Murder in Devil's Cove by Melissa Bourbon

"Murder in Devil's Cove" by Melissa Bourbon is the first book in a new cozy series, the Book Magic series. It served as my introduction to the author as well, and I must say, I was VERY impressed! Everything about this book was spot-on, and there were plenty of little extras to love. First, the characters are very well thought out and developed. It was fun reading about twins (Pippin and Grey), as well as the various inhabitants of a small beach town. Little extra: the twins were named after Lord of the Rings characters! While we got a fair bit of insight into Pippen in this story, I look forward to future installments to learn more about some of the others, especially Grey.

The plot was intriguing as well. I enjoyed following Pippen's progress as she looked into the twenty-year-old disappearance of her father, as well as a newly-discovered murder (or was it an accident?). I also enjoyed how the twins' family history played into the modern-day storyline. Little extra: we get a few flashes of the past and learn more about Pippen and Grey's parents and their lives.

I enjoyed the touches of magical realism interspersed throughout the story as Pippen begins to discover her gift of bibliomancy. (In case you don't know...this means using books for psychic purposes.) Little extra: a fair bit of the bibliomancy was centered upon "The Odyssey", an ancient classic.

One more extra bit that I particularly enjoyed: a stray dog had been living on the twins' formerly abandoned property, and Pippen takes time out of her schedule to make efforts to befriend her. This adds depth to Pippen's character, and also gives readers the almost-required cozy pet.

All in all, five out of five scoops of slighly-warm Brie!