The best way to read this book is as a way to learn things about the Isle of Wight with fiction attached. I did not know what gribbles were much less that there was a monument to them there. Delightful.

As a mystery, this was so-so. There were two mysteries, which were unrelated, and that was weird.

The character building was uneven. Some of the details included were charming, some were stock characters, some of the interactions between the characters felt rote or not fleshed out or just not realistic. A lot of motivation for actions was told to us, but not necessarily believable or earned.

I cannot believe a person who has been binge-listening to true crime podcasts and recently started watching forensic crime shoes has never heard of a UV light.

If you would like an innocuous mystery to fill the time and aren't too fussed, this will pass the time.

I received a free e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review via netgalley ( )

art, art-history, art-detective, island-life, amateur-sleuth, channel-islands, sailing-activities, cosy-mystery, family, friendship, inheritance, sly-humor****

I haven't read the first in series, so I can't comment on any continuity. The story itself is a pretty good whodunit and I had no trouble following the art conservator assessing a maritime artwork collection on the Isle of Wight. It was all the sailing references that had me at disadvantage. But the sometimes peculiar characters and sly humor made it all worthwhile to stay up late to finish.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Head of Zeus/an Aries Book via NetGalley. Thank you! ( )