Book Review of Coffin Cove by Jackie Elliott
This “gripping murder mystery full of twists” was a murder mystery. That’s what it was. Three murders, actually. Two on page, one a few years back. This one does hit the justice button. Not really a spoiler, but the bad guy is caught. It tries to hit redemption, but in my mind doesn’t quite get there.
Why is “gripping murder…” in quotes. That’s the subtitle on the book. Therefore, as an author, if I’m going to put that on the book cover, I better deliver. Well…okay, like I said, it was a murder mystery.
The story is set in Coffin Cove, a small fishing town on Vancouver Island. A fictional town. However, we also get a few glimpses of Nanaimo on the island, and Stevenston, a town outside mainland Vancouver. We’ve been there. Cool little fishing town as well. Nice park and beach. Anyway…setting was the major asset of this book.
The protagonist is Andi Silvers, a reporter who was blacklisted from a major Vancouver newspaper due to shoddy reporting. She takes a job at the Coffin Cove Gazette. She’s thinking it’s going to be boring. But after only being there a couple days, a sea lion is found dead. Shot. And while she’s looking into that, a man is found dead. Shot.
There are several factions vying for lead suspect. A shady fishing company, a radical environmental group, a corrupt department of fisheries official, and some more. The latest murder dredges up memories of a previous murder of a teenage girl. Andi is convinced the two are linked.
The story kept me reading, wanting to find out who dunnit. Unfortunately, that became very clear with about 50-75 pages left. There are a few twists. Nothing earth shattering, though. Some suspense. One shoot out.
I had two big issues with this book. First, I didn’t like any of the characters. Andi is a drunk. She has an affair with a married man. And she curses like a sailor. Actually, pretty much everyone in the book curses like sailors. Or like fishermen? Andi just wasn’t likable to me. The one person who may have been likable was Jim, the editor of the Gazette, but he’s a cardboard character. We find out who all he knows and his opinion of them, but not much about him.
The second issue, alluded to above, is the profuse profanity. Way too much. Rarely necessary. Even when the thoughts of the characters were being conveyed, they cursed. Again, not necessary. It’s a cop out for showing character emotion.
No on page sex. Violence isn’t over the top. Of the three read this year, it will go to number three.
Book Rankings for 2022
- Win by Harlen Coben
- One Night in Sedona by Carrie Latimer.
- Coffin Cove by Jackie Elliott
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