Bogged Down

A Vashon Island Mystery

Fiction - Mystery - Murder
244 Pages
Reviewed on 05/25/2021
Buy on Amazon

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    Book Review

Reviewed by Anne-Marie Reynolds for Readers' Favorite

Bogged Down by Charlotte Stuart is a Vashon Island Mystery. Deep in the forest, hidden away, is an ancient bog. The perfect place to commit murder. Vashon Island is only 20 minutes from Seattle by ferry yet it couldn’t be a more different place. Lavender Lewis calls it home. She exercises by doing Parkour in the woods and earns money doing HR investigations. The rest of her life is spent with her cats in their cabin by the water. She wants an easy life and it seems she has it until the day she takes a tour group into the woods. Until the day she finds a body in the ancient bog. Then it all goes to hell and her easy life is out of the window. The battle lines have been drawn between those who want the island to stay natural and wild and those who want to move with the times – is the body something to do with this? It’s down to Lavender to do this but can she find the answers before more bodies pile up?

Bogged Down: A Vashon Island Mystery by Charlotte Stuart is a great story to while away a few hours. It has everything – an island community that wants to keep their island as it is, eccentric characters, humor, murder, and plenty of mystery to keep you reading. The plot is steady, with lots of action and even some facts thrown in about Vashon Island, which is a real place for those who don’t know. The characters are amazingly well developed and I love the main protagonist, Lavender “Lew” Lewis – a cranky woman yet funny and clever with it, a woman you will enjoy getting to know. The mystery side of it is lighthearted, easy to follow, and it will keep you guessing all the way to the end. There are plenty of twists and turns and a few red herrings are thrown in for good measure. I guarantee, anyone who picks this book up will not put it down until they are done. A solid start to a new series, and I'm looking forward to the next one.