Book review of Murder at Last Chance Cove by Kim Griswell. Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for my gifted ARC.

This book was exactly what I needed: a cozy mystery with bite. Griswell nails the atmosphere—foggy mornings, sea-salted air, and a town so quaint it practically has gossip on tap. The protagonist, Saffi Graywood, arrives in Last Chance Cove to escape, to heal, to write. What she doesn’t expect is to stumble on a body among driftwood within days of parking her RV. So much for peace and quiet.

Saffi is smart, layered, and refreshingly observant—more introverted writer than amateur sleuth, but that makes her instincts feel earned rather than forced. She’s still grieving her husband, still learning how to be alone. That ache lingers on the page without bogging the story down. Instead, it gives her drive. As she digs deeper into the mystery, you can feel her waking up again, bit by bit. And the town? It’s filled with just the right amount of charm and suspicion—grizzled fishermen, nosy café owners, oddball RV regulars. Everyone seems harmless until suddenly they’re not.

The pacing is tight. Clues come in steady waves, each chapter ending with enough of a tease to keep me flipping pages. And Griswell’s prose strikes a sweet spot—crisp but rich with detail. One line that stayed with me: “The fog rolled in thick as regret, swallowing everything but the sound of the waves and the weight of what I’d just found.” That’s the moment the cozy wraps fall away and the real stakes land.

By the end, I wasn’t just invested in the mystery—I wanted to stay in Last Chance Cove. Griswell has created a setting and a sleuth I’ll happily return to. This is a strong start to what promises to be an addictive series. I’m all in