This series is so damn enjoyable: I have loved every single one of the "Secrets and Scrabble" installments, and Josh Lanyon's latest one is no exception.

"Lament at Loon Landing" reminded me precisely how much I adore these novels, what a brilliant and highly lovable protagonist Ellery Page is, and why I love mysteries, of every flavour and kind, so damn much.
It also reminded me I should definitely dive into Josh Lanyon's backlist a bit more thoroughly because I LOVE HER WRITING: it's subtly funny and snarky, clever and so easy to inhale. And all of her mysteries are exactly like that too, brilliant and unexpected, witty and easily devoured.

I inhaled Ellery Page's latest adventure in two sittings because, as usual, I was hooked from the very start. Death threats, mysterious accidents, unexpected discoveries, questionable song-writing, betrayals, quarreling lovers (and quarreling Silver Sleuths), hidden identities and, of course, murder, danger and a whole lot of amateur sleuthing: Ellery has his hands full during the events of this book, especially when these events bring about a new challenge, and a fair dose of doubts and insecurity and drama, to his and Jack's slowly developing romance.

Needless to say, I loved every single second I got to spend in Ellery's head as he tried to solve Pirate's Cove umpteenth mystery. He is, as usual, an absolute joy to read about: funny and kind, insecure and lovable, witty and helpessly unable to resist his calling as an amateur sleuth.
And, as usual, he's surrounded by Pirate's Cove wacky, chaotic, not very law-abiding and definitely quirky, citizens: Nora and Watson steal the show, as per usual; all the Silver Sleuths own my heart; and Jack, despite the drama that unfolds with Ellery, is the perfect dreamboat. Actually, I'm glad we got a bit of relationship angst: it's about time things started moving ahead with these two, and I'm very excited to see if Jack's parents (and/or Rob) will soon challenge the status quo.

"Lament at Loon Landing" wasn't my favourite installment in this series, because some aspects of the mystery could have probably been developed a bit more, especially near the end, but I loved it to bits nevertheless: I'm excited to dive into the next book.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Also, I really don't want to get into it, but after seeing a few reviews and comments about this book/author, I feel the need to say something: writers aren't machines and they don't owe their readers books, especially when it's at the cost of their mental and physical health, or their creativity. I honestly don't understand why some people can't seem to get that: I get disappointment, but you can't just complain and callously demand books, explanations and time from an author, because they are human beings with their own lives and issues; but I would also like to point out that Josh Lanyon is very good at updating her readers about her writing and publishing schedule, so yeah... End of rant.