Bookshop owner Flora Steele is finally recovering financially from her losses several months earlier when a corpse was found in her Abbymead store, and she and writer Jack Carrington have fallen into an easy friendship. During the wake following a funeral, they encounter Polly Dakers, a one-time receptionist on her way to becoming a fashion model; she seems glamorous but out of place in the village. However, she attracts intense interest, and is seen engaged in fierce arguments during her visit. Several days later, Flora and Jack take the village boy Charlie to Brighton for a treat, but their outing is marred by their discovery of a floating corpse off the pier - Polly! While the police are inclined to think she has committed suicide or perhaps had an unfortunate accident, Flora is convinced that something more sinister has occurred, and she is determined to discover just what happened to Polly…. This is the second in a cozy series set in the fictional English village of Abbymead in the mid-1950s, an era not often explored in cozies or indeed, other genres; I like Flora’s independence and am enjoying her deepening relationship with Jack as well as learning more about the earlier lives of each character. A book that is easy to fall into, and I definitely plan to visit Flora again in the near future; recommended. ( )

I'm happy to report that this second Flora Steele mystery is just as enjoyable as the first, The Bookshop Murder. This time readers are taken to the seaside town of Brighton where Flora and Jack deal with a theatrical group and a line-up of suspects that includes a sugar daddy, a spurned wife, an unsavory character from London, and others. Flora's business has yet to fully recover from what happened in the first book. She is trying to drive sales up by various means, but her investigation here in Murder on the Pier kept her away too much yet again. Either Flora is going to be a detective, or she's going to be a bookshop owner. So far the two occupations aren't blending together well. I'm looking forward to seeing how the author deals with this in future books.

Once again, the telling little details about the era add depth to the story. I think most Americans, if they're even aware that there was rationing in this country and in the United Kingdom, believe everything snapped back to normal immediately after World War II ended. It snapped back a lot faster here in the United States, but it took years for rationing to end in the United Kingdom. Meat rationing had ended just the year before (1955), and now Flora lets us know just how precious a brand-new pair of shoes is. Besides, her main source of transportation is Betty, her bicycle.

Readers learn more about Jack in this second book as he and Flora become even more comfortable with each other. When Jack's old flame arrives on his doorstep, I narrowly avoided rolling my eyes, and I'm glad I did. I really like how Jack dealt with the situation. The repartee between Flora and Jack is one of the strongest parts of this series. That and the presence of a young boy named Charlie. With Jack feeling ever more protective of Flora, I do believe he should formulate some sort of fitness regimen to build up his strength and endurance. Why? Because he spent a lot of time dragging Flora out of some hair-raising situations in this book-- none of which were what I call TSTL (Too Stupid To Live).

Interesting characters? Check. Strong setting and historical detail? Check. Fun dialogue? Check. What about the mystery? Well, it's a good'un, too. Although I was blinded by the light of deduction before Flora, she was nipping close at my heels. So yes, I'm looking forward to my next visit to Abbeymead to see what Jack and Flora (and Charlie) get up to next.

(Review copy courtesy of the publisher and Net Galley) ( )