“Entertaining…packed with mystery, romance, and sisterhood.” —Kirkus Reviews New York Times bestselling author Ellery Adams is back with the latest in her acclaimed Secret, Book, and Scone Society series. Local bookstore owner Nora Pennington is back on the case in Miracle Springs, North Carolina when an accidental death turns out to be something much more sinister… something much more sinister…
Nora Pennington is known for her window displays, and as Halloween approaches, she decides to showcase fictional heroines like Roald Dahl’s Matilda and Madeline Miller’s Circe. A family-values group disapproves of the magical themes, though, and wastes no time launching a modern-day witch hunt. Suddenly, former friends and customers are targeting not only Nora and Miracle Books, but a new shopkeeper, Celeste, who’s been selling CBD oil products.
Nora and her friends in the Secret, Book, and Scone Society are doing their best to put an end to the strife—but then someone puts an end to a life. Though the death is declared an accident, the ruling can’t explain the old book page covered with strange symbols and disturbing drawings left under Nora’s doormat, a postcard from an anonymous stalker, or multiple cases of vandalism.
The only hope is that Nora can be a heroine herself and lead the Secret, Book, and Scone Society in a successful investigation—before more bodies turn up and the secrets from Celeste’s past come back to haunt them all . . .
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Ink & Shadows (A Secret, Book, and Scone Society #4) by Ellery Adams is another wonderful book is this delicious and delightful series. Miss Adams wrights her stories in a way that draws her readers into the story with her characters. I laughed and cried right along with the story and even I couldn’t figure out who done it until Nora started figuring it out herself. I recommend this book and the whole series to anyone looking for a wonderful and engaging read.
Oh, my. Another trip to Miracle springs is just what the doctor ordered. In Ellery Adams’ new book, Ink and Shadows, Nora Pennington encounters protests from a church group due to her display window featuring powerful women. The church group also targets a fellow business woman, Celeste, who’s opened a shop selling CBD products a few blocks away from Miracle Books. Nora and friends try to rise above the protest and carry on. But when a murder occurs, Nora and the rest of the Secret, Book and Scone Society investigate.
I really love this series. Nora and her three friends – Hester, Estellla,and June-are the beating heart of this series. While there are murders to solve in each book, there is also a great deal to say about the power of friendship and the healing power of books. Nora believes passionately in both and many scenes depict her practicing “bibliotherapy” by recommending just the right books for troubled customers who walk through her door. She also give and receives support from her friends.
Fans of the series will be delighted to learn that Sheldon, who made his debut in the previous story, The Book of Candlelight, is a presence in this story as well. His humor, caring and talent for window displays and marketing ideas are all a delightful part of this story.
As for the mystery itself, it was an absorbing puzzle involving the victims’ past. There were a few suspects, and I appreciated the twists and turns along the way.
Perhaps the best part of these books is that there are many many books recommended throughout that can be added to the reader’s TBR. This particular book also features a couple of lists at the end, including books for situations such as reading aloud to a sight impaired person and books about bullying for kids. Truly, these stories in the Secret, Book and Scone Society series are magical as they transport the reader to a world where books and friendship can help heal the big and small tragedies in everyone’s life. Readers who find escape and solace in their favorite books will love this series.
Secret, Book & Scone Society is the fourth book in the Secret, Book & Scone Society series by Ellery Adams.
I haven’t read this series for a while so I appreciated the list of key characters at the beginning of the book and the Bibliotherapy list of books at the end.
There is a new shop opening in Miracle Springs, NC. It is called Soothe and is owned by Celeste and her daughter Bren. Nora welcomes them. Even though she realizes they could in some way be competition with her friends, she supports having another woman owned business in town. Unfortunately, Celeste and Bren have secrets from their past that catch up to them.
It’s always fun to go back to Miracle Springs. I really like the way the members of the Secret, Book, and Scone Society are there to support each other as well as others in need. These women are flawed, but they don’t let that dictate what they can do.
Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the free copy of this book and I am voluntarily leaving a review.
I’m certain this book was written well before we all entered into 2020; and I’m fairly certain Ellery Adams cannot tell what the future holds, yet it feels as though this book was meant to be read after the difficult year of 2020. It’s here to heal us. Nora Pennington reminds us, “Books never leave us. They always wait. They’re as loyal as a dog. As patient as a grandparent.” [p.95] Thank goodness for books.
Bibliophiles will rejoice with this fourth book in the Secret, Book, and Scone Society. I felt Nora come to life even more in this book due the additional background information we learn about her. She shines brightly as does her Miracle Books bookstore. So many eloquent lines about book magic, books rescuing and restoring readers, solace in books, bookstores, and amongst reader-friends. Don’t we all need a sense of solace after 2020? “Bookstores wash away worries. They cocoon people in coziness.” [p.261] I continually found myself yearning to be at Miracle Books…I want a tiny sliver of the heaven that exists there.
Once again, I appreciate the coziness of this series, that is what draws me to it, but it is not a typical cozy. What pulls me in and won’t let me go is the character development and dear relationships amongst the four unique, strong, flawed women. They feel like real women, not fictional. And this fourth book in particular covered darker topics, but topics prevalent in society now and always, topics that must be discussed, such as bullying. Ellery Adams brilliantly executes how to attempt to make lemonade out of lemons, particularly by usage of books and stories. Unbecoming behaviors don’t end in childhood, we all know that, but reading reminds us we are not alone, and “You can’t go back to the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” [p.154] -CS Lewis
It’s very satisfying to close a book and feel as though I learned something and can apply it to life. Words matter. Books never leave us. Stories can help us heal. Writers are great magicians. Do you need a little magic or healing after 2020? Ink & Shadows delivers on both accounts. Enjoy; and then spread this magic!
Another wonderful, amazing story from the magical pen of Author Ellery Adams. This series has the greatest characters who are full of warmth and compassion and make every story have a happy ending. This story is centered around Nora Pennington and her bookshop, Miracle Books. Nora has the ability to match people to the books they need to read that will be therapeutic for them. Nora’s gathered a small group of phenomenal friends around her who also have special gifts they can administer to help others in need—whether it’s mental or physical needs.
This story is a bit darker than previous ones as a cult and dark magic are part of the fear tactics in the plot. I felt like I had an idea of who the murderer was but couldn’t be sure until the ending.
I always love the book references Nora applies to the refreshments she serves customers in the bookstore. I was moved when her old friend, Bobbie sought her out and immediately began to help with the crime investigation. The plot is really clever and interesting. I was practically cheering when the gang trapped the heartless killer! Bravo!
I reviewed a digital arc provided by NetGalley and Kensington Publishing. All opinions are my own. Thank you.
Ellery Adams continues to deliver! Ink and Shadows is the fourth book of the Secret, Book, & Scone Society series and every book in the series is a winner.
I’m a cozy mystery fan, but if the story doesn’t revolve around characters I can relate to or want to know better, it doesn’t grab me. The characters in this series are charming, flawed, and perfectly human. I wish I could lose myself in Miracle Springs, NC so that I could be friends with them.
Ink and Shadows is well-paced with an intriguing mystery and wonderful characters. You’ll definitely want to add it to your reading list.
I was provided an advance copy of this book by the author and publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I’ve said it before and I’m saying it again, this series gets more amazing with each book! I can’t recommend it enough! I’ve bought the first one for all of my bookish friends because I know they’ll be hooked at that point.
This installment of the series was a welcome one. The characters are delightful, relatable and real. This mystery has twists and unexpected turns throughout the whole book, ending with a few things that I never would have guessed but loved!
This is one of my favorite series, a bibliomystery that is second to none. Nora Pennington has found sanctuary in the town of Miracle Springs and her delightful bookstore, Miracle Books. She has made friends with a group of special, caring women who support each other and extend that help to others in need. Together they formed their own group that they call the Secret, Book and Scone Society. Each of the four women has a personal burden that they have shared with the others and it binds them together. Nora’s burden is the result of a car accident and the resulting fire that left her with burn scars. Miracle Springs has helped her recover. Love, friendships, trust and belonging are strong threads in this series.
As Nora is trying to think up a new theme for her ever popular window display – Halloween is just around the corner – there is an incident across the street that will be the start of great conflict and the murder of two women new to town. Nora is looking forward to getting to know the mother and daughter owners of the new business, Relax. Sadly it’s not meant to be. Was it in any way connected to the new wave of prejudice displayed by a group of women who are pushing family values and are focusing on Nora when she decides to do her next window display with books featuring strong magical women? If they had their way, Nora would be the next business to cease to exist.
As Nora and her friends try to uncover who would commit murder, someone from Nora’s past arrives in town. At the same time Nora’s romantic relationship undergoes a major upheaval.
Spending time in Miracle Springs is always a wonderful reading escape. Besides giving me a very enjoyable and well crafted mystery, the characters of Nora, Hester, Estella and June – the members of the Secret, Book and Scone Society – are women I would love to call my friends. The supporting cast is good, too.
If you haven’t read any of the series, please start at the beginning and get to know their personal stories. It will be time well spent and I’m sure you will come to love this series as much as I do.
My thanks to the publisher Kensington and to NetGalley for giving me an asvance copy in exchange for my honest review.
* Nora Pennington, owner of a bookstore in Miracle Springs, NC, and her friends in the Secret, Book, and Scone Society welcome a new shopkeeper to town. Celeste is the new owner of a shop selling healing products including products made with CDB oil which a group of women in town object to. When Celeste’s daughter is found dead, Nora is not so sure it was accidental so she and her friends do some investigating on there own especially when the same group of ladies target her shop. I loved this book! The characters are written is such a descriptive way that you can envision them and the mystery is very well written. I love the bond of friendship between the women and who doesn’t love a story that revolves around a bookstore! This is the perfect book to curl up with and spend an afternoon reading with a cup of tea.
This is the fourth book in the Secret, Book, and Scone Society series. Nora and her friends welcome a new business owner and her daughter into Miracle Springs. But shortly after, a local woman’s group begin a campaign to shut down local businesses that they feel are immoral, or bad influences on young women. Miracle Books is targeted because of her window display on powerful women in books. Also targeted is the new shop Sooth. But soon Nora and her friend are looking into a mystery.
I absolutely adore this story, and have come to love these characters in this series. All the women of the Secret, Book, and Scone Society are strong women that take care of others. Their friendship is one to envy. They all have made mistakes, but have came out as better people. And I didn’t see the ending coming. I look forward to more of these books, and recommend this series. You won’t regret it.
It’s Halloween time in Miracle Springs, NC. A time for festivals, pumpkins, and trick-or-treating. Although it appears there are more tricks than treats happening. A local mom group has made it their passion to target all shops that do not meet their strong moral code. Unfortunately, Nora’s bookstore has made that list along with a new shop specializing in CBD oil. Before the CBD shop can celebrate its opening both the owner and her daughter have been murdered. Can Nora book the murder into the local jail before becoming the next victim?
Please tell me I am not the only reader who purposely slowed their reading pace down in order to stay in Miracle Springs longer. This series has been a joy to read even though it tackles some very tough and series issues. Nora feels like a friend and I really want to meet her.
Ink and Shadows made me cry and leap for joy before the end of Chapter 3. I suffer from fibromyalgia and very few people get it. They like to shake their head and murmur what they think is the correct murmurs but you can look in their face and see the scorn of disbelief. EA got it! She made me feel seen and understood. She got the days where getting out of bed and putting one foot in front of the other is all you can do. She got the days that even someone breathing on you brings you to your knees. Thank you, EA for Sheldon’s character.
I would think you could pick up this series at any point and fall right into the story but you really should read from the beginning. I suggest this series to anyone I can get to listen to me. It is one I can re-read and never get tired of reading.
Another top ten for me!
Warnings: witchcraft, murder, out of wedlock pregnancy, slight cursing, a hint of sex
I received a complimentary copy from the publisher, Kensington Books, through NetGalley. All opinions expressed in the above review are entirely my own.
I love this series, it has good mysteries but the best part of this series is that it is a love story to the written word, to books, bookstores and friendship. I love the book references, the quotes at the beginning of each chapter, how the friends support one another and anyone in trouble. Their desire to help the underdog is often what gets Nora and the Society into all kinds of adventures. While a lot in this book was sad, the strength of the human spirit and the saving grace of the written word comes through and leaves us uplifted in the end. Another winner in a series of winners!
This is the fourth book in a favorite series of mine by Ellery Adams. What an amazing story! Once again. I was immediately drawn into Miracle Springs and a visit with old friends. I felt like I was in Miracle Springs with my friends experiencing all the good and bad.
This was an intriguing story, four successful women who have a wonderful friendship, yet still struggle with their past issues. These women always have each others back.
I love how Sheldon has developed and don’t what Nora would do without him around.
A story that kept me turning the pages.
Can’t wait for book 5!!
I received an ARC prior to publication and decided to voluntarily review the.
Mrs. Adams is a gifted storyteller; she can evoke all the emotions with her words. This book is the fourth in the series, but you can definitely enjoy it as a stand-alone. Nora and the other ladies of the Secret, Book, and Scone Society are all strong women, although they are all flawed and imperfect in their own rights. This makes the ladies realistic and relatable to almost anyone. I’d really love to visit Nora’s bookstore and see the window displays. This book is well written with several well-placed red herring to keep the reader engaged in the mystery. I recommend this book to fans of cozy mystery or strong female protagonists.
All thoughts and opinions are my own, and in no way have I been influenced by anyone.
Again, the author delivers one to the town of Miracle Springs, NC and into the lives of the Secret, Book and Scone Society. In this book, the occult plays a good part. In Nora’s quest to find answers, she must go back to her past and bring part of this past into her present-a very difficult thing to do.
Ms.Adams continues to shine as a great novelist. Her writing, characters and their development, and plot development take one into a different world. This book is not a quick read, as one must allow oneself to become totally immersed in everything. You will not regret one second of time spent here. Uplifting is another word to describe author and her work.
In conclusion, I will have to regress to the words of Mikey’s brother in the cereal commercial: “Try it! You’ll like it!!
Another great book in this series! I was unable to put this book down. There was no way I was going to sleep. Once you start reading, it’s hard not to get swept up in the story.
The characters are interesting and evolving, the setting is a place you want to visit, and the story reads at a good pace. There aren’t any boring or slow parts. It’s so fun to see the book references throughout the story to see if you have read them. I also enjoy the history of book-related items and activities in this series. The author also brings up relevant topics about society. Several of the characters that had smaller parts are developing well and some of the main characters were less involved this time. I value this because it keeps the cast varying and not just the same main group. The supportive friendships and the way that they don’t expect each other to be perfect is comforting. People are complex with different backgrounds and lifestyles.
I highly recommend reading this book and the entire series.
Ink and Shadows by Ellery Adams is a book lover’s dream. Adams incorporates so many book titles into the story and her window/table displays that I was constantly smiling with nostalgia for having read the books or stopping to look up a title and often add it to my TBR. I was so happy to see that Adams had included a list of the titles at the end of the book, in case I had missed any. And the quotes at the beginning of each chapter added another layer that bibliophiles are sure to enjoy.
Halloween is my favorite holiday so all the nods to it, along with the festivals, decorating, and books were wonderful to read about. If I owned a bookshop or still worked at the library I would copy many ideas from her Strong Women window display for next Halloween. There was an occult aspect that went with the story, but I never felt like it was scary, instead adding to the enjoyment of learning about a new topic… and it does take place around Halloween after all! Adams really does follow the theme of strong women through every aspect of the story and I really, really loved it.
This is the first book that I’ve read in the Secret, Book, and Scone mysteries but I was able to quickly get a feel for the characters and Adams added the perfect amount of background information from previous books that I never felt lost. After enjoying this one so much I’m glad I received the first book in the series, so I can read the first three and catch up.
Another page-turner. This book cements the reason why I love Ellery Adams. Loved it!
Another good book in this series. It seemed a bit darker than the previous one. I really enjoy this series and adore the bookstore. Can’t wait for their next mystery
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the early copy
small-town, small-business, support-system, suspense, superstitions, friendship, bookseller, survivors
The members of the Society are four women who have survived their own personal trials and tribulations and now help others in uncanny ways. It’s an unusually hot September but the Halloween decor must go up. A new store is opening up the block and there are other happenings in the area but some of them are certainly not good, especially the suspicious death of the new businessperson. Excellent characters and an interesting yet different plot make this a really good read. I really enjoy the interspersed book quotes!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Kensington Books via NetGalley. Thank you!