The annual ghost walk is a popular event in Charm, North Carolina, and Everly Swan is excited to assist. She’s loaded up teas and finger foods from her café and looking forward to a fun evening of ghostly tales surrounding the history of Charm. Unfortunately, things take a nasty turn when one of the participants in the event is found dead… with Everly’s name scratched in the dirt next to the body. Homicide Detective Grady Hayes is determined to find the killer as he knows Everly is innocent, but his own attraction to her may get in the way of proving it. Worse yet, Everly has a ghostly specter leaving her increasingly threatening messages. Who is the real culprit behind these dangerous shenanigans?   

CLOSELY HARBORED SECRETS is the fifth book in the Seaside Café series. While it can be read as a standalone story, I would suggest reading at least the book prior to it, CALL FOR KELP, as it helped fill in some of the questions we had regarding a couple of characters. CLOSELY HARBORED SECRETS alludes to those secrets and I suspect the reader will likely enjoy some of the relationships better with that newfound knowledge. The mystery itself stands on its own merits.

I love ghost tours and Bree Baker makes me want to go on another one right now! The haunting atmosphere just seeps through the pages as Everly has to cope with the mysterious specter following her and leaving behind artifacts with threatening messages. In the midst of all of this, Everly’s aunts are heavily involved in a local election that pits her Aunt Fran against Everly’s lifelong nemesis as well as Grady’s mother-in-law (a senator). The tension is palpable and Everly is torn in multiple directions, never mind her own conflicted relationship with Grady.

And oh boy, does Bree Baker take us through the emotional wringer with Grady! CLOSELY HARBORED SECRETS appears to be a turning point in the relationship between Grady and Everly. No spoilers but keep some tissues handy as they sort out how their relationship will go forward in future books.

Every visit to Charm is a delight and CLOSELY HARBORED SECRETS continues to, pardon the pun, charm the reader with the town and its residents. I love that we dig into some of the history of the town while also getting a glimpse at what the future may hold. Bree Baker doesn’t hesitate to shake her characters up a bit as they continue to grow and develop over the course of the Seaside Café series. CLOSELY HARBORED SECRETS is yet another spectacular entry into the series and a must-read for cozy mystery fans!