Clues in the Sand by Terry Ambrose

Item: Clues in the Sand
Rating: 5
Author: karenbaron

Posted September 6, 2023 by karenbaron in Mystery, Review / 0 Comments

Clues in the Sand

by Terry Ambrose

Series: Seaside Cove Bed and Breakfast Mystery #2
Series Rating:

Published by Satori on March 15, 2018
Setting: California
Genres: Cozy Mystery
Pages: 191
Format: Kindle, Paperback
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Get Your Copy at: Amazon
Also in this series: Secrets of the Treasure King, Treasure Most Deadly, Lies, Spies, and the Baker's Surprise, Dead Men Need No Reservations, A Treasure to Die For, The Secret Ingredient to Murder

To Rick Atwood’s dismay, the police find a body on the beach near his Seaside Cove B&B. The dead woman held a pottery shard from an ancient rice bowl, which the cops believe is a clue to her murder.

The chief suspect is Flynn O’Connor, a female archaeologist known for her hatred of treasure thieves. Trouble is, Rick’s daughter Alex sees Flynn as a role model and will not believe her friend is a killer.

Alex pressures her dad as only a ten-year-old can to prove Flynn is innocent. The mayor is also making demands—for Rick to stay out of the investigation. With his daughter and the mayor at odds, Rick sees trouble brewing. He knows too well how much Alex loves sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong. Especially when there’s murder involved.

Clues in the Sand by Terry Ambrose sees Rick trying to run his business while Alex wants to keep her new role model out of jail.

Will Alex convince Rick to take the case?

Rick and Alex Atwood

Rick has his hands full with taking care of the bed and breakfast and keeping his daughter in line. To say the least, Alex keeps not only Rick on his toes but also Marquetta. Alex knows what she wants, and at that moment, it’s to help her friend and hopefully mentor stay out of jail. In her young mind, the only problem with that is that the mayor told the chief to tell Adam to tell Rick not to help out. Rick does realize that Adam needs help but doesn’t want to upset the mayor. He sees it as a relief but realizes he does like, in fact, helping out the police department and wouldn’t mind continuing as long as they keep Alex away from the investigation.

This father-daughter duo is a delight to read. I love their dynamic, and how easily they welcomed Marquetta into their family moments is sweet.

The Mystery

The mystery is afoot from the beginning, and I have to say that I was captivated while turning over the clues with everyone. It was fun to see how the archeology world morphs into a different form for each person. Some follow the law, while others try to cheat and steal to get their way. The introduction to Flynn O’Connor was fantastic; how she can handle herself around people who think wrongly of her is excellent. I have to say that I guessed on whodunit but not entirely the motive. The ending surprised me a bit.

Five Stars

I am giving five stars to Clues in the Sand by Terry Ambrose. The great thing about this series is that you can start anywhere, and everything flows cohesively so that the before information isn’t needed. I highly recommend this series and all of Mr. Ambrose’s series. I love his writing style, characters, and mysteries.

The Series

Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Clues in the Sand by Terry Ambrose.

Until the next time,

Happy Reading!

About Terry Ambrose

Terry Ambrose has written and published fourteen mysteries. His Seaside Cove Mystery series new releases have risen to the Amazon genre Top 100. In 2014, Con Game, Terry’s second thriller in the License to Lie series received the San Diego Book Awards Best Mystery/Thriller award. Terry also writes the McKenna Trouble in Paradise mysteries and organized an anthology written by bestselling mystery writers to benefit a literacy nonprofit in Hawaii.

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