Murder in the Locked Library (A Book Retreat Mystery) by Ellery Adams

Ellery Adams writes a sparkling cozy-  flush with details. I am enthralled with rare books and secrets that have to be kept...well who isn't? This book is loaded with them. The characters will remain favorites once you are introduced to them. Butterworth, the Butler, was one of mine-but he is backed up by a strong recurring cast. I cannot wait to read the other books in this series and I will have my nose buried in Book One to Three next week.

Jane is the Guardian of Storyton Hall along with her two sons. Her Mother and Father live upstairs. Sinclair, who is the Head Librarian, works with clients and is a rare book expert.  Certain aspects that Visitors learn may later be important for clues.  I was fascinated by the details..how to hold a book by cradling it or washed hands versus gloves. In fact, all sorts of technical things are imparted. Are they information or red herrings? Cradling the book is definitely worth knowing for those of us who collect at any rate...  The workers in the soon- to- be- spa area dig up the bones of a man. But how long has he been dead? The book found with him in the grave was unreadable, so, the text might be written with onion juice or some other secret way of writing. But how does this affect Storyton and will there be more deaths?

Secrets, rare books, invisible text, a gutsy heroine and delicious food...how much better can a mystery get? Not much...five stars on this one.


Blurb:

Welcome to Storyton Hall, Virginia, where book lovers travel from near and far to enjoy the singular comforts of the Agatha Christie Tea Room, where they can discuss the merits of their favorite authors no matter how deadly the topic . . .
 
With her twins, Fitzgerald and Hemingway, back in school, Jane Steward can finally focus on her work again—managing Storyton Hall, and breaking ground on the resort’s latest attraction: a luxurious, relaxing spa named in honor of Walt Whitman. But when the earth is dug up to start laying the spa’s foundation, something else comes to the surface—a collection of unusual bones and the ragged remnants of a very old book. The attendees of the Rare Book Conference are eager to assist Jane with this unexpected historical mystery—until a visitor meets an untimely end in the Henry James Library. As the questions—and suspects—start stacking up, Jane will have to uncover a killer before more unhappy endings ensue . . .

“Combines clever clues, a smart and courageous heroine and an interesting setting in a whodunit that will inspire readers to make further visits to Storyton Hall.”

Nun After The Other (A Giulia Driscoll Mystery Book 5) by Alice Loweecey

Alice Loweecey writes a bang-up mystery from the first chapter.  Frank, a police officer and Giulia, who runs a Detective Agency, are on a married, date- night when they hear a scream. They arrive too late to see what happened, but, they are confronted with a dead Nun and a rabid little Chihuahua, who keeps nipping at ankles- while licking the face of Sister Mary Margaret. The Nuns are being terrorized and Eagle Developers is the likely Candidate. But someone is hiring people to paper the windows with smut and calling at all hours. They have had two people break in. Giulia is hired to find out what is going on and stop them being harassed or worse.

Meanwhile, Giulia's brother has an accident at work and is in a coma. Giulia and Frank take his three kids into their small Cape Cod House. Salvatore, who was enough to drive a Saint to leave and did manage to isolate everyone, including his wife and Giulia. Her name is not mentioned in his house.

This book is a combination of fast- paced mystery with lots of humor. The scene in which each Nun quotes a bible verse in order to get the Mother Superior to hire Giulia is laugh-out loud funny. Although it may help if you went to Catholic School as I did. But there are topics worth exploring in the Book too. One is the commercial greed of the Developers working to redo and make huge sums out of the slums. Or the fact the three kids had to hide the fact they slept in one room and were not with their Father because of Child Protective Services. I couldn't decide if I should say a rosary or enjoy the quips. I can tell you I finished this book in one night and laughed a lot. A very enjoyable quirky Mystery I gave it five stars.

My thanks to Netgalley and Henery Press

Blurb:
Nuns and murder and ghosts, oh my! Here comes Giulia Driscoll again, and boy, is she in for it this time.

It all starts when a frenzied Chihuahua leads Giulia and Frank Driscoll to the body of a nun in the street near a convent. The nuns fear they’re being harassed by the biggest developer in town and quickly embrace Giulia as their savior.

Of course, the former nun who exposed the drug ring run by a priest and nun will save their home and discover the murderer.

And of course, Giulia not only takes this job, but also all the other jobs clamoring for her attention. The result: Driscoll Investigations is pushed to its limit.

Then Giulia’s brother falls into a coma and she brings his kids to her house. Talk about a crash course in parenting for pregnant Giulia!

Did we mention the convent ghost? She loves the house, hates the nuns, and chain-smokes. Why couldn’t Giulia’s first honest-to-goodness ghost be shy and sweet?

More importantly, does the ghost hate the nuns—or the developer—enough to indulge in a bit of murder to liven up the afterlife?

Lost Books and Old Bones by Paige Shelton.

Paige Shelton, has written a charming premise with her character, Delaney, who works for The Cracked Spine. This bookstore specializes in rare books and manuscripts. Set in Edinburgh, I loved the fact that it started out with the moody background of Scotland and lots of artifacts.

Sophie and Rena, came into the shop to sell, "an Atlas of Illustrations of Clinical Medicine, Surgery and Pathology" made up of 25 books which are very rare. I, along with Edwin, Delaney's boss, would have had eyes filled with tears at the hand- drawn illustrations. I just wish I had cataloged them at an Archives. Although graphic, they are an amazing example of medical knowledge at the time of the Industrial Revolution.

Several months later...Sophie, Rena, Delaney and Mallory are four girls on the town enjoying the group, "The Mad Ferret"  until Sophie and Rena see Dr. Eban of their Medical School. He is one of the fascinating Professors they have, but slightly eerie in his thirst for Robert Knox, who bought murdered corpses from Knox and Hare. These two were famous killers during the early 1800's. The Medical Students, have a service for the Corpses they work on, and it is held at Greyfriar's Kirk. Dr. Eban invites all of them to the funeral.

He makes it clear that he is fascinated with Edwin's Secret Room, the place where he keeps all his treasures. In fact, he is interested in the scalpel of Dr Knox- which disconcerts Delaney. She is used to denying that the room exists to protect the valuable holdings. But not everyone believes her.

Delaney has a boyfriend who is the proprietor of Delaney's Wee Pub. The sign and her name- she thought was meant to be. Tom met her at The Cracked Spine that night, so that she can look for the scalpel. Her boyfriend of ten months is the romantic interest in the series. The relationship between them is strained by a Reporter hot on the trail of a story, which adds some tension to the plot because of the prior dating of her and Tom.

A murder is discovered. Has it been brought on by the mystery of "The Dark Side," which is aptly protected by a red door? This, of course, houses Edwin's wonderful finds that he keeps for himself. Odd how a myth has spread and everyone is interested in and determined to see it. Is the killer?

So began a multi-faceted mystery with lots to recommend it. I will certainly be reading more of this series and enjoyed the addition of the Hare and Burke murders. Everyone has secrets and that is how I like my mysteries. 

My thanks to Netgalley the opinion is my own.

Blurb:

A delightful new mystery featuring bookseller and amateur sleuth Delaney Nichols, set in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Delaney Nichols, originally of Kansas but settling happily into her new life as a bookseller in Edinburgh, works at the Cracked Spine in the heart of town. The shop is a place filled with curiosities and surprises tucked into every shelf, and it’s Delaney’s job to research the rare tomes and obscure artifacts that people come to buy and sell. When her new friends, also students at the medical school, come to the shop to sell a collection of antique medical books, Delaney knows she’s stumbled across a rare and important find indeed. Her boss, Edwin MacAlister, agrees to buy the multivolume set, perhaps even to keep for his own collection.

But not long after the sale, one of Delaney’s new friends is found murdered in the alley behind the Cracked Spine, and she wonders if there is some nefarious connection between the origin of these books and the people whose hands they fell into. Delaney takes it upon herself to help bring the murderer to justice. During her investigation, Delaney she finds some old scalpels in the bookshop’s warehouse—she and discovers that they belonged to a long-dead doctor whose story and ties to the past crimes of Burke and Hare might be connected to the present-day murder. It’s all Delaney can do to race to solve this crime before time runs out and she ends up in a victim on the slab herself.