I have been super fortunate to have made (online) friends with author Lauren Elliott, specifically in reference to her "Beyond the Page Bookstore Mystery" series. I follow her Facebook page and have shared all of my blog reviews with her as I have read through her series. While not necessarily a fan of "cozy" mystery series, I have thoroughly fallen in love with Elliott's Beyond the Page series, as well as Lena Gregory's Bay Island Psychic series. Both series have strong female sleuths, well-plotted and engaging mysteries, and characters that you can't help but be drawn into their lives. Recently, I had the good fortune of winning a Facebook page contest, for which I received an ARC (Advance Reader Copy) of Elliott's ninth book, which is not set to hit bookshelves until later this month (April 25th, if I recall correctly). Elliott not only personalized my ARC, but she also sent along an autographed bookmark for her series, which I treasure now (and will use every time I read one of her books!). So, since I had this treasure in my hands before the release date, I felt it only right that I open the pages and find out what kind of trouble Addie Greybourne gets herself into this time!
Elliott lulls you into a sense of security with the opening chapter, as Addie prepares to walk down the aisle and marry the man she has fallen in love with, Simon. It's all sunshine and rainbows, and Addie is all aglow as she makes the last minutes plans for Pippi to be cared for while she and Simon are on their honeymoon. The church is perfect. The flowers are perfect. The gown is perfect. The day is perfect. Addie's biggest worry is whether she left the price tag on the bottom of her shoes and did anyone see it. Nothing could possibly go wrong! Yeah, okay, right - this is a murder mystery series, after all, so what did you expect? Did you really think the wedding would go off without a hitch? In pure soap opera fashion, the minute the minister asks if anyone has any objections or knows of any reason why these two should not be married....
Well, from that moment forward, everything you ever thought you knew about some of these characters changes! BIG TIME!
I so want to talk about those changes, but it would be unfair to those who have not read the book yet to spoil it. But let's just say that the changes that occur have a major effect on two of the main players in this series, and both changes happen to center around the murders in this book. Yes, murders, as in two - one in the present and one that is decades old. And while Addie tries her best to keep her nose out of one of them, she has no choice but to focus her attention on the other - because it happens to be connected with a first printing copy of The Velveteen Rabbit that she finds in her attic. A first printing that is inscribed to her great-aunt's granddaughter - which makes no sense, because as far as Addie was aware, her great-aunt had no children, which is why she left the house in Greybourne Harbor to her. This leads Addie on a quest to solve a murder that happened over fifty years ago.
But don't think Elliott leaves her alone with that one mystery to solve. Oh, no. Soon enough, Marc comes calling on Addie to help him with the present day mystery - one that actually had its set up in the previous book when Addie was in Pen Hollow - and kudos to Elliott for setting that up (although, in all honesty, I knew some of the things mentioned in the previous book would come back into play, I just didn't realize it would be so soon!). Just like in this book, it's obvious that there is a set up for a murder in the next book when Addie takes off for .... well, let's just say she's headed out for another great adventure!
I do love the idea of Addie's search for a killer from over half a century ago, and the solution did come as a surprise. And the fact that the solution to that mystery also leads to the revelation of the killer's identity in the present - well, that was just icing on the cake! Elliott did a magnificent job of tying the two murders together, all the while dealing with the fallout and drama of what is happening in the personal lives of these characters. And if you thought this series had more than enough supporting cast, guess again! Elliot introduces her readers to two new characters who are likely going to be around for a while - a young sixteen year old boy named Mason and Marc and Serena's young cousin, Nikki, who takes on a part-time position at Beyond the Page Books (and just in time, too!). I look forward to seeing how these character mix things up (and how you know they will eventually be involved one way or another in some future murder mystery!).
This book literally has everything! Two murders! A wedding! Two long-hidden paternity revelations! A cover-up! A betrayal! A rekindled romance! Lies! Secrets! Basically everything a great soap opera has to attract viewers, this book has in spades! There's so much I want to say about this story and some the things that take place (like the fact that with one event, it opens the door for something I've been wanting for a while to happen - whether it will or not, I guess we'll have to wait and see - the last book gave a very small hint that there was a possibility, and this book makes that possibility a reality, but we'll see what Elliott has in store).
If there's ever a book in this series to read, this is the one!
RATING: 10 first edition sets of Winnie-the-Pooh books out of 10 for rocking the reader's world with some of the most unexpected events all wrapped around a superbly-plotted murder mystery!
As a fellow ARC reader of this book, I loved and felt this review, including the desire to talk through the events in the book with someone who has read it. I had to laugh when I read your bio. In 2021, I retired as a senior paralegal/employment law specialist after 35 years in the profession (Dallas, Texas).
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