Saturday, April 27, 2019

Book Review: Murder by the Book by Lauren Elliott

Addie left some painful memories behind in the big city, including the unsolved murder of her fiancé and her father’s fatal car accident. After an unexpected inheritance from a great aunt, she’s moved to a small New England town founded by her ancestors back in colonial times—and living in spacious Greyborne Manor, on a hilltop overlooking the harbor. Best of all, her aunt also left her countless first editions and other treasures—providing an inventory to start her own store.

But there’s trouble from day one, and not just from the grumpy woman who runs the bakery next door. A car nearly runs Addie down. Someone steals a copy of Alice in Wonderland. Then, Addie’s friend Serena, who owns a nearby tea shop, is arrested—for killing another local merchant. The police seem pretty sure they’ve got the story in hand, but Addie’s not going to let them close the book on this case without a fight . . .[summary via Amazon]

Addison Greybourne has fled her life in Boston, that became wrought with sadness after the unexplained deaths of her father and fiancé, and is now residing in a small town in New England. After taking early retirement, thanks to a unexpected inheritance from a great aunt, she opens up Beyond the Page, and is looking forward to enjoying books and life in a small-town. However, it seems someone has other plans for her when unexplained incidents start occurring, which makes Addie feel like someone is trying to drive her out of town. When her new friend, Serena, is charged with murder, it looks like the bad luck is continuing. Together with Marc, police chief and Serena's brother, they hunt down a killer and try to clear Serena's name.

I love books about books. They are my favourite sub-genre of cozy mysteries. I was thrilled to discover this new series, the Bookstore Mysteries, and delve into another series that features a bookstore as the centre of the mystery.

Rare and unusual books feature heavily in Murder by the Book, and aside from discovering new characters and a great mystery, I really liked finding out more about older books, and what makes them unique. I won't give away the plot, but the rare book in question, in Murder by the Book, is really fascinating. As a fan of the classical book mentioned, I found the facts behind the earlier edition very interesting.

There is a lot to the mystery, especially as we start the book with a cold case - the accident surrounding Addie's father and the murder of her fiancé. From there the reader gets taken on more twists and turns than a rollercoaster, and just like rollercoasters, I loved every second of it. It was a thrill a minute and an adventure that I can't wait to repeat!

I loved the addition of Martha, the grumpy old lady, that owns the business next door to Addie, and doesn't care for Addie at all. To the point of starting a petition to run Addie out of town! In a brilliant love-to-hate way I'm looking forward to seeing what Martha is going to try next.

Murder by the Book is a strong debut to this series, and I can't wait to return for another adventure with Addie, Serena and Marc.

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