A Beyond The Page Bookstore Mystery Book 10
Author: Lauren Elliott
Genre: Mystery
Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book (Audiobook Available)
ISBN #: 9781496735757
Kensington Cozies
320 Pages
$8.36; $6.99 Amazon
May 21, 2024
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Although enjoying her extended stay working at Second Chance Books and Bindery in West Yorkshire, Addie still feels adrift -- far from home, her friends, and her own beloved bookstore, Beyond the Page Books and Curios. The engagement party of her dear friend, Tony, at Milton Manor promises to be a joyful distraction. But there's an ill wind blowing at the estate. When Tony presents his fiancee with a special copy of Wuthering Heights as an engagement gift, the lord of the manor insists the book was stolen from his library...
Things go from troubling to tragic when Addie takes her Yorkipoo, Pippi, out for a walk on the moors and stumbles across the body of young woman. When the police suspect Tony of foul play, Addie vows to get to the bottom of what's going on. But it's a twisted, treacherous path to the truth and Addie will need to watch her every step...
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Addie Greybourne fled her home in Greybourne Harbor, Massachusetts, when she discovered that her life was a lie. Her great-aunt wasn't who she knew. Her fiance, Simon, deserted her on their wedding day. Saddened and hurt, she traveled to England to visit her novelist friend Tony Radcliff, who not only gave her a place to stay, but she secured a job at Second Chance Books and Bindery. She's loved her quiet life in Yorkshire and made new friends, even though she knows she'll have to return home soon.
Tony is having an engagement party for himself and his fiancee Hailey, and even though Addie isn't looking forward to mingling with people she doesn't know, she's going for Tony's sake. But things don't run smoothly. First, the copy of Wuthering Heights that Tony has procured for Hailey as a gift is discovered to be stolen from the lord of the manor's library. As if that's not bad enough, when Addie returns home and takes her dog Pippi for a walk, she discovers a young woman dead not far from her cottage.
But she notices that the elaborate necklace the woman wore is missing. While she convinces the police of her own innocence eventually, they turn their attention to Hailey. Now Addie is once again involved in a murder, and the local DI warns her away, but we know Addie better than him. She's determined to find the truth, and hopes that she can find the killer before Hailey is sent away and the true fiend gets away with murder...
This is the tenth book in the series, and I will say that it took me a while to read. The reasons are my own: I have read all the books in the series, but I did not enjoy the ending of the last one, so I needed to gear myself up to see if I was interested in reading another. I will not list the reasons why I did not enjoy the ending of the last one, but I will say that it didn't make sense to me, as people have dealt with far worse. End of conversation.
Saying that, I was pleasantly surprised how this one began and carried on. Addie is learning more about herself, and actually moving on with her life as it is. She finds a worthy opponent in DI Parker, which had interesting moments. She has unexpected allies in her quest for the truth in Tony's employees, who have been flown over for the party and need to remain during the investigation, so she's not alone.
The mystery centers on actually two of them: how did the lord's book end up in a London bookshop where Tony bought it, and what happened to the necklace, which also seems like a gift that Tony once gave to Hailey and disappeared suddenly? Both seem to have once disappeared twenty years ago; recently reappeared, then the necklace disappeared again.
Addie is positive that digging into the previous murder will explain the present one. But does DI Parker agree? It seems he's not interested in her theories, even if she knows she needs to trust her gut feelings.
When the ending comes, it's a tad bittersweet, but everything comes together nicely, and the tale was intriguing and worth reading. I look forward to the next in the series. Highly recommended.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley but this in no way influenced my review.
More on Lauren Elliott's Books: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/e/lauren-elliott/
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