Come for the tropical paradise. Stay because a body is tied to the mast.
I am going to be sad when my perfect commute series comes to an end. Still Here is the fourth book in Ava Strong’s Lily Dawn series, and once again, it delivered exactly what I wanted: an entertaining mystery, a strong female protagonist, a partner I enjoy, and enough murder in paradise to make me seriously question the Caribbean tourism board.
This time, people are turning up dead and tied to the masts of boats. FBI agents Lily Dawn and Xander Jackson are called in to figure out who is doing the killing and stop them before yet another body becomes part of the nautical décor. Naturally, things get complicated.
Their investigation leads them to a religious cult with possible ties to the murders. Normally, I might have rolled my eyes a little at the sudden appearance of a creepy cult, but it works here because of the larger storyline running through the series. Lily’s sister, Cara, disappeared years ago, and Lily has never stopped looking for her. We learned earlier in the series that Cara had been delving into the occult before she vanished. So now the questions start piling up.
Is the cult involved in the murders? Does the occult connection actually mean something? Is the old witch we found out about in the last book involved? Could any of this lead Lily closer to finding out what happened to Cara?
Or is it all coincidence, and Lily and Xander are dealing with yet another nutjob killing people in paradise?
I liked the uncertainty. Strong gives us enough possibilities that I wasn't immediately convinced I knew where the story was going. Better yet, the Cara storyline makes the cult feel like part of the larger series rather than something tossed into this particular book just to make things creepier.
I also continue to really like Lily and Xander together. Lily is strong without being obnoxiously invincible, and Xander's personality plays well against hers. Their partnership has become one of my favorite parts of the series, and after four books, I'm invested in both of them, I wonder if they'll get together for real, and I need to find out what happened to Cara.
Tim Alexander's narration continues to work beautifully for me. He doesn't perform vocal gymnastics trying to make every character sound wildly different. His narration is clear, natural, and easy to follow, which is exactly what I want when I'm listening in the car.
Four stars for Still Here. It didn't escape the car and keep me up all night, but it didn't need to. This series has found its niche in my reading life: solid mysteries, likable characters, an ongoing mystery I'm invested in, and just enough tropical murder to make my commute considerably more interesting.
Apparently paradise is dangerous. Good thing I don't drive that far.
