Tricia Miles must swim against the tide to catch a killer when Haven’t Got A Clue’s assistant manager is accused of murder in the latest entry to Lorna Barrett’s New York Times bestselling Booktown series. Haven’t Got A Clue bookshop owner Tricia Miles’s relationship is on the rocks. After a not-so-fun vacation with her on-again-off-again lover, Marshall Cambridge, Tricia’s hoping for smooth … Tricia’s hoping for smooth sailing back in Stoneham. Unfortunately Booktown greets her not with blue skies but with another body.
When Tricia’s assistant manager, Pixie, finds homeless vet Susan Morris’s body behind Haven’t Got A Clue, Pixie’s checkered past makes her the prime suspect. Tricia sets out to clear Pixie’s name armed with only an anchor insignia earring found at the scene of the crime.
As Tricia digs deeper she discovers Susan was involved in a scandal right before retiring from the Navy—but since nobody in the village knows Susan, even Tricia’s one lead is in danger of drying up. With family drama brewing in the background and all of Stoneham convinced her manager is a murderer, Tricia knows she has to get to the bottom of the case soon before Pixie’s life is sunk.
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Handbook for Homicide by Lorna Barrett is the 14th A Booktown Mystery. I found Handbook for Homicide to be well-written with a colorful cast of characters. It was nice to catch up with everyone in Stoneham including Miss Marple and Sarge. Tricia Miles owns Haven’t Got a Clue in Stoneham, New Hampshire known for its bookstores. Tricia is returning from a trip to Ireland with boyfriend, Marshall Cambridge and the trip was disappointing to Tricia. She knew it was a working trip for Marshall since he was leading a tour group, but she expected them to have time to themselves. Tricia wonders if their relationship is near its end. She is not home thirty minutes when Pixie Poe finds a dead woman in their dumpster. The victim is Susan Morris, a naval veteran who was living in her car. Pixie is at the top of Chief Baker’s suspect list which has her worried, so she asks Tricia to do a little nosing around. Tricia, of course, agrees. Her investigation takes her to a local homeless camp where she finds a suspect or two. The mystery was not at the forefront of this book. It seemed to take a backseat to Tricia’s love life. There is also someone trying to break into the store. The two mysteries are easily solved. I would have liked more action in the book. The investigation was minimal on Tricia’s part. Of course, Tricia was distracted by her love life along with the disagreeable Russ Smith, a request for help regarding Nikki Brimfield, Angelica needing extra help, and family drama. There is plenty of eating in this book. I do not think Tricia will be losing those extra pounds from her vacation any time soon. There seem to be several people in town who dislike Tricia which was mentioned several times. I guess investigating murders will earn you a few enemies. I found the pacing a little slow in this edition and there is some foul language as well. I enjoyed the humor when Tricia utilized a unique skill to do a little sleuthing. We are left with an unanswered question at the end of the book, and I am curious how this situation will turn out. The story delves into the situation of homeless veterans and how people can assist them in a helpful and respectful manor. There are recipes at the end of the book for some of the dishes Tricia and Angelica enjoyed. Handbook for Homicide is an appealing cozy mystery with a valuable video, chamber of commerce chaos, a sidelined sister, a cookie conundrum, helping the homeless, and courtship challenges.
In this, the 14th book in the series, Tricia Miles has a lot to juggle in her life. She and her boyfriend, Marshall have returned from a tour in Ireland – a business trip for Marshall who runs a travel book store in Stoneham. Tricia has the feeling that, after the less than stellar trip, she and Marshall may be at the end of their relationship. Add to that, she hasn’t been back long when her store assistant, Pixie, finds the dead body of a homeless woman in their dumpster. So many questions have to be answered in order to keep the prime suspect out of jail – Pixie is at the top of the list of suspects.
Focusing on the plight of homeless vets and their interactions with the local community, the mystery was complex enough to hold my interest to the last page – An ending with a major life cliffhanger for Tricia. The next book can’t come soon enough for me.
My thanks to the publisher, Berkley and to Edelweiss for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.
Haven’t Got a Clue Mystery Book Store has another mystery to solve. When Pixie finds the body of a homeless vet behind the store, she becomes the prime suspect. Since Pixie has a bit of a checkered past she fears she is headed for a jail cell. Tricia sets out to clear Pixie’s name. It seems that no one really knew Susan. The deeper Tricia digs the more she finds out about Susan’s involvement in a scandal that happened while in the Navy. Does this scandal have something to do with her death?
I enjoyed reading this book. The characters have continued to develop and evolve over the series. I like that Tricia and her sister have become so close. I am happy that they have formed a close-knit family with the people in their lives. The one thing about Tricia I would like to see change is that so many people get so angry with her. However, I guess if someone accused me of murder or someone I loved, I might not be so forgiving either. The mystery was interesting though a little slower than usual. I definitely did not figure out who the murderer was in this book. The secondary story-line seemed to play a bigger part in the story than I realized as I was reading the book. Now that I have finished I can see that this was completely setting up the ending. And what an ending! This is a big cliff hanger and I for one am excited to see how it turns out. So looking forward to the next book.
All thoughts and opinions are my own, and in no way, I have been influenced by anyone.
I always love revisiting Booktown and the characters there. Pixie is accused of murder. . . . Tricia’s relationship with Marshall isn’t really the best. . . . And the ending – leaves me wanting the next book in the series NOW!
I actually enjoyed this book because we get to know Angelica as well as Tricia more. We do learn more about the trip to Ireland and her relationships. It helps give us a view of the homeless through different perspectives.
Handbook for Homicide is the fourteenth book in the “A Booktown Mystery” series. The series revolves around the main character, Tricia’s book store, her employees, customers, family, and friends. The characters in this series have flaws, as does Tricia. Sometimes those flaws are a bit much for readers to handle. Tricia isn’t always likable; she can be selfish, petty, and somewhat single-minded. Other characters, such as her sister, are lovely.
I did not feel the book store played a significant enough role in this new addition, especially considering the body is found behind it in a dumpster. I also did not like the indecision on Tricia’s part about the men in her life. She needs to figure out how she feels for each one and stop hanging onto the past and let the men know where they stand. I do not like cliff hangers in a cozy, it isn’t necessary to get people to read the next book in the series, and it disappoints the reader who spent several hours reading only to leave questions unanswered.
The victim and the suspects are nicely written; however, the killer, although interesting, was not believable. Handbook for Homicide is an easy to read book but seemed to lack the author’s usual flare. Many fans will find the book enjoyable, while others will be upset that Tricia has not changed enough to be likable. The mystery is somewhat pushed aside due to the unending discussions of Tricia’s love life, and in this book, her sudden need to help the homeless. Her book store takes a back seat to everything else Tricia deems important and constantly leaves the running of the store to her employees. Overall, this was an okay book, not great, but not horrible. Too much got in the way for me to enjoy it, and not enough of what makes this series enjoyable was included.
This is the 14th book in her Booktown series, right there says,alot for Lorna Barrett. The series takes place in a cozy little town in Vermont called Stoneham, where the main character, Tricia, who has a new relationship with Marshall, runs the Havent Got a Clue bookstore. Angelina, her sister, who moved to the town several years back, is an entrepreneur who has helped the town come alive with funding and building new businesses. Tricia is known as the town jinks because she is always finding dead bodies as she kind of does in this one. But when her bookstore manager, Pixie, is accused of killing Susan, who they find out, lives in her car, and has a checkered past, is found dead, Tricia helps to find out who the killer is. Lorna Bartlett throws the readers for a loop at the end by keeping us in suspense when Tricia has a decision to make, but I don’t want to spoil the ending, so I’ll let you read to find out. I am glad to know the series will continue. Lorna Barrett does it again.
I have a hard time giving up a series, that’s the only reason I can give for sticking around for book #14. I have found Trisha mildly dislikable to quite dislikable through out the series. I haven’t liked many of the secondary characters either. The characters make a point of pointing out how unlikable she is which makes me question why the author is writing her like this.
While someone is killed and Tricia noses around the majority of the book revolves around Tricia’s social life, town issues and homelessness. The murder is only solved by the killer outing themself.
The very ending is absolutely ridiculous.
Glad I got this from the library.
Tricia Miles has become an old friend and I enjoyed her latest adventure in crime solving and in romance. I am eager for the next book in the series.
This exciting, heartwarming mystery was hard to put down and I didn’t want it to end! I must catch up on the books I haven’t read yet in the series. The author has captured an excellent mix of characters who love their community and work to not just better themselves, but to give others less fortunate a hand up to a better life. I would love to work in Tricia’s vintage mystery bookstore, Haven’t Got a Clue. While I am not familiar with many of the classic authors, it would be a great place to learn more! My sleuth cap had a workout with the mysteries in this novel, and there were surprises to be had throughout.
Tricia just returned from Ireland and the first stop she hoped to make was to the bookshop, then her loft apartment upstairs. She never got farther than the shop, as her assistant manager and friend, Pixie, had much to fill her in on. Someone tried to break in a few evenings ago, and the alarm scared them away. The interview Tricia had done with a cable network several weeks earlier finally aired several times, resulting in a weekend business increase. Pixie took the garbage out, and making a grisly find, ran in to get Tricia. There was a shoe, with a foot still inside, the body buried under trash.
Police chief Grant Baker, who Tricia had seriously dated in the past, couldn’t resist the jab that she was only back in town a short time and already was finding a body. Tricia is a magnet for mysteries, especially those that include murdered people. Technically, Pixie found the remains of Susan Morris, a former Naval officer who had been homeless, living in her car for some time. Pixie had given Susan those shoes, making it easier to identify her. As if finding an acquaintance dead isn’t bad enough, Baker seems to have his sights on Pixie, despite how well she has done since her last stint in prison. She knows ex-cons are railroaded for less, and the stakes are high.
This fast-paced novel has many things going on. Tricia has considered breaking up with Marshall, the man she has been dating and went to Ireland with, but decides to hang in a little longer. She and Marshall go to a small tent city of sorts, where several male homeless military vets live to look for leads, take out food and beverages, and get involved with their needs. Angelica, her sister, recently had surgery and needs help getting around. And Tricia is determined to find whounit, really, as she believes Pixie is innocent.
This novel is appealing on many levels. The mystery is finely plotted and executed, with many clues that led me in conflicting directions (and now I know why!). The characters are engaging, smart, middle-aged, and generous with those around them. I appreciate highlighting the needs of veterans! There is enough activity to enhance the story but not so much it is distracting. There were surprises at the end, and it was wrapped up in satisfying manner. I really do dislike cliffhanger endings, so I’m not excited over the last couple pages. A cliffhanger does not bring me back to a series, rather, it is being invested in the characters and setting with satisfying, challenging mysteries. Even so, I highly recommend this novel and series to those who appreciate well-written cozy mysteries, mystery bookstores, New England towns, and engaging characters.
From a thankful heart: I received a complimentary copy of this novel, and this is my honest review.