Review: Murder at the Marina by Janet Finsilver

Murder at the Marina (A Kelly Jackson Mystery #5)
by Janet Finsilver

My Rating: 4 stars

Genre: Cozy Mystery
Age Category: Adult
Type of romance: MF

Blurb:
She’s got to solve this—or her friends are sunk . . .

Kelly Jackson, manager of the Redwood Cove Bed and Breakfast, is fond of the Doblinsky brothers, Ivan and Rudy, members of the Silver Sentinels, a crew of crime-solving senior citizens in their Northern California seaside hamlet. After she discovers a jewel-encrusted dagger—with what appears to be dried blood on the blade—on their fishing boat, they share their family history with Kelly, and she learns that the knife may be part of a set from their long-ago childhood in Russia. Its sudden reappearance is eerie, but the mystery grows much more serious when a body is found on the boat. The victim was staying at Kelly’s inn, in town for a Russian Heritage Festival, and some of the organizers were clearly harboring some bitterness. But the story behind this murder seems as layered as a nesting doll—and Kelly’s feeling completely at sea . . .

My Review

I am trying to get caught up with this series again as I had fallen behind and now I am almost caught up again. I picked this one up when I was in the mood for another cozy mystery. This continues to be fun cozy mystery series and I like spending time with these characters as they solve another mystery.

This time the mystery has a Russian theme and the focus is on Rudy and Ivan, two members of the crime solving group the Silver Sentinels and friends of Kelly. When a knife coated in what appears to be blood is found on Rudy and Ivan’s boat they become involved in another mystery. The knife discovered is followed by a body not much later and Kelly and the Silver Sentinels will have to figure out whose behind it. There were some interesting directions the story took and some interesting reveals when it comes to Rudy and Ivan’s backstory and history.

I liked the different focus of this mystery, this time with the focus being on Rudy and Ivan and their Russian heritage. We meet some other Russian characters and a Russian Heritage Festival is taking place close to town. I liked the Russian theme in this book and it was a decent mystery. Although there were times it didn’t grip me as much as it felt like for a long time they weren’t really getting anywhere in terms of clues. I didn’t really had any good guesses for suspects or motives as it didn’t really seem connected for a while. I did like the mystery of whether the events were related or not. When they do make progress things move forward fast suddenly. It did feel a bit accidental how they figure out who is behind it, because the killer is coming for them not because they puzzled it out. But it was a nice wrap up and seeing it all fall on it’s place.

I like how this series has such a big and close group of characters. It’s fun to read about these characters and how they help each other. Kelly is there for the Silver Sentinels and I liked the scenes where she helped Rudy and Ivan in this book. It also was nice to see her appreciate Helen’s work as there were plenty of times when she had to go somewhere and Helen had to take over. Or how she did some things for other characters like bringing someone or something somewhere to save someone else time. As well as how motivated she was to solve the mystery for the Russian brothers. There is a very slow burn romance that progresses very slow throughout the series. There are a few scenes with Scott and I like how they’re growing closer, although the baking scene fell a bit flat for me instead of being funny.

To summarize: This was another great installments. I liked the Russian theme for this mystery with the Russian brothers Rudy and Ivan being involved as the body and a knife is found on their boat. There is a Russian heritage festival and the victim and several suspects seem to be involved with that. I liked the reveals surrounding Rudy and Ivan’s history and their backstory. The mystery was interesting, but at times didn’t fully grip me or move as fast. It felt for a long time they weren’t getting anywhere and they solve the mystery by accident when the murderer goes after them. I like the big fun cast of characters and how close they are and how willing to help one another. I like following these characters throughout the series as they solve one mystery after another.

Links:
– Goodreads
– Bookbub
– Amazon
– B&N
– Kobo

You can also read my review on Goodreads, Bookbub, B&N and Amazon.