I borrowed this cozy mystery from Amazon’s Prime Reading ages ago. I don’t read on my Kindle very often as I prefer physical books; however, the Kindle is fantastic for traveling and work trainings. It’s probably a good thing that Amazon only lets me borrow 10 titles at a time; otherwise, my Kindle library would be overflowing. The selections are only available for brief period of time, so when I see something I think I will really enjoy while traveling, I add it to my library. I usually only have one space available at a time as I also enjoy reading some of the Amazon Original short stories that I can listen to through my Audible app.

I have to come to really enjoy the cozy mystery genre. For me, they are relaxing, wholesome stories with likable characters. I especially love the ones that take place in bookstores or have a book-related theme. This is my first time reading Lauren Elliott. Murder by the Book is the first in a series titled, A Beyond the Page Bookstore Mystery. Honestly, I didn’t have high hopes for this and reminded myself I had permission to bail if I didn’t like it. So, I didn’t bail because I fell in love with this book!

Addie Greyborne worked with rare books at the Boston Public Library. She enjoyed the investigative part of her job as she got to solve mysteries about the books that came across her desk. Following the tragic murder of her fiancé and her father’s death in a car accident, Addie decided to move to Greyborne Harbor when she was presented with an opportunity for a fresh start. It turns out that Addie has family ties to Greyborne Harbor. Her aunt, whom she didn’t know, lived in a beautiful mansion with an amazing collection of first edition books and antiques. Her aunt also recently died and left everything to Addie.

Addie decided to use the collectibles her aunt left her as inventory to start her own book store, Beyond the Page. She specialized in used and rare books and collectibles. Addie develops a quick friendship with Serena, who owns a tea store next to her book store. Unfortunately, Addie doesn’t receive a warm welcome from everyone in town. Mysterious occurrences begin with break-ins to Addie’s store and home. A copy of Alice in Wonderland is stolen from her bookshop. Things begin to escalate when Serena is arrested for the murder of another downtown merchant.

My mind began to spin as a lot of weird events started happening and Addie was experiencing strange encounters with guests in her store. There are so many layers and players to this murder mystery, I intently paid attention so I didn’t miss a thing. I’m impressed that Elliot weaved such an intricate and complicated plot. The author also explained every detail and left me completely satisfied that the mysteries were solved.

I’m intrigued with the characters of this story and pleased that this a series so I’m able to visit Greyborne Harbor again!

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