A Killer Edition

June 3, 2019
The residents of Stoneham, N.H., a book lover’s dream village, are gearing up for the Great Booktown Bake-Off in Barrett’s charming 13th Booktown mystery (after 2018’s Poisoned Pages). Even Tricia Miles, who owns the mystery bookstore Haven’t Got a Clue, decides to enter the contest, not that she’s a master baker. Boredom has set in since she promoted the efficient Pixie Poe to assistant manager, so Tricia is looking for new hobbies, including gardening. When Tricia and fellow shopkeeper Joyce Widman find the body of irascible Vera Olson in Joyce’s garden, a “pitchfork thrust through its midsection,” Tricia once again turns amateur sleuth. What at first appears to be a matter of tension between Vera and a neighbor leads Tricia to a more serious matter that involves pure greed and would anger a lot of people. Appealing characters and the picture of small-town life offset the weak resolution. Scrumptious cupcake recipes round out the volume. Cozy fans will be pleased. Agent: Jessica Faust, BookEnds.

June 15, 2019
Too much free time leads a New Hampshire bookseller into yet another case of murder. Now that Tricia Miles has Pixie Poe and Mr. Everett practically running her bookstore, Haven't Got a Clue, she finds herself at loose ends. Her wealthy sister, Angelica, who in the guise of Nigela Ricita has invested heavily in making Stoneham a bookish tourist attraction, is entering the amateur competition for the Great Booktown Bake-Off. So Tricia, who's recently taken up baking as a hobby, decides to join her and spends a lot of time looking for the perfect cupcake recipe. A visit to another bookstore leaves Tricia witnessing a nasty argument between owner Joyce Widman and next-door neighbor Vera Olson over the trimming of tree branches that hang over Joyce's yard--also overheard by new town police officer Cindy Pearson. After Tricia accepts Joyce's offer of some produce from her garden, they find Vera skewered by a pitchfork, and when Police Chief Grant Baker arrives, Joyce is his obvious suspect. Ever since Tricia moved to Stoneham, the homicide rate has skyrocketed (Poisoned Pages, 2018, etc.), and her history with Baker is fraught. She's also become suspicious about the activities at Pets-A-Plenty, the animal shelter where Vera was a dedicated volunteer. Tricia's offered her expertise to the board, but president Toby Kingston has been less than welcoming. With nothing but baking on her calendar, Tricia has plenty of time to investigate both the murder and her vague suspicions about the shelter. Plenty of small-town friendships and rivalries emerge in her quest for the truth. An anodyne visit with Tricia and her friends and enemies hung on a thin mystery.

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July 1, 2019
It's early summer in Stoneham, New Hampshire, dubbed Booktown as it is home to several bookstores, including Tricia Miles' vintage mystery bookshop, Haven't Got a Clue. Business is good, and, with her recently promoted manager assuming greater responsibility, Tricia pursues her newfound interest in baking by entering the amateur competition in a celebrity bake-off, as well as seeking a seat on the board of the local animal shelter. She wasn't counting on finding a body. The victim, Vera, and her neighbor, another bookstore owner, had been arguing about an overhanging tree on the fence between their properties, but surely that wasn't cause for murder?or was it? Much to the annoyance of the local police chief, Tricia starts investigating, around her bake-off preparations. When she learns that Vera had been a volunteer at the shelter, Tricia asks about her there but is shown the door. With the intertwined threads of cooking and animal rescue, this cozy will appeal to fans of Joanne Fluke (for the baking) and Linda O. Johnston (for the pets). Recipes from the bake-off included.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)

March 1, 2019

Relieved of heavy duties by ambitious assistant Pixie, bookstore owner Tricia Miles turns her attention to other projects, eventually visiting Joyce Whitman's romance bookstore. There she hears Joyce arguing with a neighbor who later turns up dead.

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