Killer Characters Mystery Book - Coastal Crime Novel for Beach Reading

I was beyond impressed by this book and by the series as a whole. I am not a prolific reviewer, so this review not only spans this book but also the entire Books by the Bay series. I would give this book and the series more than 5 stars if I could. There are plenty of reasons why. I have been doing a lot of reading of cozy mysteries lately and while some are fast-paced, some are light and airy, a lot tend to want in terms of plotlines, narration and/or editing and make for a painful read.I am actually amazed by this series, because this is not the first series I read by Ellery Adams. I started with her Antiques & Collectibles series which was just ok for the first 2-3 books and then became something else uninteresting, altogether. I tried getting a start on the Supper Club series but couldn't get past the first few pages. But Books by the Bay sucked me in from the first. It takes a truly outstanding author to drag a reader by their heart and emotions into the characters and the plotlines. Ellery Adams just sucked me into it right from the first book. In my view, I think it's when you see yourself or glimpses of yourself in the main characters. I completely identified with Olivia Limoges from the start of the series and could understand why she was the way she was. Infact, I could see myself in her. I rooted for her all the way through.What makes this series so brilliant is the fact that the characters are shown to be or grown to be multi-dimensional. There is actually nothing cozy about this series, but there are plenty of heart-warming moments. There are some characters you hate at the beginning and then come to like because even though they do terrible things you come to understand the reasons why. Examples of these are Charles Wade, and the absent Willie Wade. I like how the author develops and matures her characters throughout the series. Olivia who had long cherished her mother finally comes to grips with the fact that her mother may not have made the best decisions in life.Then there are characters that you think are only shallow and superficial, but then they reveal suprising and hidden depths, such as Flynn McNulty. The characters are so real and human. Even the best ones and the protagonists have flaws and even the worst ones and perpetrators have some redeeming qualities (maybe not always) or are victims of circumstance themselves. This can be seen at Olivia's sorrow when the truth about Wheeler gets out and her empathy with Flynn even though he had threatened her life.I have never experienced such rawness and realism in a cozy mystery series and Books by the Bay are top-of-the-line for me. True, there are some mystery plotlines in the series that I felt to be disjointed and being a bit far-fetched and maybe having some plotholes. But as I progressed through the series, it became less about the mystery for me and more about the characters and what went on in their lives and how moments in solving the mysteries led to epiphanies or break-throughs in their life moments.I loved reading about how the "lone wolf" Olivia finally opened her heart and found a deep and abiding love with Sawyer Rawlings. How she stood like a rock by her friends. Your heart breaks when Harris and Millay break up and she makes it in such a way that noone is a bad person in this break-up. You feel for both. The author also tackles Olivia's difficult relationship with her father Charles Wade and brings it to a rewarding conclusion. The true treasure in this series in not the mysteries being solves, but the relationships that evolve throughout, between friends, between lovers, between family. It is not always light and there is no fairy-tale ending. There are bittersweet moments and heart-wrenching ones.I like to buy books because I have favorite authors that I like to get back to and re-read and re-create those experiences. There are some books that are so well-written but so raw that they stay with me a long-time afterwards. I never forget them, though I find it difficult to get back to them because of the rawness and the intensity of emotions I experience. Those books are unforgettable. The Books by the Bay series fall into this category. I don't know if I will be returning to these anytime soon. But it has left a lasting impression on me. Thank you Ellery Adams for this gift and for pulling me into the world and emotions of your characters, even if it had to end in such a way.