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 … 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 . . .
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A very good read. Kept me interested. I could imagine the characters as I read. I’m beginning book number two.
Good light read with a nice turn in the plot
It kept you in your toes wondering what would happen next. Loved the book!!
Great reading. Looking for more!
The first book in a series and it literally sucked me in from beginning to end!! I can’t believe how well-developed everything was and how realistic the characters were. The way the events that led to Addie’s moving were intertwined in the story were unexpected and fabulous. There were no draggy bits while you caught back up with something or were prepared for something else; this was so seamlessly integrated that you were along for the ride and never got kicked out of the story over the little things. I think I still have a bit of a book hangover from this and I’m well into another story. I cannot wait to stalk the very next book in this series. Grab this as soon as you can and be prepared to enjoy a lovely adventure.
Thank you to Kensington Books, Lauren Elliott, and NetGalley for allowing met the chance to read this story and share my honest thoughts and opinions with others.
One of my first Cozy Mysteries, helped to get me hooked on them.
I enjoyed this book quite a lot. It had a few issues here and there that ultimately affected my rating, but overall it was a pretty decent read. The mystery was fantastically written and definitely the high point of the book. It certainly had me guessing right until the end. I also enjoyed the small town setting. It also had great secondary characters.
That said, it started out a bit rough with the author seemingly jumping into the story with both feet when I felt we needed a bit more buildup and fleshing out. For example, how did Addie spend months getting her bookstore set up with NEVER meeting another human being in the town? Especially Serena or Martha (her neighbors)? Martha, precisely because she seemed to be this over the top busybody that would have been over poking her nose in Addie’s business first chance she got? There were also a few times here and there where the writing felt a bit clunky.
My only other issue was Addie herself. She came across quite b!tchy at times. Specifically when it came to her interactions with Marc. To be honest, I am not really a fan of budding romances in cozy mysteries. If the heroine is going to have a romantic entanglement I prefer it to be one that is already established and on solid ground. If I wanted to read romance angst, I would read a romance book. So a bit of a mixed bag with this one, but overall I enjoyed it enough to check out the next book in the series
I really enjoy reading biblio cozy mysteries and this one did not disappoint. This is the first book is a new series. Addie used to work for the Boston Public Library but has left the city to open a bookstore in a small New England Town after receiving an inheritance from a long lost aunt. Since this is the first book in the series the author does try to establish all the relationships at once. I hope in future books the relationships are not quite so rushed. As soon as the shop opens her shop and her home are broken into. A local business owner is found dead and her new friend is accused of the crime. She decides to work with the police to solve the crimes. The mystery was good and there are lots of secrets to uncover. There were some surprises at the end. I liked the bookstore/rare books background, the characters and the mystery. I did think the author tried to put too much in this book and I was not a fan of maybe romance. I look for word to reading the next one. It was a quick enjoyable read.
The first book in a great series! It’s easy to get drawn into the cozy town and become friends with the characters. I highly recommend Lauren’s books.
I enjoyed enough to preorder book 2 coming out in 2019. Some negatives are too many repeats on characters mannerisms. Squaring shoulders, chewing on lip, she is stubborn….The overt hostility eminating off neighboring shop owner seems over the top as well with little explanation for.
Main characters are likeable and I see real promise in this series. Here is hoping our author relaxes into her fictional town and cast of characters.
Enjoyed this light reading and looking forward to the next!
Good series
Fun read !
MY REVIEW
This was a great start to Beyond the Page Bookstore Mystery series. This is the first book I’ve read by this author and it won’t be the last! Most of characters are great and well developed . There is alot going on very early in the book but the Author does a fantastic job of weaving it all together. The only downside was there were way too many characters to keep track of. Which made it a bit overwhellming. I really like Addie, Serena, Marc, and Paige. The author does a great job of creating that small town setting and making you feel as if you was right there. The plot is well done with plenty of action and suspects. I did figure out the suspect but it did not take away from the story at all. I can not wait to see what kind of trouble Addie gets herself into next.
I really enjoyed MURDER BY THE BOOK and highly recommend it to any cozy mystery reader, especially those who enjoy a bookstore setting.
I loved the premise of this book and the backstory of the main character, Addie. She is looking for a fresh start after having a lot of tragedy in her life over the past year. I liked the descriptions of the town and the used book store that she is opening and how she is getting to know some of her fellow business owners, for good and bad. The mystery was twisty and kept me guessing throughout the book and I loved how everything tied together at the end.
Loved it .
I enjoy books about books, bookstores, libraries and librarians, and those rare stories of bibliotherapy.
I really liked the characters in the story. They make it fun to read.
I am surprised by some of the low reviews. This was really good. I will definitely read the rest of the series.
I have read two of Lauren Elliott books and they keep you interested. Good stories with mystery, crime, romance, sadness and happiness.