Genre: Mystery
Hardcover; Digital Book (Also Available: LP)
ISBN #: 9781643851518
Crooked Lane Books
313 Pages
$23.60; $1.99 (Limited Time) Amazon
December 10, 2019
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A bicycle race is not Charming Books proprietor Violet Waverly's idea of a pleasant pastime. But police chief David Rainwater wheelie wants them to enter the Tour de Cascade as a couple, so she reluctantly consents.
The Tour de Cascade is the brainchild of Violet's Grandma Daisy. The race is a fundraiser to build the Cascade Springs Underground Railroad Museum. But not everyone in this Niagara Region village supports the race. As if the bike race weren't tiring enough, pesky private investigator Joel Redding is snooping around Charming Books. It takes all of Violet's and Grandma Daisy's ingenuity to keep Redding from discovering the shop's magical essence -- which communicates with Violet through books.
When Redding perishes in an accident during the race, David discovers that the brake line of the private eye's bike was cut. Worse, Violet tops his list of suspects. As Emerson the tuxedo cat and resident crow Faulkner look on, Charming Books steers Violet to the works of Walt Whitman to solve the crime. But no other names ring a bell as culprits, and as David's investigation picks up speed, Violet will have to get in gear to clear her name.
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Violet Waverly is the caretaker of Charming Books, which includes the magical tree inside, Faulkner the crow, and Emerson the little tuxedo cat. The bookshop gives people the exact book they need -- whether they are looking for it or not.
She's also in a relationship with police chief David Rainwater, and is afraid to tell him the truth about the shop, deciding that it might permanently end their relationship if she does. But she also knows deep down that if she doesn't tell him, the relationship will suffer anyway. It's a conundrum she's finding hard to figure out.
But now PI Joel Redding, who stalked her once before, is back in town and seems to be picking up where he left off. When she spots him taking a picture of her during the bike race she's entered with Rainwater, it bothers her. But when the police find his body farther down the road, it's discovered he's been murdered, and now they need to find out who did it. With clues showing up around town for Rainwater, it's the poetry of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass that are leading Violet on the case. A copy was discovered with the body, and Redding left a clue in the shop for Violet. Now, with Rainwater telling her to leave the case to him, with him wondering what Violet knows and why she won't tell him, and with Violet worried about one of her students hiding somewhere in the village, the only thing she has to go on is the poetry of Whitman. But can it give her the answers she's looking for?...
First off, I have to say that the blurb is wrong; Violet is never considered a suspect in this murder. It's a student of hers who is the main one, and that's what the story is about.
Saying that, this is the fourth book in the series, and we have Violet and David hopefully progressing in their relationship, and Violet's father in town to impart knowledge he has of her mother to her. Violet's grandmother also has something for her, which makes Violet even more confused about her future.
But the plot of the book was interesting: what did Walt Whitman have to do with Cascade Springs, and why is the bookshop throwing copies of Leaves of Grass at her every time she turns around? It's dissecting the poems and looking for answers, and it all comes down to one of the oldest motives for murder. It's a tale worth reading, and I enjoyed it highly. While the ending was a bit cryptic, it wasn't a cliffhanger, and I am hoping the series will continue. Recommended.
More on Amanda Flower's Books: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/f/amanda-flower/
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