Book Review: Murder in the First Edition by Lauren Elliott

Addie Greyborne is preparing for the holidays at her bookstore in seaside New England—but a winter storm is coming, in more ways than one . . .

Addie’s getting into the spirit for the upcoming Charity Auction—especially since she’s got an 1843 copy of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol to donate. Her former colleagues at the Boston Public Library have confirmed that its worth runs toward the high five figures, which should help with the new pediatric wing. Her mood darkens, though, when a visitor from the past appears—Jonathan Hemingway, the father of her late fiancé. His presence stirs up sad memories for Addie, but also has her fuming when Jonathan, true to his womanizing ways, runs off for a lunchtime liaison with Teresa Lang, who’s in charge of the auction. 

Soon after, Addie heads to Teresa’s office at the hospital—and finds the poor woman’s dead body. What she doesn’t find is her valuable first edition. What sort of Scrooge would steal from sick children and commit murder in the process? As a Nor’easter bears down and a mystery emerges about Jonathan’s past, Addie must find out if she can appraise people’s motives and characters as well as she can appraise rare books . . .[summary via Amazon]

It's time for another visit to Greyborne Harbour. This time it's a Christmas adventure with Addie and her friends.

Addie is getting into the spirit of Christmas by donating a rare copy of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol to a local charity auction. However it appears someone isn't in the Christmas spirit when the auction organizer turns up dead and the copy of A Christmas Carol goes missing. Addie must put her romantic troubles on hold while she tries to solve the mystery.

I really, really enjoyed the first two books in this series, and I was eager to start this Christmas-themed mystery. There is nothing I like better than a holiday-themed mystery, and Murder in the First Edition doesn't disappoint with the feeling of holidays and all things cozy in the air!! Particularly as Addie will need to tackle snow storms to find a killer!

The mystery itself is very well plotted. There is red herrings aplenty, as I had trouble trying to untangle the different suspects and find the killer before Addie. Alas, in this one, Lauren Elliott (and Addie) beat me too it, and I was pleasantly surprised that I wasn't anywhere close to finding out who the killer was. This is one mystery that definitely kept me guessing again and again!

In addition to the general holiday spirit, I really appreciated how Lauren Elliott weaves Addie's emotion of the holidays into the storyline. Prior to arriving in Greyborne Manor, Addie's fiancé was murdered, and the holidays can be difficult for those that have lost loved ones. I feel like she tackled this storyline really well, and I definitely shed a tear or two towards the end.

I have no hesitation in recommending this series to cozy mystery fans, especially those that love books about books! The series is getting stronger and stronger, with each new addition, and I'm already looking forward to my next visit to Greyborne Harbour.