Real estate developer Vince Grabowski has grandiose plans to exploit the natural beauty of Devil’s Harbor, Oregon; a plan that creates division among the backwater town’s residents. However, when the newly built houses slide down onto the golf course after days of rain, and the town’s investors discover they’ve been swindled, it’s no surprise that Grabowski is found dead and floating among the kelp. The question is: In a town full of motivated suspects, who actually committed the crime?

Rose and Nettleton create characters full of distinct personality, quirkiness, and a few foibles. Erudite Henri Trevelle, the gay proprietor of the Gilded Puffin Gift and Gun Shoppe, is prone to speak French to his promiscuous cat, Margaret. Then there’s Old Air Biscuit, a humpback whale whose olfactory assaults have Mike Donovan’s tourist passengers heaving up their lunch whenever the Helen goes out on a whale-watching run. And poor Sergeant Greg Erdman, keen on newspaper reporter Molly Donovan, is compelled to arrest Molly’s dad due to circumstantial evidence. It doesn’t do a thing for their relationship. While the town prepares for the annual Whirligig Festival, will Molly be able to uncover the real killer and free her dad?

The Big Grabow$ki is a well-written cozy mystery full of fun. Who knew a small-town murder investigation could be such a blast! I enjoyed this, and I’m looking forward to the next book in the Devil’s Harbor Mystery Series.