Bardo by the Sea

Chad Alan Gibbs — 2022

When Izzy Brown, an anxiety-ridden sixteen-year-old, receives a scholarship to the prestigious Bardo Academy, her family trades their trailer for a seaside villa in Florida's most exclusive and secretive community. With a new house, new school, and cute new boyfriend, life is good-for once. But then dreams of becoming a journalist lead Izzy to join the school newspaper and open an investigation into the murder of a former Bardo Academy football star. With the help of Elton Jones-Davies, a gentle giant with autism and secrets of his own, Izzy uncovers forbidden romance, shady business deals, and political corruption reaching all the way to the State Capitol. As the case heats up, Izzy's life unravels when she turns to opioids to relieve her anxiety. But she presses on, determined to bring the killer to justice, even if it risks her place at Bardo?or her very life. Set in 2008, at the precipice of the housing market crash and the height of Florida's prescription opioid epidemic, BARDO BY THE SEA is the first book in the Izzy and Elton Mystery Series.

Reviews

ellie chase@elliechasereads

Jun 16, 2022

Disclaimer: I was given a free copy of this work in exchange for my honest review. A rich prep school cold case story in Florida. Two kids, one rich enough to do anything, one who owes the life she lives to her brother's football prowess. A dead kid from forty years ago. I enjoyed the story; it was a well done cold case mystery and an easy, fast-paced read. It had engaging and unique characters and used POV very well to connect the two timelines of the story. There was a fair amount of back and forth-ing that made parts of the case a little hard to follow, but overall, it was an enjoyable and strong story. I did wish that there was less emphasis on pop culture references and modern slang; I think it will end up dating the book (like many other YA books, so it's a common occurence, but something I'm not a huge fan of).