I actually enjoyed this delightful cozy mystery which is set on a luxury cruise ship. The characters are well developed and the setting provides a variety of activities in which the crew and passengers can enjoy. There were lots of twists and turns and clues that have you working alongside Rose, the cruise director; Rex, her trusty canine companion and Ben, the Captain of the ship; and Cole, the ship’s head of security. I did not realize this was part of a series, but I will go back and read previous books to catch up on each of the characters. It will definitely be worth the ride on the crazy waves of mystery.

My one negative comment is that the audiobook was created by virtual voice and some of the words were misspoken. Just a little irritating but it didn’t take away from my enjoyment in listening.

Thank you to NetGalley and Audrey Alden Books for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

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Cozy Mystery

"Abracadabra and Goodbye: An Absolutely Gripping Cozy Mystery (A Rose Cruz Cozy Murder Mystery #3)" by Audrey Alden has Rose setting sale on a European Cruise with a magician entertainment theme going on. Unfortunately, not all the guest magicians get along. In particular the victim didn't get along with all the other magicians or even some of the guests.

Rose gets pulled into investigating as the cruise's Director and an ex private investigator. Her dog even seems specially trained to sniff out clues (though Rose doesn't seem to know it other than trust he's got something for her). There are several possible suspects and really several culprits, in a way.

This series is on a ship sailing out of Amsterdam. There is an interesting cast of characters including the cruise director, Rose, the captain, Rose’s boyfriend, Rose’s sister, and Rose’s dog. Rose’s dog, Rex, travels on the ship with her. The ship sets sail with a magical theme as the entertainment is magicians. Unfortunately, on the first night out the musician dies. I had not read the previous books in this series, but there seems to be a murder on each trip. The crew is experienced in the handling of the investigation. This is an interesting mystery, although I’m not sure I would want to travel on this ship.

This book included a bit of a twist on the traditional cozy. As a cruise director, Rose Cruz, is not your typical detective. Before I go any further, I found the author's play on her name cute which is a perfect word to describe books in the cozy space. He skills and relationship with the captain and friendship with the boat's head of security have all been established in previous stories so they have no problems with her in the middle of the mystery. Unlike other books, she is not just questioning suspects on the sly, she is part of the official interrogation and helping to collect evidence. That made this book feel a bit like a fun crossover between a procedural and a cozy. Her cruise director role also made her a natural to interact with the passengers and guests which aided in the investigation. The author threw in plenty of red herrings so her access helped a lot. Rose and her sister who joined her on the cruise both brought empathy to the story as well. The dog in this story was super important also as he moved between helping find evidence and acting as an emotional support animal.
Overall and good cozy and a good installment in this series.