This is the second book Ms. Barrett has written in her Booktown Mystery series and it's better than her first, and that is saying a lot since I loved the first. "Murder is Binding." The story takes place in the small town of Stoneham, New Hampshire where Tricia Miles owns Haven't Got A Clue mystery book store. In fact, the main street has all book shops with different themed books, which is quite a tourist attraction for this town. The story starts out with Trisha celebrating her store's 1st anniversary and she has invited noted writer Zoe Carter to attend and sign her latest and last book in the "forever" series. Before the night is over, the author is found dead in the store's washroom. The police suspect her obnoxious niece, Kimberly, who was also her assistant. Tricia has a history with Sheriff Wendy Adams,....not a good one, so can expect little help in getting this murder solved. When Kimberly is attacked and left for dead, Tricia & her sister, Angelica, who owns a cookbook store in town, have to step things up with all the clues that begin to fall into place. It appears that Zoe Carter did not write the "Forever" series, and the woman who she thinks did is said to have left town and was declared dead 20 years ago by family members. This mystery has everything! I never suspected who the killer was because, like Tricia thought, all evidence pointed to one person and one person only. I figured the final two chapters were set up to catch the person and render a confession with witnesses hidden around, etc. Ms. Barret threw us all a red herring big time! I loved it! I was very surprised since the character was a minor background figure. In the back of the book are some wonderful recipes from Angelica, who is the cook in the family, and also from another main character who owns the bakery. If you love a really good 'who dun it' I can honestly tell you to start reading Ms. Barrets books!Read full review
What's not to love about a cozy bookstore mystery that includes not just one, but TWO eBay references? Although to be absolutely fair and accurate, they are both referring to the same item(s): First, the heroine's sister wonders what the last autographed copies of the latest Zoë Carter mystery would fetch on eBay (the author having been murdered during her signing at the aforementioned bookstore); and next, another character points out on the day after this unfortunate demise that there are already auctions running for those very same books, evidently having started the night before within hours of the body being found. So now you know who it was done to, and of course the rest of the book is devoted to finding out whodunit. Here's the basic premise. The formerly struggling town of Stoneham, New Hampshire, is now a major destination for book-loving tourists thanks to its Main Street devoted entirely to specialty bookstores, including Tricia Miles' mystery bookstore Haven't Got A Clue (complete with a cat named Miss Marple). Already carrying the reluctant reputation of town jinx for her recent involvement in yet another murder, and faced with a less than helpful sheriff, Tricia feels that it's up to her to book the killer. For most of the book, the author's obnoxious assistant/niece seems to be the only suspect. But when the niece is brutally attacked, Tricia takes her investigation one step further and discovers that all was not as it seemed in Zoë Carter's literary kingdom. For one thing, she evidently didn't write her own books. It looks like Tricia's going to have to read between the lines to solve this mystery. And without giving away too much of the plot, I will say that the author makes ingenious use of red herrings and subtle clues in the subtext of Tricia's dogged investigation. The characters are realistic and likable, and the identity of the murderer is suitably surprising. As a delicious bonus, the back of the book features various recipes encountered in the course of the book, both from Tricia's sister's cookery bookstore and from her friend's bakery. "Bookmarked For Death" is Lorna Barrett's second Booktown Mystery. The first one is "Murder Is Binding", and it was equally good. This phenomenon is true to my own personal how-to-judge-a-book-by-its-cover yardstick, which has found over the years that most mystery series that have got it going on with their titles also will have it going on with the books themselves. Thank you for reading my review. If you found it helpful, please vote by clicking "Yes" below!Read full review
This book is an easy read. I like the characters. It's not as compelling as some I've read, but kept my interest. I read to relax so a little suspense is good for me.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
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