A murder and a missing book have Addie Greyborne running around her Massachusetts town trying to read the clues . . . January isn’t the season for the seaside, but the big Fire and Ice festival is keeping bookstore owner Addie busy. Amid the plans for a fireworks display and an ice-carving competition, she’s also dog sitting for a friend in the hospital. When Addie goes to her friend’s house to … Addie goes to her friend’s house to gather supplies, she notices an interesting item on the nightstand which belongs to her shop assistant, Paige: a very valuable copy of the beloved children’s book The Secret Garden.
But Addie’s blood runs cold when she finds something else: a dead body behind the bakery next door to her shop. Martha, the bakery owner, has no alibi—and has been seen in a heated argument with the victim. And the next thing Addie knows, that first edition has gone missing. Is there a connection between the body and the treasured tome? If there is, it’s up to Addie to find a killer with a motive as hidden as Frances Hodgson Burnett’s famous garden . . .
“Seaside charm only gets better in winter! A Page Marked for Murder has all the things I love in a book.”
—Vicki Delany
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This is the fifth in the series Beyond the page bookstore mystery. Although there are several references to previous installments in this novel it is still a stand alone story. In this installment Addie, the owner of the Beyond the Page bookstore finds the body of her employee’s ex boyfriend and Father of her daughter. When all the evidence points to Paige’s estranged Father and her Mother Martha. Martha is the owner of the next store bakery. Addie decides to investigate on her own to help her friends.
Complicating the investigation is her previous romantic relationship with the local Police chief. He doesn’t welcome her help or attempts at a friendship. The retired FBI agent currently working at the police station is also a complication on both fronts. She is doing her best to keep Addie away from the Chief.
There is a subplot a rare first edition book is missing and the person who had possession of the book is injured in a strange manner. Do the two events have anything to do with the other. Addie puts her efforts on both events doing her best to unravel the clues.
Addie is kept distracted by Simon her current boyfriend and the problems her cousin is causing at Addie’s business and in her personal life. She must determine how to proceed with her cousin and work on putting up boundaries.
I love stories that have book references in them. This one delivers in spades.
In the small town where Addie lives in Massachusetts there is a Fire and Ice Festival held in January to bring in the tourist business. One of the organizer’s of the festival has an accident and falls off of a ladder and ends up in the hospital. Addie has never owned a dog but finds herself pet sitting until the owner can get out of the hospital. Then a body turns up in the alley behind the store next door to Addie’s bookshop and clearly it is murder. Can Addie help find the murderer or have they already left town? Then a valuable book which had been loaned to the lady in the hospital turns up missing. Are the two things related, the murder and the missing book ? Can Addie help her neighbor who has been charged with murder? This was a great read and is part of the series. I have read two of the books in the series now but not in order so it does work well as a standalone. I received an e-book copy of this book through Net Galley and Kensington Publishing in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Net Galley and Kensington.
Lauren Elliott is one of the best authors out there so I hope you all read her Beyond the Page Bookstore Mystery series. I just finished A Paged Marked for Murder and I think it is the best one yet. I love that the characters grow and learn through the series, and they are so much fun I wish they were real people. The stories are well developed ( you can see them in your head ) and keep you hooked from the very start.
First of all…I have read all of the books in this series and I really LOVE them all. That being said, I think this one is the best one yet. Addie is in rare form with her sleuthing. The characters are so descriptive and I can just picture Greyborne Harbor as a town I would love to live in.
Addie and Martha (her next door business neighbor and baker) have always been at odds but in this book, Martha realizes that she needs Addie’s help to solve a murder mystery and other things that Martha needs to figure out. I just love the twists and turns in Lauren Elliott’s books that makes it almost impossible to figure out where the storyline is headed.
I highly recommend this book as well as the previous ones in the series.
Addie Greyborne is hard at work sleuthing again in Lauren Elliott’s fifth book of the Beyond the Page Bookstore Mystery series!
Greyborne Harbor is celebrating the Fire and Ice festival, known for its large scale celebrations involving a fireworks display and ice carving competition. Addie’s friend, Gloria, takes a large tumble from a ladder while setting up the festival, causing Addie to have to dog-sit Gloria’s adorable miniature Yorkipoo, Pippi. While helping Gloria, Addie notices a highly valuable copy of The Secret Garden at Gloria’s house. Upon a further visit, Addie notices it missing and begins to question whether her friend really had an accident after all.
As readers of the previous books will know, Martha is the unshakable owner of the bakery next door to Addie’s bookstore… unshakeable, that is, until a body is discovered behind the bakery and our dear Martha has no solid alibi. Addie quickly jumps on the case, wanting to help not only Martha but her daughter, Paige, Addie’s dependable employee and store manager. Can Addie help find the evidence needed to release Martha from police suspicion or is this case too much for our ardent amateur sleuth?
Readers will delight in Elliott’s character stories and arcs as she brings new layers to old friends. I particularly enjoy the time Elliott takes to craft backstories for each character, making it seem like we, the reader, are just as much a part of the small town of Greyborne Harbor as they are. In doing so, Elliott evoked emotion from me as the story progressed, often sharing the same frustrations or empathetic feelings as our protagonist.
This fifth installment of the series is my favorite to-date with the mysteries presented and the character dialogue and interactions. Elliott introduced one of my new favorite townspeople of Greyborne Harbor, Bill, and continues to write Addie’s cousin, Kalea, so well that I cannot help but love hating her.
A Page Marked for Murder is a very fun read, laced with emotional highs and lows. Keeping this review very spoiler free, I cannot wait to see where the next book takes our citizens of Greyborne Harbor. If you’ve read and loved Elliott’s previous novels and adore her characters as much as I do this is surely one you cannot miss!
(I received an advanced copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review)
family-dynamics, friendship, cozy-mystery, theft, murder-investigation, relationships, small-town, small-business, amateur-sleuth
Addie the rare book appraiser and bookshop owner has been on the wrong side of the suspect list before but this time it is dear friends who remain under interrogation. One friend tumbles from a ladder and is severely injured. While in hospital her house keys have gone missing and a family heirloom book has been stolen. Then the body of a man known and disliked by another family of friends is found in the alley behind their shops. The police are not happy and disagree with Addie’s conclusions about her friends. Well done with red herrings and plot twists as well as truly believable characters. ! very good read!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Kensington Books via NetGalley. Thank you!
I’m new to this series but I can’t wait to go back and read earlier entries because I enjoyed the characters and the setting. the plotting was done well and the book kept me reading so I could finish it in one sitting. Highly recommend!
Addie owns a bookstore in Greystone Harbor, Mass. To celebrate Epiphany the town holds a Christmas tree bonfire on the beach and an weekend ice carving festival. Her assistant Paige has a daughter Emma and lives with her mother Martha. Martha owns the bakery next door.
One of the townspeople is injured decorating for the festival and when Addie goes to her home to pick up some things for her for her hospital stay she discovers a rare and valuable copy of “The Secret Garden” which she finds out belongs to Paige.
Two surprise visitors attend the festival. Martha’s husband who skipped out on her years ago and the father of Paige’s daughter. There is no love lost between Martha and Emma’s father and when he later found murdered she is the number 1 suspect. “The Secret Garden” also goes missing. Are they related?
There are a lot of strings to follow and I don’t think Addie solves the mystery as much as she stumbled on who done it and why and I think I guessed right about the same time she did.
The latest edition to the Beyond the Page Bookstore Mystery series is another great read. Check in with Addie, Paige, Serena, Marc, Simon, Martha and the others in beautiful seaside Greyborne Harbor to find out what’s happening after the Christmas holiday. The big Fire and Ice festival is being planned and is sure to attract a lot of tourists, and some former town residents, who come to this cozy oceanfront town with plans to celebrate … and some have more nefarious plans. When a body is found and a local, or two, or three are being eyed as the killer, it’s up to Addie to find out what really happened and why. The story is full of interesting twists and turns, lots of intriguing family drama for the main character and her friends as well. A definite good read! Now I can’t wait for book 6 to come out!
I love cozy books, but they have to engage me right away. So, maybe this is more my problem than the book. I read to 3% on my kindle and deleted it to move on to something else.
A Page Marked for Murder by Lauren Elliott is the 5th A Beyond the Page Bookstore Mystery. This cozy mystery can be read as a standalone if you are new to the series or if you have missed a book or two. Addie Greystone owns Beyond the Page, a bookstore and curio shop in Greystone Harbor. She is fortunate to have Paige Stringer as her shop assistant (she is also referenced as store manager). Without Paige, Addie would not be able to run around town solving crimes (I am curious as to how she can afford two employees). I had mixed feelings about A Page Marked for Murder. There are some parts that I liked and other parts that I could have done without. I love the descriptions of the bookstore, the book references, Gloria’s adorable dog, and Addie’s Victorian home. The death of Brett Palmer has misdirection and a handful of suspects. I liked that the murder weapon was a curiosity. I wish it had been as challenging to identify the guilty party. I could have done with less speculation and time spent rehashing the case details. The story could have used action to liven things up (would have helped the with the pacing as well). I appreciated that the whodunit was wrapped up without leaving any lingering questions. I do think it is time for Marc Chandler, the chief of police, to get past his issues with Addie. Addie takes care of Gloria McBride’s Yorkipoo, Pippi who sounds adorable. I am beginning to think, however, that I am the only person to leave my dogs at home (or without a babysitter) when I go out to run errands. I thought it was sweet that Pippi needed her teddy bear, Baxter to sleep peacefully. Dr. Simon Emerson and Addie’s relationship is developing and going in a positive direction. Kalea Hudson, Addie’s cousin, is still living with Addie and sort of working at the bookstore. Kalea is up to something and neglecting her duties. Addie needs bite the bullet and to talk to Kalea. I am hoping that we will see less of Kalea in the next book. I do not like Kalea or her attitude. I keep hoping Kalea will learn a lesson, but I do not see that happening. While A Page Marked for Murder was not a home run for me, I am looking forward to reading Under the Cover of Murder when it comes out in the spring. A Page Marked for Murder is a curious cozy mystery with a bear named Baxter, a cutie of a canine, a mystifying murder weapon, a valuable volume, a prisoned parent, and one stumped sleuth.