Cover Image: A Time to Swill

A Time to Swill

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Although not a title that I would purchase for the high school library, it is one that I will promote and recommend in my personal life.

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In this second Sea Glass Saloon Mystery, Chole Jackson deals with two mysteries, one involving murder and a disappearing boat, while the other consists of a threat to the ownership of the Sea Glass Saloon and her new home.

Chole comes upon an oddly angled sailboat while running on the beach early one morning. When she hears a baby cry, she calls 911 and reports the sailboat stuck between two sandbars but can't see much because it is so foggy. The dispatcher tells her help is on the way. Hearing the crying again, she wades through the water and climbs up a rope ladder. As she searches the boat, she finds a skeleton, and the source of crying is a cat.

The tide carries the boat out to sea and Chole abandons it when the ship catches fire. Back on shore, with the cat she rescues, Chole learns that 12 years ago her friend Ralph's wife disappeared with three others on that very same boat, the Fair Winds. What happened and who is the body from the boat is the mystery.

Next, Steve Kincheloe visits Chole and claims his son Boone changed his will and that Chole's house is his, as is half the Sea Glass Saloon. Vivi and Chole do not believe Steve and retain a lawyer to help fight what they think is fraud.

Sherry Harris finds a nice balance between the mystery involving the Fair Winds and Vivi and Chole's challenge disproving Steve's claim. The pace is steady, and the story includes lots of twists and red herrings. However, Ms. Harris pulls it all together as she continues to develop an engaging group of characters populating Emerald Cove.

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A Time to Swill by Sherry Harris is the second book in the Chloe Jackson, Sea Glass Saloon cozy mystery series. The author brings humor, mystery, and beach atmosphere to this novel. The story is largely set in the fictional small town of Emerald Cove on the Florida Panhandle between Panama City and Pensacola.

Chloe Jackson had promised her late friend, Boone, that she would help his grandmother, Vivi, if something happened to him. After spending the summer working with Vivi at the Sea Glass Saloon, Chloe has now moved from Chicago to Emerald Cove. Her first morning back, she decides to run on the beach when she sees a sailboat washed up on a sandbar. After hearing a cry she boards the boat and finds a cat and a skeleton. Who is it and how long have they been adrift at sea? Were they murdered or did they die of natural causes? Chloe is determined to find answers.

Chloe is a protagonist that you can root for and she shows some character growth and added depth as she deals with trust issues and friendships. There is an array of characters, both friendly and antagonists, to keep Chloe and the reader on their toes. Some are eccentric, some are more mundane, but personable small town business owners, and others are secondary and tertiary characters to round out the story. Who has secrets and who is telling lies? Who can be trusted?

The book is well-plotted and intriguing. With mystery, suspense, and the occasional laugh-out-loud moments, this book kept me engaged. There was enough at stake to keep me turning the pages. The pacing allowed for the scenes to progress and flow with effective transitions. As always, this author did a great job of world-building. I got a clear sense of the town and the area around it as well as the people. While the reveal of the antagonist was not a complete surprise, there were plenty of twists and turns to get there. While the main plot is fully resolved, there is also a sub-plot that starts but doesn’t get completely resolved. Hopefully, book three in the series will conclude this thread.

Overall, this was a well-done mystery that was engaging, entertaining and a great second book in this new series. I am looking forward to the next book. I am also a fan of this author’s Sara Winston Garage Sale cozy mystery series. If you enjoy well-done cozy mysteries, then this is an author that I recommend.

Kensington Books and Sherry Harris provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. This is my honest review. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way. Publication date is currently expected to be July 27, 2021. This review was originally posted at Mystery and Suspense Magazine.

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A Time to Swill by Sherry Harris the 2nd instalment in the "Chloe Jackson, Sea Glass Saloon Mystery" series. What can I say other than I loved it even more than the first book! I read it in one day, couldn’t put it down.

Saloon owner Chloe Jackson is after a murderer with skeletons in the closet--and one on a boat.

I found myself engrossed in the story and I loved the setting of Emerald Cove, Florida panhandle. The way the author described it really makes me want to visit Florida, I could picture myself on the beach deck outside the Seaglass with a drink and good book.

The protagonist Chloe is a very likeable, and I like that she has insecurities like most of us woman of certain size or build, but at the same time she’s confident except when she likes someone. The characters are well-developed and we are starting to see new layers to them.

The mystery had just enough suspects, red herrings, and twists and turns to keep you guessing till the end. I found it to be a fun fast read. I am looking forward to seeing what is next for her, especially in her relationships with Vivi and Rhett aka Rip.

I highly recommend this series to all my cozy loving friends.

I requested and received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from Kensington Books and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my OWN

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I like the set-up of this series, and I enjoyed book 1. I feel like this one relies a bit too much on Ann (the fixer) and her mysterious contacts and such. Since it's a cozy, I want Chloe to do more of the investigating--not just follow along while other people do it. Still, it was a decent read, and as a Florida native, I could really relate to the setting.

Review copy provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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I loved this suspenseful air of Sherry Harris' new mystery, A Time To Swill--the second in her Sea Glass Saloon Mystery series. As with all of her books, the characters are very appealing--except for the villains, of course. Chloe finds a ghost ship while she is out jogging; hearing the cries of a baby, she jumps aboard for a rescue---now the trouble and the mystery begin. The plot is well woven, with clever twists and good pacing. The character relationships are changing, expanding, as they become more dependent on one another---it is this real life quality that draws me into their fictitious lives and makes me care about what happens to them. I can hardly wait to read more of this series!
Thank you to #Kensington, the publisher; #ATimeToSwill #NetGalley for granting my request for an ARC of this book. My opinions are my own--in no way influenced by this. I review books I enjoy so that my friends and followers can enjoy them, too.

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A Time to Swill is the second installment in the Sea Glass Saloon Mystery series set in the coastal town of Emerald Cove on the Florida panhandle and featuring librarian turned bar co-owner, Chloe Jackson. Chloe has just returned from Chicago with all of her possessions in order to move in full time to the home that her friend Boone left her upon his death, and to begin working full time at the Sea Glass.

An early morning run leads Chloe to discover an abandoned sailboat floating almost on its side a little ways off shore and a plaintive cry coming from within. She swims out and climbs on board the boat only to be whisked out to see on the rising tide. Inside the boat she finds a cat and a skeleton. A harrowing few hours leaves Chloe wondering if someone will notice she's missing and come to her rescue. Finally, a stranger in fast boat appears and delivers her safely back to shore but Chloe realizes she never got the man's name and nobody seems to know the mystery man's identity.

The boat is identified as one that went missing many years ago with four local people on board. Everyone has assumed for years that the boat had sunk and the passengers had died. But the skeleton seems to point to another mystery. When another boat takes a shot at Chloe and her friend Rip and Boone's long lost father appears back in town, Chloe soon realizes that she's wading in not one but three mysteries.

A well-crafted plot, a delightful locale and an interesting cast of characters. I really wish we'd gotten to know Boone before he passed, but I'm hoping that Chloe starts to move on from her grief and start opening up to a new relationship.

I received an advanced copy of A Time to Swill from NetGalley via Kensington Publishing. While not required to write a review I am happy to offer my honest opinion.

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Getting in late to Emerald Cove after a long drive from Chicago with a carload of her possessions, Chloe Jackson didnt alert anyone to her retun before her early morning run on the beach. As the fog closed in, she heard a baby crying on an adrift sinking boat. Her good samaritan move led to some dangerous moments in the gulf before being rescued hours later. How that shakes out is just the beginning of the adventures for Chloe in the second book in this fabulous cozy series. From well drawn characters to realistic relationships and an intriguing plot, this is an exceptional vicarious pleasure for mystery lovers who wont be making ut to the beach this summer. Highly recommended!

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A Time to Swill
By Sherry Harris

Chole Jackson was walking the beach when she hears a cry, coming from a ship thinking it’s a baby, Chole jumps aboard without realizing the ship is floating out to sea. What she finds instead is more disturbing, besides a cute kitten she finds human skeleton remains.

Just as she smells smoke she and the kitten jump overboard before the boat blows up. Waiting in the freezing water a red boat picks her up and delivers her to the beach with no one seeing who the driver was. And if that wasn’t enough, her deceased best friends father shows up at the bar saying he is the owner of her beach house and part owner of the bar. What’s a girl to do?

First figure out who tried to kill her on the ocean and figure out who the bones belong too. And then try and figure out what the father is up too.

There are so many twists and turns in this book I couldn’t put it down. So make sure you have time to read before you pick this book up. It was delightful from beginning to end.

I received this E-book from Netgalley for my honest opinion.

I like loved this book and can’t wait for the next one in the series.

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I love Shelly Harris and her series. A Time to Swill is another winner in her stable of hits. This stands alone but it’s beneficial to grab the first in the series for your pleasure.

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A Time to Swill by Sherry Harris is the second book in the Chloe Jackson, Seaglass Saloon Mystery series. I really enjoyed this book. The murder mystery is quite interesting and Chloe Jackson's efforts to solve it were fun to follow. I like the characters in this series and I have to say Ms. Harris writes a great pain-in-the-neck villain in Steve Kincheloe. After having read the first book in the series, From Beer to Eternity, and meeting Rhett "Rip" Barnett in that story I prefer him as Rhett and not Rip. I am looking forward to the next book in the series.

I received an ARC in exchange for a honest review.

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Chole Jackson has just returned to the Florida panhandle after retrieving all her belongings from Chicago since she has decided to make Florida permanent. Her first day back she finds an abandoned boat on the beach. Turns out this boat went missing twelve years ago. While trying to delve into this mystery, another, more dangerous one pops up. One that could upend Chloe's life as well as that of Vivi's; the grandmother of Chole's dead friend Boone, who is the reason Chloe moved to Florida.

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If I were Chloe, I'd get a gym membership and stop jogging along the beach. In "A Time to Swill," she finds another body on a boat while she's out jogging. While she can't save the victim, she does save a marooned cat, and they in turn are rescued by a mysterious stranger in a red cigarette boat. Chloe tries to track down her savior while investigating the death of the wife of one of her newfound friends.

Chloe is back in Florida after a trip North to settle her affairs there. She's settling in to life as part-owner of the Sea Glass Saloon, and learning how to make drinks and manage the business. This case hits close to home, as it involves her business partner and many of her friends and customers, and possibly her potential boyfriend.

The motive for the murder becomes apparent early on, and I did guess the culprit as soon as they showed up in the novel, but the story was so well-written and so much fun that I didn't mind. Chloe, Oscar, Vivi and the rest are a great bunch with which to relax and spend a few hours.

Highly recommended for cozy lovers.

I received an advance copy from Kensington and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

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I am excited to be back to the Florida Panhandle in the 2nd book of the Sea Glass Saloon Mysteries. Things are happening once again in Emerald Cove with the discovery of a ghost ship partially hidden in the Fog..You are engaged in the story right from the start and the pages seem to fly by as you don't want to stop reading...it is that good!
Another great mystery; . I really love the characters and the author's beach town ambiance is so well done. you can imagine yourself running down the beach.
This book finds Chloe has made a final move from Chicago to Emerald Cove It is a permanent move or will situations prove otherwise?
Thanks to Kensington Books. NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to read and review this book. The review is my unbiased honest opinion.
Book releases on July 27, 2022.

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When Chloe finds a ghost ship, nothing will stop her from getting answers to a 12 year old mystery. A thrilling read! I didn't see the end coming!

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Go out for a run and end up on a ghost ship is the last thing expected to happen in this delightful read with it's wonderfully described settings and interesting characters. A great addition.

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The story starts off with an explosion of energy and gave me no desire to ever sail on a boat smaller than a cruise ship (and I have been on some rough seas). I really enjoyed the story and like the assortment of characters and oceanside setting. The author does a good job of giving enough details to make setting seem real including how tourism affects such a town.

I just wished we'd gotten more time and detail on the boat at the beginning.

Looking forward to book #3. This series may find a place on my top 10 favorite cozy series.

I received my copy from netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

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This is the second in the series but can be read as a standalone. Chloe is a fun exciting character who is quite nosy. The relationships between the characters are interesting. The story grips the reader's attention from the start and keeps it until the end. I'm ready for the next in this series!! Thanks #netgalley and #Keningston for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

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I received a copy from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is the second book in the Chloe Jackson series. I think the first book should be read before reading this one.

Sherry Harris does a great job in developing her characters and mystery. I really like her writing and story lines. There is often more than one villain.

Sherry Harris also has the Sarah Winston Garage Sale series, which I love. I think this series is going to be just as good and I look forward to every upcoming book.

I would recommend this book.

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A Time To Swill is the 2nd book in the Chloe Jackson, Sea Glass Saloon Mystery series and it is an exciting addition to this cozy mystery series. Chloe's friend Boone died in Afghanistan but before he left he asked her to go to FL to help his grandmother Vivi. Chloe works and is a part owner at the Sea Glass Saloon which is a casual beach bar also owned by Vivi. In book 2, Chloe returns from a 2 week trip to Chicago. She goes for a run on the beach and finds an abandoned boat with a skeleton and a kitten! And the adventure begins! The abandoned boat is connected to a 12 year old case that involved 4 people from Emerald Cove who disappeared. Chloe is very curious about the case and the families involved. Her friends. Joaquin, Rhett/Rip, Vivi, and Ann have all lived in Emerald Cove for a while so they help Chloe sort through the clues. On top of that, someone contests Boone's will. It all keeps Chloe very busy! This is a quick moving cozy mystery with interesting likable characters. The characters come to life and the reader learns more about all of them as this book unfolds. The mystery is intriguing and the book is hard to put down. Very enjoyable! I received an advance copy from Sherry Harris for an honest review and the opinions are my own. #NetGalley #ATimeToSwill #KensingtonPublishing #SherryHarris

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