Book review: Lily Barlow: the Mystery in the Mangroves by Carla Vergot

Book 2 in the Lily Barlow series follows Lily as she ponders what to do about her future: continue at a college sort of far from home, or stay closer to home, where her recovering father is.

(You can read my review of book 1 here. It’s not essential to read book 1 before this one, but it provides nice character depth and situational awareness.)

And, of course, there is also Jack. Jack has been a friend for years, and he wants something more. Lily does too, sort of. Lily, whose voice narrates the story, is definitely an over-thinker. She seems to worry that a relationship with him could ruin their friendship.

To put off making these difficult decisions, and because she likes solving unsolved mysteries, Lily decides to travel to Florida with a friend to investigate a murder of an unidentified victim she and her friend believe they knew.

Of course, Jack and his brother tag along, under the guise of going on a fishing trip, but really they are there to protect Lily and Storie. Lily and Storie strike me as more emotional and intuitive. There is more depth to their thoughts than their words allow. Jack and his brother are planners and mostly logical. They are a nice balance for each other.

What I love most about these books is Lily’s voice. We are deep in her thoughts, and her words are intentionally chosen with colorful figurative language. I have friends whose actions remind me of Lily’s, and when I get inside Lily’s head, I can imagine those thoughts, or similar ones, are running through their head.

Before they leave for Florida, Lily discovers some tiles on her mother’s grave and finds out her dad knew about them. She wants to learn what they are about. I am glad I waited to read book 2 until book 3 was released, because you will not find out the answer to the mystery in book 2, and there is a bit of a cliff hanger.

It’s a good read, mostly appropriate for a mature high school reader(or up) due to some non-graphic and slightly illegal behavior in a few places. There are enough mysteries and tensions happening that I never felt a lull.