Betrayal at the Beach: A Cozy Christian Mystery by K.L. Montgomery
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Sunshine Baker work in the Bryce Beach Public Library as a YA and she has been working with the Friends of the Library Committee to organise and throw their yearly Gala to raise funds for the library, as well as her role at the library itself and has been enjoying every minute of it and as the night of the gala arrives, she is hoping that everything will go well and that the invitees will enjoy the evening. From the start it looks like everyone is having fun and the catering, magician act and music are keeping everyone entertained, when the food is served and she finds out that she has to make the first speech and introductions, she is terrified, but manages to get through it and the rest of the evening inscathed, that is until after they have counted the donations and are presenting the total to the audience when there is a crashing of glass and a scream where the crowd is shocked into panic. The Founding Fathers Bible, a priceless artifact has been stolen and when Sunshine goes to check on the donations in the locked room, she is devastated to find out that they have been stolen too.

The police are called and statements are made, but when she arrives at work on the Monday morning, the Chief of Police is there to see her and ask her some questions, however, she is surprised to find out that they suspect one of the employees and that they need the information of all who had access to the room that the donations were being kept in, whether they were at the Gala or not. This has Sunshine worrying and this is increased even more when she goes to see the head of the Library and is asked for her opinion and then to look into it in her own time as well. This spurs her onto asking questions of her friends Evangeline and Molly, drawing up a list of attendees and talking through the events of the night again, but all this does is throw suspicion around with no strong leads bar one, so the next day Molly and Sunshine make plans to talk to them, but in a non-threatening way to try and glean some more information from them about that night. As these conversations take place, more tidbits and accusations are thrown around which are making Sunshine feel even more uncomfortable as they are mostly pointing towards one of her friends and another colleague as the police appear to be less than interested.

As the stakes are raised and jobs are on the line, will Sunshine and her amateur sleuthing skills solve the mystery before jobs and a priceless artefact are lost forever? This is a cozy mystery which will keep you guessing through to the end as the hunt for answers throws light upon a small community with secrets and stories to tell.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

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