our guests out to see all kinds of beautiful things under the sea. Some a little more unexpected than others. But that’s a story for another time.

We’re small but mighty on this little slice of heaven out in the ocean. Ignore the guy who keeps trying to wave at you. Nick is my brother and a pain in the… well, we’ll skip that. But I guess I’ll keep him because, family, you know…

It is beautiful here, even when we have to deal with unsavory people and things going awry. Let’s not focus on that, though. There are so many other, better things to concentrate on. Like the amazing colors of the sky as the sun sinks behind the mountain in the middle of the island. The birds that flock to the island. The acres and acres of sanctuary. And the way the waves break gently against the shore line in Avalon. Of course, I might never look at the water quite the same way since I found out that my ex-boyfriend, Felix Ramirez, who I thought I’d left behind on the mainland, accepted a job with the small police department as a diver.

If a little trouble gets in our way, then we’ll deal with it. Hopefully we’ll even get to live through it… 

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Bio: Gabby Allan Mysteries – A little charm, a little mayhem, a lot of fun! www.gabbyallan.com

After writing plays for her friends to act out as a kid, bad poetry in high school, and her high school Alma Mater song, Gabby Allan finally found her true passion—cozy mysteries. Being able to share her world with readers, one laugh at a time, and touch people’s hearts with her down-to-earth characters makes for the best job ever. This California girl now lives with her husband in Central Pennsylvania where she is hard at work on her next novel. 

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Review

SOMETHING FISHY THIS WAY COMES by Gabby Allan
The Second Whit and Whiskers Mystery

 

When Whitney Dagner heads over to the golf course to bury one of her shop's special treasures she's not entirely surprised to find two twitchers, AKA birdwatchers, arguing. What is surprising is that they're doing it over a dead body. The body is that of Leo Franklin, a young man who finally got his life turned around and whose family is on one side of a longstanding feud. Before the police arrive a whole contingency of Aherns arrive, the opposing family in the feud, declaring his death a suicide. Whit is doubtful Leo would take his own life and when his family asks her to look into matters, she can't resist, especially since the Chief of police is an Ahern and eager to rule the death a suicide. Whit and her friends will scramble to get to the truth before the coroner calls case closed, or someone closes the case on them!

I find feuds fascinating, especially when current family members have no clue what the feud is actually about. That's the case in SOMETHING FISHY THIS WAY COMES, and Whit believes discovering the root of the feud will lead to the murderer of today. I love the way Whit works with her family and friends to solve a puzzle, as well as live their best lives on Catalina Island. Always there for each other, caring, but poking fun as well, they bring love and community to the pages.

The mystery was complex. How did Leo actually die? Was his death due to the feud? Or was it something more recent? Who wanted him dead and who could have killed him? These questions have Whit and readers alike puzzled. But the murder isn't the only problem Whit has to solve, she also has Goldie's new ideas for the shop. I enjoy the balance between mystery, island drama, and daily living.

 

SOMETHING FISHY THIS WAY COMES is a fast paced quick read. Charming characters, lots of laughs, and a complex puzzle make this second Whit and Whiskers Mystery a fun and refreshing delight.

 

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 Something Fishy This Way Comes (A Whit and Whiskers Mystery) by Gabby Allan

About Something Fishy This Way Comes

Something Fishy This Way Comes (A Whit and Whiskers Mystery)
Cozy Mystery 2nd in Series
Setting - Santa Catalina Island
Kensington (July 26, 2022)
Paperback: ‎ 240 pages

Take in the wild beauty of Santa Catalina Island with tour guide and eclectic gift shop owner Whitney Dagner. On the itinerary: dramatic Pacific coastlines, diverse marine life, and murder!

Since returning home from mainland California and finding her groove with the family tourism business, Whitney Dagner’s daily routine has become a wonderfully chaotic adventure. She and her nimble kitty, Whiskers, often find themselves at the center of the action on Catalina, from staged treasure hunts to gossipy birdwatchers. But before Whit can get too comfortable in the place where she grew up, a gift shop order leads to a stunning discovery—someone’s dead body . . .

One of Whit’s best boat tour client’s, Leo Franklin was young and newly engaged when he unceremoniously took his own life. Only it doesn’t seem like that’s what really happened—not after the suspicious activity displayed by his family’s old rivals at the scene of his death. As a bitter, generations-long feud between Leo’s kin and the local Ahern clan comes to a head, Whit and her police diver not-so-ex-boyfriend must lead a dangerous investigation into years of scandal and bad blood to figure out who’s innocent . . . and who’s covering a killer’s tracks.

About Gabby Allan

After writing plays for her friends to act out as a kid, bad poetry in high school, and her high school Alma Mater song, GABBY ALLAN finally found her true passion—cozy mysteries. Being able to share her world with readers, one laugh at a time, and touch people’s hearts with her down-to-earth characters makes for the best job ever. This California girl now lives with her husband, daughter, and two insane dogs in Central Pennsylvania where she is hard at work on her next novel.

Author Links: 

Website – http://www.gabbyallan.com 

 Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/GabbyAllanAuthor 

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