Beach Reads and Deadly Deeds

Bestseller Brennan (the Quinn & Costa series) delivers a breezy standalone about a book-loving accountant who gets ensnared in a murder investigation. After years of dedication to her job at a New York City accounting firm, 29-year-old Mia Crawford is offered a partnership. To sweeten the deal, her employers insist she take a two-week, all-expenses-paid vacation to a private island in the Caribbean. All modest Mia wants is to curl up with a book and, at most, carry on a quick and casual fling. In the resort’s gift shop, she spots an intriguing, water-damaged paperback on a table of books left behind by previous guests. After scooping it up, she notices messages scribbled in the margins that allude to some sort of criminal activity. When a guest’s body washes up on the beach, Mia fears she’s stumbled into something dangerous. As she investigates with the aid of her mysterious notes, she strikes up a romance with resort bartender Jason, and Brennan weaves in the personal dramas of other guests and employees. Some of the reveals are predictable, but Brennan smooths things over with plenty of beachy atmosphere and steamy sex. It’s solid summertime fare. Agent: Daniel Conaway, Writers House. (June)