South Beach Scandal (Claire O'Keefe Mystery 3), by Cindy Quayle

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I have been following the Claire O'Keefe Mysteries, by Cindy Quayle since the first one, Death on Cozumel Island, was published. I was drawn to it because I was looking for a cozy that was set in a unique location. What I didn't realize at the time was that each book in the series (so far) would be set in completely different locations, but that they would have the common thread of scuba diving. What a treat for this non-scuba diving armchair traveler!

The third installment in the series, South Beach Scandal, finds us primarily in South Beach, Florida. Claire and her friend group have just completed a luxurious liveaboard scuba diving cruise. Everything is fine and dandy until the trip ends with dead body. What's worse for Claire is that her dive knife was the murder weapon. (If you don't know what a dive knife should be used for you'll have to read the book to find out.) As a result, Claire is stuck in South Beach while an investigation is being conducted. Fortunately, she can stay with her friend, Peyton, while she's there. Claire contacts her attorney boyfriend who hops on a flight to see her and he brings along his best friend who is also an attorney. Together, the friend group tries to untangle this mystery and clear Claire's name, much to the dismay of Detective Levy. In the process of doing so, they discover some deep, dark secrets.

One of the highlights of this book is the setting. A clear picture of South Beach is vividly painted throughout the story. I could see the sights, taste the food, feel the air, and simply get caught up in the upbeat atmosphere. I felt fully immersed in the experience.

I also really enjoyed the character development. I appreciated the fact that there were just the right number of characters to keep things interesting. There were not too many to overwhelm the reader. While Claire's long distance best friend, Julia, does not play a huge role in this installment, her romantic relationship is progressing and so are her friendships. There are also appearances by Peyton's parents and their friends. In fact, all of them do some sleuthing at one point. It was really fun to see the different generations interacting with each other and approach sleuthing in their own unique ways. It was quite comical at times. 

One character I did not like was Detective Levy. He was written to be a very stern by-the-book detective, which is fine, but I felt that he could have been toned down just a bit. He does eventually become more likeable, but not for a large portion of the book. The good thing about this is that since each book is set in a different location, he is unlikely to be the detective in the next installment (which I hope there is another one).

No time is wasted getting started with the mystery. It happens almost at the very beginning of the book. While the mystery is complex and strong, a lot of the descriptions of the setting and characters did overpower it for a fairly large portion of the book. The final 30% was a page-turner that I found hard to put down. The pace really picked up at this point. I wish some of the mystery was infused more into the story prior to this. A lot happened regarding the mystery in the final 30% and a lot was explained close to the end, which made it a little confusing for me.   

I was also unsure of the some of the technical terms and abbreviations that were used. I'm sure they were explained earlier, but I didn't remember what they meant. I noticed there were also some chance encounters that happened a few too many times. There were several times when Claire and her friend group just happened to see some of the suspects hanging out in the same places they were. They even mentioned it themselves at one point, that they kept running into one character.

This is not to say I didn't enjoy it, though. I most certainly did. The first part of the book had me feeling the South Beach vibes and the last 30% had me on the edge of my seat turning pages and feeling anxious to see what was going to happen. While I did figure out part of the whodunnit early on, I didn't figure out all of the details. It was fun to see how it all came together, like the pieces of a completed puzzle.

If there is a fourth installment in this series, I definitely want to read it. There is a bit of a cliffhanger at the end that has me hopeful there will be more. I'm also excited to learn what that cliffhanger means for Claire's future professional and personal life. In this installment, she's between jobs, but it seems something is on the horizon for her. She will have some decisions to make. She and her boyfriend will have some things to figure out too. I really love their relationship and I'm confident they can work things out. During this book, they had an interesting conversation about their relationship that brought up some valid points.

In the meantime, if you're looking for a cozy escape with murder on the side, look no further than the Claire O'Keefe Mystery series. While each installment is a self-contained mystery, I recommend starting with the first one, Death on Cozumel Island, and reading the series in order, with Betrayal in the Bay being the second one, so you can follow the subplots.

Many thanks to author Cindy Quayle for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.