Tide and Punishment

Tide and Punishment is the third book in Bree Baker's Seaside Café Mysteries, set in the small coastal town of Charm, North Carolina. Everly Swan wants nothing more than to decorate Sun, Sand, and Tea for its first holiday season, but her great-aunt Fran has decided to run for mayor against a long-standing rival.

When the opposing candidate is found dead days before the first debate, Fran becomes the obvious suspect, and the town's Christmas cheer curdles into suspicion. Everly starts asking questions of her own, convinced her aunt is innocent, while a rare blizzard threatens to bury whatever evidence is left.

The investigation puts Everly back in the path of Detective Grady Hays, and draws in her aunts, her café regulars, and half of Charm. It is a light, seasonal cozy mystery in the amateur-sleuth tradition, with a slow-building romance running underneath.