A Murder Like No Author (A Main Street Book Club Mystery #3)

Author:    Amy Lillard

Genre:     Mystery

Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book

ISBN #:    9781492687832

264 Pages

Poisoned Pen Press

$8.99; $6.15 Amazon

November 30, 2021

⭐⭐⭐⭐

It's movie time in Sugar Springs and the whole town is pitching together to get the historical Coliseum Theater ready for the event of the year -- the premiere of Missing Girl, local author Wally Harrison's bestselling novel turned film.

Thrilled to bring tourists to Sugar Springs, the town comes together to host the late author's event.  But when a stranger arrives, boasting he has definitive proof that Wally didn't write Girl, well, drama leaps from the page into real life.  Mishaps start taking place around the theater -- and then a stranger is discovered dead in his hotel room right before his press conference.

Can Arlo and her Friday Night Book Club sleuth out the killer and solve the mystery before the town's Hollywood dreams go up in smoke?

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Arlo Stanley stayed in Sugar Springs, Mississippi when she was sixteen, leaving her hippie family who traveled from town to town.  She's put down her roots, owning both a home and a business; a bookstore and coffee bar with her best friend, Chloe.  Then there's the Friday Night Book Club -- a trio of elderly ladies, Fern, Camille, and Helen, whom Arlo calls 'Elly,' since she lived with Helen from the age of sixteen to twenty-five.  These ladies helped solve the murder of Wally Harrison, a local author whose book is being made into a movie, premiering in Sugar Springs.  Now these ladies think they are super sleuths, after helping with not one but two murders being solved, and they're off again...

When the body of one of Helen's guests at her inn is found dead in the theater they're renovating for the premiere, she's afraid she's going to be a suspect.  Arlo assures her that's not the case, and then they're sure it's going to be Wally's ex-girlfriend and mother of his child, Chloe, or his ex-wife, Daisy.  So the women are into the sleuthing game again, much to the consternation of Arlo and the displease of the chief of police, Mads, who thinks Arlo should control them.  But that's out of the question, as they do what they want, and Arlo just tries to keep them out of too much trouble.  But when an accident befalls someone, and more accidents take place in the Coliseum. it's looking like a killer might just get away with murder...

I have read the previous two books in this series and I really loved them.  I know that I've said I abhor love triangles, and I really do; but it is different in this series.  You'll have to read the series to find out why, but I guess I will say that I am leaning towards Sam, as he seems more outgoing and fun.  Trust me, a man who can make you laugh is worth more money than anyone has.  The brooding look has never done it for me (but that's my opinion and you'll all have your own!)

At any rate, I did know who the murderer was the minute they stepped onto the page, but I do read a lot of mysteries, so there's that.  The mystery itself was done very well, and the clues were there, but we, along with Arlo and the ladies, had to put them together, which was fun in itself.

The only thing I didn't understand is why if the town was getting the Coliseum ready, why were the three ladies doing all the work?  These are women who are over eighty, and I don't see how they could get down on the floor and have no problem getting up again.  I have problems, and I'm decades younger than them.  So that was the only thing that really bothered me.

Other than that, the book was very good, and the descriptions of everything going on were indeed well written.  We are given a view of a small town just trying to keep that small-town-feel, and the characters are becoming more defined as we go along.  At the end, when the killer is revealed, the reasons why are rather convoluted, but then again the mind of a murderer isn't normal, anyway.  I do feel that they were written believably, and I did enjoy the book quite a bit and will continue with this series.  Read this if you get the opportunity; better yet, start with the beginning book and read all three, even though this can be read as a stand alone.  Recommended.

I received an advance copy from the publisher and NetGalley but this in no way influenced my review.

https://www.amazon.com/Murder-Like-No-Author-Mysteries/dp/1492687839/ref

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4276923506

More on Amy Lillard's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/l/amy-lillard/

A Murder Between the Pages (Main Street Book Club Mysteries #2)

Author:    Amy Lillard

Genre:     Mystery

Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book (Audio CD Available)

ISBN #:    9781492687801

Poisoned Pen Press

320 Pages

$6.39; $6.07 Amazon

November 24, 2020

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

It was only a few months ago that the ladies of Arlo's Friday Night Book Club -- Fern, Camille, and Helen -- solved the murder of the renowned author, Wally Harrison.  So when they select Wally's bestseller, Missing Girl, for their next discussion, Arlo is hopeful it will be the end of their mystery hunt.

But since their recent success as sleuths the crew officially see themselves as a women's mystery club, and they're convinced Missing Girl was inspired by a 50-year-old case.  It's a case from their own Sugar Springs, Mississippi -- the disappearance of Mary Kennedy -- and Arlo can do little to stop the book club ladies from investigating.

But what starts out as a fun hunch quickly turns into a very real cold case murder mystery when a young girl is murdered in the exact place the women believe Mary went missing all those years ago.  It's clear the two cases are connected -- and the mystery book club is determined to find answers.  With Arlo's help, they just may be able to crack the case.

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Arlo Stanley moved to small town Sugar Springs, Mississippi when she was sixteen and tired of her parents' hippie lifestyle.  Since then, she's put down roots and opened a bookstore and coffee bar with her best friend, Chloe.  She's tried to put her past behind her and live in the present, but it's not easy with two ex-boyfriends muddying the water.  

The bookstore hosts the Friday Night Book Club, which has more or less turned into the Anytime They Feel Like It Book Club, with three elderly friends, Fern, Camille, and the woman who cared for her until she grew up and moved out on her own, Helen.  These three had some success a few months ago when they solved the murder of author Wally Harrison, a local boy who moved away and became a successful author.  They've decided to read his book, Missing Girl, and have come to the conclusion that the book is about a fifty-year-old mystery itself: that of Mary Kennedy, who went missing after leaving the wealthy Lillyfield estate and was presumed murdered.

But now they want to investigate the murder to see if they can come up with clues as to who did the deed.  Their way in is Arlo, who has been asked to come to the estate for a book donation, but she emphatically refuses until they wear her down.  While there, a young woman falls from a second story balcony, and they think it's an accident, until the police chief lets it slip that it was a murder.  Now they want to know who killed the young woman and why.  

But with no access to the estate, the mystery of Mary Kennedy still looming around them, and Camille's disappearances to meet a new beau, the women have a lot on their plate, and Arlo has her hands full trying to keep them in line.  Will they find a killer or will someone get away with murder?

This is the second book in the series and I found it just as delightful as the first.  I found only one thing that bothered me, which is in a spoiler at the bottom, so if you haven't read the book, please don't read the spoiler.

While Arlo is trying her best to rein in the three ladies, they're having none of it and of course she's dragged along on their escapades, hoping to keep them out of jail and/or danger; none of it is doing much good anyway.  They have their own minds, and it's no help that the book store's upstairs tenant, private detective and Arlo's ex-boyfriend Sam Tucker, seems to encourage them to do what they want.

The estate's owner is disabled by a stroke, so she can't help them, so the ladies just investigate on their own, coming up with what they consider clues, and go on their merry way.  It's an hysterical ride as we listen to their conversations and are grateful that we aren't part of any of it.  These women just rattle on, making their case to Arlo, and she really doesn't have any say in the matter, even if she does want to leave it all up to the police.  Never gonna happen with these three.

When the ending comes, the climax is done very well and it all comes together nicely tied up in an interesting package.  This is where my question comes in, so this is why you will have to read the book first.  But never fear -- there are no cliffhangers, and while I was fairly sure who the murderer was early on, I was glad to see that I was not disappointed in my supposition.  All in all, it was definitely satisfactory, and it also gives a teaser to look forward to in the next book.  Highly recommended.

One thing did not make sense to me after reading the book: If we know Mary survived and wasn't murdered, which we do because her daughter said how Mary told her who her father really was, then why wouldn't Joe's conviction be overturned? Pam could verify that her mother hadn't been murdered, and therefore, he should have been exonerated and allowed out of prison as a free man. Didn't anyone else notice this? I haven't read the third book as of yet, but I would like to see this mentioned in a future book and not left the way it was.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Murder-Between-Pages-Street-Mysteries/dp/1492687804/ref

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4275127857

More on Amy Lillard's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/l/amy-lillard/

Can't Judge a Book by Its Murder (Main Street Book Club Mysteries #1)

Author:    Amy Lillard

Genre:     Mystery

Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book

ISBN #:    9781492687771

Poisoned Pen Press

320 Pages

$7.99; $6.15 Amazon

October 29, 2019

⭐⭐⭐⭐

As Sugar Springs gears up for its all-class high school reunion, Mississippi bookstore owner Arlo Stanley prepares to launch her largest event: a book-signing with the town's legendary alum and bestselling author, Wally Harrison.  That's when Wally is discovered dead outside of Arlo's front door and her best friend is questioned for the crime.

When the elderly ladies of Arlo's Friday Night Book Club start to investigate, Arlo has no choice but to follow behind to keep them out of trouble.  Yet with Wally's reputation, the suspect list only grows longer -- his betrayed wife, his disgruntled assistant, even the local man who holds a grudge from a long-ago accident.

Between running interference with the book club and otherwise keeping it all together, Arlo anxiously works to get Chloe out of jail.  And amidst it all, her one-time boyfriend-turned-private-eye returns to town, just another distraction while she digs to uncover the truth around Wally's death and just what Sugar Springs secret could have led to his murder.

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Arlo Stanley moved to Sugar Springs, Mississippi when she was a teenager, tired of having moved around the country with her hippie family.  The woman who became her guardian still watches over her, running the inn that Arlo once called home.  She, along with two other elderly women in the community, make up the Friday Night Book Club, held at Arlo's bookshop.  Arlo and her best friend Chloe opened the bookshop and coffee bar two years ago, and are doing their best to stay in the black.

Their best option for that is the fact that a school alumni named Wally Harrison is returning to town for the class reunion, having become a successful author.  He's due to do a book signing at their store the following Sunday.  But unfortunately, it's not going to happen.  Wally's body is found out side the store, and it's at first suspected he committed suicide.  But when all things point to a homicide, Chloe is arrested for the crime and now Arlo and her book club ladies are determined to find out who killed Wally.  In a surprise move, Arlo's other ex-boyfriend (the first being police chief Mads), has returned to town as a private investigator, and the ladies enlist his help (even though Arlo protests).  Now Arlo has to find a killer -- not knowing whether it's his wife, his assistant, or one of the locals who knew him -- and try to keep her personal life just the way it is.  If only things were that easy...

This is the first book in this series, and I have not read this author before, so I really didn't know what to expect.  To tell the truth, I did think the book started out slow, and there were a couple of times I put it down in the beginning to do other things, which isn't how I like to read books.  I usually read them in one sitting.  But I pressed on, and as I did, the book became more interesting.  Maybe it was all the background on everyone, which I know that we need to have, but I have never had the patience for it, preferring to learn a little at a time, but then, that's one me, not the author.

At any rate, I do like the setting of the book -- a small town in Mississippi, and the fact that Arlo didn't lose her job in a big city and come running home penniless or from a bad relationship.  Her relationship problems were much more than that, and I look forward to seeing how she deals with them in the future.  Most people are broken; it's how we learn.  But what you do to move forward is your own choice.

Then there's the mystery itself, which is written very well.  While Chloe sits in jail, catered to by the local women (it's complicated but worth reading), Arlo is gathering clues (that she does turn over to Mads, which I like); but when he doesn't listen to her most of the time, she works to find the truth of Wally's death.

While Arlo is never in great danger, it is no big deal, as she puts the pieces together one by one and when she comes to the conclusion of who the killer is, it's a very interesting one as we watch the pieces fall into place.  I did like this book quite a bit and I will be reading the second in the series to watch how things progress in Arlo's life.  Recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/Cant-Judge-Murder-Street-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B07VVT2LFF/ref

Goodreads:      https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4164979590

More on Amy Lillard's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/l/amy-lillard/