Overall: B+
Cranberry Cove is a good novella. 

I think the strengths of this book are the characterizations and the premise. Our main character is Hailey and she is an interesting character. She is a trans character and while we do get some insight on how she views her gender and people's reaction to her, it's not heavy handed or forced (there are characters in other stories that just pandering and this isn't one of them). It feels natural.  She and her partner Conner are mob enforcers that are called to investigate the assault of a mob boss's son at a haunted hotel. Very intriguing idea for a story. 

I found the beginning the confusing because I didn't know what was going on. This could be due to me just borrowing the book and not remembering the synopsis. I didn't find it confusing or messy afterwards once I got the gist of it. 

The writing was fine. The plot was good. I think the story is just missing something to take it up a notch. This is a horror book. There is something sinister happening at the hotel and bad things do go down. The focus feels moreso on how Hailey and Connor are dealing and contemplating the horror itself. That's not a bad thing at all. Just wasn't what I was expecting. 

I like the story and it's a quick read. It really piqued my interest in the author's other books.