Review - Murder by the Book

Title:   Murder by the Book

Author:  Lauren Elliott
Series:  Beyond the Page Bookstore Mystery #1

Genre:   Cozy Mystery

Publisher:   Kensington

Format:  Audiobook
No. of Pages:  304

Date of Publication:  October 30, 2018

My Rating:  4 Stars

DESCRIPTION:

Addie Greyborne loved working with rare books at the Boston Public Library—she even got to play detective, tracking down clues about mysterious old volumes. But she didn't expect her sleuthing skills to come in so handy in a little seaside town . . .

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 . .

Link to purchase the book

MY THOUGHTS:

Addie Greyborne had an illustrious job at the Boston Public Library. She was a genius when it came to researching. She could track down any clue, no matter how miniscule. When she moves to a small town in New England, in large part due to an inheritance from her great aunt, she never would have guessed that she would be involved in research that would go so far back in history to colonial times.

Addie really wanted a quiet life. Her fiancé had been murdered and she lost her father in a fatal car accident. When she moved into the spacious Greyborne Manor, she was hugely delighted to have also received innumerable first editions and other unique treasures. So, Addie sets out to start her own store. She hopes to sell priceless books and other interesting items.

Were things easy for Addie? No, actually. For starters, a woman from a neighboring shop is less than welcoming. Oddly, Addie is nearly run down by a speeding car. Then a precious first edition is stolen. Fortunately, Addie made an instant friend with tea shop owner Serena. This is a blessing for Serena, because when another merchant is killed, Serena is arrested and charged with the crime. Addie decides to step in on Serena's behalf and fights her way past the police and their ideas, as well as many a dusty book, and searches for answers herself.

While everything is going on, Addie and the town's police chief, Marc, not only end up working together, but they are attracted to one another. Despite this, they often end up on the opposite side of things. Murder by the Book is the first in a new series by Lauren Elliott and is a light mystery story with romantic elements. It was an enjoyable read, and I already went ahead and read the next book, Prologue to Murder, right after completing this. The next book in the series is Murder in the First Edition, which will be released in September.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

USA Today Best-Selling author Lauren Elliott grew up devouring the entire Nancy Drew series and then graduated to Victoria Holt, Agatha Christie, Barbara Erskine, Lynn Kurland, and Michael Crichton to name a few of her favorite authors. When it came time for post-secondary education, journalism seemed like the logical choice as she had written for as long as she could remember. Soon after graduation, while working for a small publication, she discovered that reporting wasn’t what fueled her writing passions.  As someone with an additionally strong background in professional theatre who had the love of storytelling and captivating and holding an audience, her fiction-writing career began to take centre stage.

Her Books and Writing

Lauren's imagination is boundless. All of her books, whether they explore different aspects of the paranormal with a dab of romance, fantasy or is a suspense filled cozy murder mystery. Her writing never fails to take her readers on a gripping page-turning adventure.

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