Out of Temper (Bean to Bar Mysteries #3), by Amber Royer

I loved this book. While the plot was intriguing and intricate, it was the depth of character that kept me focused. We learn a great deal about main character Felicity as the book opens, including the reason for her wariness at boarding a cruise ship. Her late husband died in a boating accident. She has invited along a friend, however, Autumn, a former mystery writer. Imagine her surprise to discover the cruise has a theme for this outing, a murder mystery one. To complicate matters, Logan, who seems to have some sort of police background, and Arlo, an old boyfriend and now a cop, are aboard. Then she sees the blogger/writer who made her relatively famous for her prior involvement in murder investigations is there, too. We learn more about each of these characters and others as the book progresses, including Felicity's sudden awareness that she perhaps doesn't know her friends as well as she thought she did.

I don't want to give away too much of the plot but do want to mention that one of the things that most intrigued me was finding out how past life events had influenced who the characters were today. For instance, at one point Arlo admits to having always had a nagging feeling that he wasn't good enough, perfect enough for people to stay after his father had abandoned him as a child. Rather than give in to the darkness that such thoughts might evoke, however, he notes that he became a police officer to "fight the darkness in human nature rather than succumb to it." That sort of depth is impressive from any author, especially in what I'd at first thought would be a light, easy cozy mystery read. Kudos to author Amber Royer. I am definitely planning to not just go back and read the prior books in this until now new-to-me series but will be following it from now on.

Bottom line, a deviously intricate and intriguing murder plot to follow along with some equally intriguing characters. Toss in an adorable former police dog, Satchmo, a Beagle who worked largely the drug division and helps sniff out some vital clues, and this one is a winner.

Thank you #NetGalley and #BooksGoSocial, not to mention author #AmberRoyer for this great new series. I'm glad to discover the #BeansToBarMystery series