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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Addie has just moved to a small town after she inherited her Great Aunt’s estate. After the mysterious deaths of both her fiance and her father, she looks at it as a way to start over and decides to open a bookstore. As she starts to make new friends and get used to the town, strange things keep happening and people keep ending up dead. Can Addie help local police chief Mark find the answers to all of their questions?
I enjoyed reading this fun cozy mystery. I enjoyed the characters and the town. I liked getting to know everybody. I did feel like I was dropped in the middle of the story at first. I felt a bit lost and was confused for a bit. I also was a bit annoyed by Addie for a little bit of the story. I feel like she came on really strong. But that might be the way it was narrated in the audiobook. I did get used to her after a while and warmed up to her character. I’m excited to read more of this series and see where it goes!
Loved it
Great book for a rainy day. After you read the first you’ll want the next. Looking forward to see how the characters develop.
This is a fun cozy mystery series. I finished reading the final book last night.
good mystery
This story was unusual and full of unexpected connections, but dropped enough clues to make the reader feel like it wasn’t impossible to predict whodunnit. The characters were believable and their actions weren’t stupid and dangerous just to create excitement in the story, they made sense.
Addison Greyborne gets a fresh start in New England with her new adventure of her “Beyond the Pages-Books & Curios” store after finding out her great-aunt pasted away and left Addie her entire estate. It was time to leave Boston after her fiance’, David was murdered. Addie meets grumpy Martha who owns the bakery next door. Her new friend, Serena is owner of Serena TEA on the other side of Addie’s store. Then things start happening weird…first someone tries to run Addie over with a black Honda, her store is broken and her home. Then comes the murder and her new best friend Serena is their number one suspect! To top things of the Chief of Police is Serena'[s brother, Mac. You have got to read this wonderful written book to find out how it ends!
I didn’t want “Murder by the Book” to end… Uncovers a mysterious familial past, confused childhood memories and frightening current events. Realistic characters, a bit funny, kind of scary at times, spiced up with possibility of blossoming romance… Unpredictable developments and who’s who in the proverbial zoo kept the pages turning…
A little predictable, but a great cozy mystery. The more I read, the more I wanted to keep reading.
I read this book 8/19. I read the third installment and enjoyed it so much, that I ordered the first two books. Great series.
I apologize for being behind in updating all of my previous reviews onto my BB account.
4.5/5
This is only my second cozy mystery, but I can tell they are going to be one of my new favorite genres. Books, a quaint New England town, a little bit of romance, and murder. What more could a girl ask for?
I assume that at 27 I’m a couple of years younger than Addie, but her love for rare and vintage books made me feel instantly connected to her. Not to mention her skills as an amateur sleuth. She puts those skills to work almost as soon as she moves to the seaside New England town founded by her ancestors. She moves into a mansion inherited from her great aunt and finds that there’s a huge collection of rare books, first editions, and other things yet to be discovered.
Addie opens her own bookstore and is barely getting settled when someone steals a rare copy of Alice in Wonderland, frames her new friend for murder, and tries to run her over more than once. To prove her friend’s innocence and find out who is trying to run her down, Addie uses her knowledge of rare books to solve the mystery. She also has help from the local sheriff, who just so happens to be smitten with her. Their romance develops slowly and clumsily, but is a real treat throughout the story.
Elliot’s writing style is quick, easy, and reminds me why I have such romantic ideas of what New England looks, smells, and feels like. Addie is smart, independent and head strong while still realizing that she sometimes needs to lean on those close to her for support. She feels like a real person out there who I might meet and become friends with rather than a fictional character. This speaks to Elliot’s ability to create a world that feels so real that I think I might actually stumble upon Greyborne on a trip to New England.
All that aside, the thing that I loved the most about this book was how much it reminded me of reading Nancy Drew and playing the Nancy Drew computer games (anyone else play those?). For me, Addie felt like the adult version of Nancy Drew who grew up and got a real job, but couldn’t quite give up the life of an amateur detective. If you loved Nancy Drew as a kid, I guarantee you’ll love Murder by the Book. Thankfully, the second book in this series is already out and the third book comes out in less than a week, so I won’t have to wait very long to dive back in and see what happens.
My hope is that Addie starts to feel more at home in her new surroundings and that she’s able to find love again. I can’t wait to get to know more about the history of Greyborne and to see it change throughout the seasons. The only reason I took off .5 stars was because I wanted a little more from Addie’s new relationships, but I’m sure we will get plenty of that in the next book!
10/10 would recommend!
An intelligent and strong willed female lead starts this cast of characters off on the right note and it just gets better from there! Add to the well developed characters, interesting developing relationships, a murder or two and an intriguing mystery to top all that off and you have an entertaining read to delight you! I can’t wait to see what happens in book 2! Oh and for a dash of more excitement, the first 2 books in the series are available via audio and the reader is fantastic!
Loved it!
Deena gets dragged into investigating a murder when both her friend and brother are accused. While asking questions, she gets to close and the killer comes after her. She has many suspects, but few clues.
Loved it
I did enjoy this mystery although, I admit, it did take me awhile to read it. The bookstore, rare books and the cozy town were right up my alley. The three main characters felt “pushed” together quickly for the purpose of the story. I also felt like the story did drag on a bit. Lots of descriptions, and introduction of characters. The twists and turns were intriguing along with numerous suspects. I was never sure of who the murderer was until I was closer to the final chapters. As a first in a new series, Ms. Elliot did well at developing her main characters to be part of a future series. I am interested in reading book two of this series to compare it to the first. I received this book in exchange for an honest review.
Kept moving, a page turner
Great fun read
I liked it – I thought it was interesting and had characters you grew to care about.
Wonderful authentic book