Author: Ellery Adams
Genre: Mystery
Hardcover; Digital Book (Audiobook Available)
ISBN #: 9781496726445
Kensington Publishing
304 Pages
$20.49; $9.06 Amazon
April 26, 2022
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While January falls outside in Miracle Springs, North Carolina, Nora Pennington is encouraging customers to cozy up indoors with a good book. Even though the shop and her bibliotherapy sessions keep Nora busy during the day, her nights are a little too quiet -- until Deputy Andrews pulls Nora into the sci-fi section and asks her to help him plan a wedding proposal.
His bride-to-be, Hester, loves Little Women, and Nora sets to work arranging a special screening at the town's new movie theater. But right before the deputy pops the question, Nora makes an unsettling discover -- someone has mutilated all her store's copies of The Scarlet Letter, slices angrily into the pages wherever Hester Prynne's name is mentioned.
The coincidence disturbs Nora, who's one of the few in Miracle Springs who knows that Hester gave up a baby for adoption many years ago. Her family heaped shame on her, and Hester still feels so guilty that she hasn't even told her future husband. But when a dead man is found on a hiking trail just outside town, carrying a rare book. the members of the Secret, Book, and Scone Society unearth a connection to Hester's past. Someone is intent on bringing the past to light, and it's not just Hester's relationship at stake, but her life...
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Nora Pennington owns a bookshop in the small town of Miracle Springs, North Carolina. It's not only a bookshop, it's a meeting place for her friends in the Secret, Book, and Scone Society. While her relationship with her boyfriend Jed is done and finished, she still has June, Estella, and Hester in her life -- three women who are damaged as much as she is, all in their own way. But a surprise soon enters in the form of Deputy Jasper Andrews, who wants to propose to Hester in a special way. When Nora hears of his plans, she's delighted and enlists the help of Estella and June. The proposal, like the town, is going to be magical.
However, before the proposal, Nora is stunned when her employee Sheldon finds copies of The Scarlet Letter vandalized, with the word 'Hester' scratched out in each one. But even this is not as disturbing as when Sheriff Grant McCabe finds a dead man with no identification on his person, but a book by Elmer Freeman, Miss Delphinium. It turns out that Elmer Freeman was a pseudonym for Enid Elton, who wrote eight books in her series. When another of the books turns up in Hester's bakery, Nora begins to suspect something else is going on.
When more of the books start appearing around town, it's apparent to Nora that these all relate to Hester. Could her secret from long ago be found out? Who would be sending the clues? And why now, after all these years? On top of this, a young friend is injured in a car accident, and Nora thinks it could be related. But how can she tell Sheriff McCabe, just when it seems their friendship might be turning into something more? Nora knows she has to act, and turning to McCabe, whom she must learn to trust, might help her find the puzzle pieces and put them together. Or will Hester's life be forfeit instead?
This is the fifth book, and perhaps even the best, in the series It gives us more insight into Hester's past, and shows that the friendship between the four women is a strong bond. When there is a crisis or two, they pull together and act as each other's anchor. It's both charming and heartwarming; it brings a sort of calm to the series, and the want to read the other books. This one is indeed my favorite.
We have a puzzle to figure out, and I did figure it out early on, but watching Nora and her friends put their minds together to save Hester was worth everything. Their determination to keep each other buoyed while they worked through their problems with humor, love, strength, and friendship was the heart of the book.
When the ending comes everything comes together nicely; but at a cost. Some things are never meant to be regained, while others will stay with us forever. Well done, Ms. Adams. Highly recommended.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley but this in no way influenced my review.
More on Ellery Adams's Books: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/a/ellery-adams/
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