Welcome! I hope you and your family are staying healthy, safe and sane. One Perfect Summer by Brenda Novak releases on April 7 along with The Stolen Letter by Paige Shelton and The Haunted Lady by Mary Roberts Rinehart. Murder in the Storybook Cottage by Ellery Adams comes out April 28. It is the sixth A Book Retreat Mystery. I just love this book themed series. Which one of these new books appeals to you?
Death on the Page by Essie Lang has
true crime writer, Savannah Page visiting Bayside Books in Alexandria Bay, New
York to celebrate her latest release. Co-owner,
Shelby Cox is surprised when she hears that the board of directors for Blye
Castle are allowing Savannah to stay in a guest suite over the weekend. It seems that Savannah wants to research the
cold case involving prohibition era rum runner and mobster, Joe Cabana. At the book signing, a woman confronts
Savannah claiming the best-selling author stole her book idea which Savannah
denies. The next day, Savannah signs
books at Bayside Books inside Blye Castle before enjoying her weekend inside
the beautiful historic property. Shelby
arrives at work the next day to learn that Savannah is missing. She is later found at the bottom of a
staircase inside a secret passage that Shelby did not know exist which arouses
her curiosity. With her inquisitiveness stirred,
Shelby begins making inquiries and snooping around the castle. Shelby has additional duties since Aunt Edie
is out of commission. A cat tripped her
up and she injured her knee falling down her back steps. Will Shelby survive another investigation?
Death on the Page by Essie Lang
is the second novel in A Castle Bookshop Mystery series. It can be a standalone if you have not read Trouble on the Books. Shelby Cox co-owns Bayside
Books in Alexandria Bay, New York with her aunt, Edie Cox. They have an auxiliary location in Blye
Castle on Blye Island which is one of the Thousand Islands. It is the 35th anniversary of
their bookstore and Savannah Page has agreed to do a signing of her latest true
crime novel. Savannah also got the board
of directors of Blye Castle to allow her to stay at the castle over the
weekend. The author plans on researching
Joe Cabana, a prohibition mobster, whose murder was never solved. Shelby arrives to open the bookstore on
Sunday to learn that Savannah is dead at the bottom of a staircase in a secret
passage. Shelby is curious about the
secret passages and the author’s death, so she begins asking questions. There are a variety of suspects from the
castle’s caretaker to the author’s fiancé.
Shelby asks questions of people involved in the case despite being told
by her aunt, boyfriend and Chief Stone to stop being a nosey parker. The mystery is straightforward, and readers
will have no problem solving the whodunit before the solution is revealed. When Shelby is not sleuthing, she is working
at the bookstore, visiting friends or her aunt, spending time with Zach Griffin
(the Coast Guard agent she is dating), or indulging in coffee at Chocomania. I
wish the story had contained more action.
I found the pace to be on the slow side (for me). I would like to see Shelby become more mature
especially with regards to her relationship with Zach. It would be nice is the author fleshed out
the main characters (Erica, Matthew, Aunt Edie, Zach). I also wanted more sleuthing at the
castle. I felt the author lost out on an
opportunity to make this an intriguing
mystery with Shelby sneaking around the castle and finding clues in the secret
passages. The ending seemed abrupt and
lacking in a solid conclusion to the mystery (I have questions). Those readers who prefer more cozy than
mystery will enjoy reading Death on the Page.
Death on the Page has secret stairs, chocolate coffee, pocketed objects,
injured individuals, tricky thieves, and a cagey killer.
Death on the Page can be obtained from Amazon* along with Trouble on the Books. Thank you for stopping by today. I will return tomorrow to feature The Runaway Bride by Jody Hedlund. It is the second novel in The Bride Ships series. Now for a little book related joke. . .Why did Shakespeare always write in pen? Because pencils were confusing to him. 2B or not 2B. Take care, stay safe and Happy Reading!
Kris
The Avid Reader
*This
post contains affiliate links.
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