2 Books Like Aloha Hideaway Inn

I often read books out of sequence. This is the fifth book in the series. The author does a good job of filtering in backstories and love interests making it easy to read as a stand-alone. The story is a funny, cozy mystery with unexpected twists and turns that had me guessing until the end. When Holly Schlivinik stumbles upon the body of the Bainbridge Department Store, Easter Bunny, she starts an investigation of her own. Despite the accused being an unpopular figure in the cutthroat California swimsuit industry, Holly doesn't believe she's the killer. The accused is mean but not a murderer. With help from a gossipy group of friends and a romantic interest in the police department she's determined to find the real killer. Holly's connection to the swimsuit industry and previous murders, makes her determination to find the killer even more compelling.
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I loved everything about this book, from the detailed history and setting (World War I Belgium and Halifax, Canada) to its beautiful but haunting story. It was the perfect blend of historical fiction and fantasy. I was already a big fan of Katherine Arden’s Winternight trilogy, but this book is very different from her other ones, and apparently it’s a book that took her a long time to write. It’s worth the wait. I loved the vivid, atmospheric writing and the way the fantastic elements just blended seamlessly with the history (war is already such a strange, unimaginable environment). I also loved the way Arden slowly builds the relationships that Freddie and Laura develop over the course of the story.