Much Ado about Nauticaling - (A Whit and Whiskers Mystery) by Gabby Allan (Paperback)

Much Ado about Nauticaling by Gabby Allan is a breezy cozy mystery set in Santa Catalina Island, California. Whitney Dagner has left the corporate world to return to her hometown to help her brother, Nick run the family business, Nautically Yours plus open her shop, Dame of the Sea. After a day filled with tours, Nick and Whitney are cleaning the boat when they see a body under the window in the bottom of boat. It is the Chamber of Commerce’s Person of the Year, Jules Tisdale who had been on the boat earlier in the evening. The police zero in on Nick as the guilty party. Whitney with help from ex-boyfriend, Felix Ramirez and her cuddly cat, Whiskers work to clear Nick’s name. Much Ado about Nauticaling is the debut of A Whit and Whiskers Mystery series. Whitney Dagner is a friendly main character who is loyal to her family and not afraid of hard work. I loved Whitney’s grandparents, Pops and Goldy. Pops is a darling while Goldy is over-the-top. She wears high heels (even with a bathing suit), loves to sunbathe, and leaves a trail of sand behind her wherever she goes. There are several secondary characters that include Felix and Whitney’s roommate, Maribel. I am sure we will learn more about these people in future books. The mystery is straightforward with several suspects and misdirection. The whodunit wrapped up quickly leaving a few loose ends. Whitney was lucky in the investigation because the people she needed to talk to seemed to cross her path at the right moment. Whitney needs to work on her investigation technique. To say she lacks subtlety is an understatement. A reader does need to suspend their disbelief at times while reading. Since the story is told in the first-person, we are subjected to Whitney’s ramblings thoughts. I did find it a bit much at times. I could see her thoughts spinning around like a kid on the teacup ride at Disney. Whiskers is a fun addition to the story, and he was helpful with the investigation. Much Ado about Nauticaling is a carefree cozy with a cuddly cat, a glass-bottom boat, treasure map trouble, a bothersome ex-beau, and straggling sand.

Whitney “Whit” Dagner and her brother Nick have relocated to Catalina Island. They visited their grandparents out there every summer, and now they are taking over their grandparents’ glass bottom boat business. Additionally, Whit is opening a souvenir shop in the harbor. She is enjoying her new life until she finds the body of Jules Tisdale, the recently named Person of the Year on Catalina. When the police decide that Nick is the killer, Whit jumps in to prove her brother’s innocence. Can she do it? As soon as I heard about this book, I knew I had to read it. I always love Southern California settings, although it’s been years since I visited Catalina. I certainly did enjoy the setting. Overall, the book was too frenetic, however. It was trying to be funny, but much of the humor didn’t work for me. I did laugh a few times, but overall, it was too much. This effected some of the characters, too, although I did enjoy others. Despite finding the body early on, the pace was uneven, getting better the further we got into the book. While I followed the killer and motive, the ending was rushed and left some questions about earlier twists in the book. I was hoping to love this debut, but it turned out to be average.