To the Tome of Murder

To the Tome of Murder by Lauren Elliott is the seventh A Beyond the Page Bookstore Mystery. I suggest starting with Murder by the Book which will give you Addie Greyborne’s background. I thought To the Tome of Murder contained good writing and the story moved along at a steady tempo. My main problem with the series is Addie Greyborne. She is not the most likeable character nor her cousin, Kalea (I am not a fan of her at all). Addie acts like she is entitled to information on the case from the police and she treats Marc terribly (Police Chief Marc Chandler is lucky to have escaped Addie’s clutches). Addie does not take it well when no one from the force will share details with her. Kalea is a snake in the grass who I would not trust with my boyfriend or husband. I like Addie’s assistant manager, Paige Stringer. She is a friendly woman who does a wonderful job at the bookstore. I enjoyed the Civil War themed cooking competition (very original) and learning more about Sarah Josepha Hale. Sarah was a remarkable woman who has several key accomplishments. The whodunit is straightforward. I found there to be a lack of suspects which made the guilty party stand out. I kept hoping for a twist so I would be surprised. The reveal answers any lingering questions regarding the crime. I would have liked more action in the book to give it a little more pep. I enjoyed the descriptions of Greyborne Harbor. They really bring the scenery alive. To the Tome of Murder will have you craving Thanksgiving dinner with all the fixings with the Civil War culinary competition, the slain suitor, a crying cousin, beautiful bookmarks and bookends, an unendurable expert, and a curious crime.

cozy-mystery, amateur-sleuth, murder, murder-investigation, small-business, small-town, bookseller, family-dynamics, friendship, law-enforcement, dog**** The series continues to fully engage and has realistic characters but each book has enough clues and references to make it a successful stand alone. Tourist season is about over and Thanksgiving is near when Addie's cousin Callea finds her fiancee's murdered body on the floor of her shop. Callea is a mess and even gets arrested, but Addie doesn't believe it and goes into sleuth mode. More is discovered about the motive and opportunity and a good whodunit is what I've read here. I requested and received a free temporary e-book copy from Kensington Books via NetGalley. Thank you.

An entertaining read.