If you saw my note yesterday on the blog, you saw that I spent the day with my Mom and sister, Christie. I didn’t even talk about our entire day, but it was so much fun. However, I certainly didn’t have reading time, so I’m sharing Kevin Tipple’s review of Beach Blonde Betrayal: A Florida Beach Mystery by Elaine Viets. Before I turn it over to Kevin, a fun fact. Elaine Viets was one of the first authors who appeared at the Lee County Reading Festival in Ft. Myers, FL when I was Authors’ Programming Chair. I met her for the first time at the authors’ reception the night before the reception. She brought a big pink balloon flamingo with her. She’s still writing about Florida.
Having previously read the first book of this series, Sex and Death on the Beach, I happily requested Beach Blonde Betrayal when it appeared on NetGalley. As the publisher, Severn House, has had me preapproved for anything in their vast catalog for years now, I was quickly able to download the book and start reading. There is less sex on the beach, but a lot more murder in this installment of The Florida Beach Mysteries.
Nora McCarthy, a native Floridian, owns and operates, “The Florodora” in Peerless Point. The classic apartment building sits on the beach approximately at the midpoint between Fort Lauderdale and Miami, Florida. Her tenants, beyond her boyfriend Dean who has law enforcement experience and is now in exile in Witness Protection for very good reason, are people who honor the idea of the Florida Man/Woman you see in news reports. But, they do it in good ways by being eccentric, colorful, trusting of others, and bastions of the South Florida culture and style. They are all fun, eccentric, and play a major role in keeping the building alive and vibrant.
Because of the way they are, they could be a bit more susceptible to romance scams than the average person. It is also way easier for the police, in a separate storyline, to suspect one of their own as the culprit behind a string of murders of blonde women found dead on the beach. Both are in play in this complicated mystery that also features a separate murder just outside the four story Florodora apartment building as well.
Fortunately, Norah has a knack for investigation and Dean is present to assist with his law enforcement investigative skills. As they deal with new issues in their personal relationship and hurt feelings, they unite to help their fellow friends in the building. A building where the people think of themselves as family and have their own interrelationship issues. Things get complicated and don’t always work out as planned, but like life itself, this is how it plays out.
The result is an entertaining mystery full of a cast of characters and constant twists and turns. While it is always preferable to have read the first book of a series first, one could easily read Beach Blonde Betrayal: A Florida Beach Mystery first as spoilers for the previous book are minimal. It is also a solidly good cozy style mystery and a lot of fun.
As previously noted, my digital ARC came from the publisher, Severn House, through NetGalley, with no expectation of a positive review.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2026
