Book Review: Murder on Mustang Beach by Alicia Bessette

Callie Padgett has settled back into life on Cattail Island after years away on the mainland as an investigative journalist. Nowadays, she’s happy to be selling books at the famed MotherVine bookstore and living in her beloved Uncle Hudson’s converted garage. She’s also looking forward to the day that marks the end of her love interest Toby Dodge’s vow of celibacy, so that the two of them can start exploring new facets of their blossoming romance:

The past year had been epic. When you take a relationship as molasses-slow as we had been taking ours, things felt super innocent and, at the same time, maddeningly sexy. We spent last summer and early fall frolicking on warm beaches, driving with the windows down while singing and surfing our hands on the wind, like teenagers. We’d spent winter going on runs together and continuing my self-defence lessons. It was all leading up to the day when we could take things to the next level.

 

But with the occurrence of a corpse, our flirtation had screeched to a halt.

Bad enough that they discover a dead body on the very day they’re supposed to start officially dating. The corpse in question is found in the martial arts studio Toby has worked so hard to make a success. Worse still, a connection between Toby and the dead man, Seth Goodnow, makes Toby prime suspect in Seth’s murder.

Callie is absolutely convinced of Toby’s innocence. But who else could have wanted Seth dead, and why? Seth, it turns out, has only recently come into town in order to get married on a Cattail beach. He leaves behind a grieving widow and a stunned wedding party. Could any of them have wanted to kill Seth? But why wait till now, and why leave his body in Toby’s dojo?

Police Detective Iona Fusco wants Callie to stay away from investigating, after the near-deadly consequences of what happened the last time Callie decided to play amateur sleuth. But Callie is hardly going to let her about-to-be-boyfriend get railroaded. Luckily for Iona, someone else will soon divert Callie’s attention by asking for her help, too.

Geri-Lynn Humfeld is the director of the Mustang Beach Sanctuary, a fenced off stretch of the island that’s home to wild mustangs descended from horses that survived a shipwreck off its shores centuries earlier. The sanctuary was established mostly to protect the mustangs from the problems of human encroachment and interference, especially with the increase in island tourism. After Callie stops by to drop off a book for Geri-Lynn, the women quickly bond over their respect for the horses:

“As you know,” Geri-Lynn said, “it’s legal to walk on the north end of Mustang Beach, up to this fence—”

 

“—as long as the horses are fifty feet away, on the other side of it,” I said.

 

She looked impressed. “That’s right. It’s unlawful to come within fifty feet of a wild horse. For reference, that’s only slightly longer than the length of—”

 

“—an average school bus.”

 

“I love locals,” she said, shaking an approving finger. “Believe me, there is no dearth of humans out there, wanting to blame the horses. But they came right up to where I was standing! As if the horses know the fifty-feet rule. It’s the human’s responsibility to move away. A mustang’s only responsibility is to be a mustang.”

Up until a few days earlier, the sanctuary had been heavily promoting the birth of a new wild foal. But now the pregnant mare has disappeared and Geri-Lynn is starting to panic. She’s heard of Callie’s reputation and thinks Callie would be the perfect person to help her figure out what’s going on. After hitting a brick wall in her investigation into Seth’s murder, Callie is happy to assist. After all, it isn’t likely the two issues could be connected… could they?

This was another fun beach read set in the Outer Banks, with equal parts personal development and gorgeous snapshots of island life. I enjoyed spending time with Callie and her family and friends, especially at the MotherVine. I also enjoyed the inclusion of the fictional tale of Rosie Beacon, which was inspired by legendary counterparts such as Betsy Dowdy and Sybil Ludington—teenage girls who rode alone through perilous circumstances and over great distances to alert the rebels that British troops were on the way. While Cattail Island and Mustang Beach are imaginary, they’re very much based in a reality that Alicia Bessette pays loving tribute to in this immersive cozy murder mystery series.