Bookmarked for Death: A Booktown Mystery

Bookmarked For Death is the second book in the Booktown mystery series. 'Booktown' is the nickname for the village of Stoneham, New Hampshire, which revitalized itself by inviting outsiders to open specialty bookstores for the tourist trade. So far as many of the villagers are concerned, the outsiders are unwelcome, no matter how many improvements the increased revenue has brought. Our heroine is an outsider, Tricia Miles. Her bookstore is Haven't Got a Clue, which specializes in vintage mysteries. Her assistant is Ginny Wilson and her other employee is a retired grocer, gentleman-of-the-old-school William Everett. Tricia's gray longhair, Miss Marple, is the bookstore cat. Tricia's older sister, Alicia Miles (she shed her fourth husband's name of Prescott when she shed him), has The Cookery bookstore. They both live in loft apartments above their stores.Tricia is having a book signing for Zoë Carter, a local woman who became a best-selling author. Ms. Carter had moved away to North Carolina, but she's back to sell her Stoneham house. Her assistant is Kimberly Peters, the niece she took in ten years ago after the girl's mother died. If Kimberly has any manners, she's not using them. This is the last stop for Zoë's first book tour, which Kimberly talked her into. The fifth book in the bestselling Forever series is going to be her last. That was her intention. She didn't intend to be murdered during the signing.

So really I give this a 3.5! I liked Tricia much better in this book. The mystery was great!

Tricia is having a book signing with an author who had hailed from their small town. But things don’t go so well, at least not for the author, who is found murdered in the bookstore’s bathroom. Tricia, of course, feels compelled to sleuth out who committed the heinous act, but doesn’t exactly deduce correctly who the killer is, in spite of the clues she uncovers. This fast paced tale will delight and amuse you.

Shortly after the end of a book signing by local author Zoe Carter, Tricia Miles, the owner of I Haven't Got a Clue bookstore, finds Carter dead in the store's bathroom. Now her store is a crime scene, and the sheriff Wendy Adams won't let Tricia open shop, nor stay at her home above the shop. And due to Sheriff Adams not liking Tricia, the store is likely to remain closed for several days. So Tricia decides to take matter in her own hands and investigate herself, if for no other reason than to reclaim her shop. But who could have done it? The niece/assistant that Carter had fought with or someone else completely. With Carter's death comes several questions such as does her embezzlement scandal from years before have anything to do with it. Or maybe the killer is a jilted author who really wrote Carter's best-selling series. But as Tricia investigates, her life is put into danger.

This is the second book in the booktown cozy mystery series and I enjoyed it, and I must say that the premise of a town full of specialized bookshops sounds wonderful.

Read on July 11, 2013Listened for Fun (Borrowed from the Library)Overall Rating: 3.00Story Rating: 3.50Character Rating: 2.50Audio Rating: 4.25 (not part of the overall rating)First Thought when Finished: Tricia seemed like a totally different character than in the first book for 3/4 of the story--the end is what saved it for me!Story Thoughts: There was a twist y'all! A twist that I both enjoyed and yet couldn't see coming no matter what. While I love a good twist, I do at least like to be able to go back to the story and go "OH I should have caught that". That being said, I think the twist really made the story gel together. Overall this was just a fun case to follow which is what I love about cozy mysteries.Character Thoughts: I really liked Tricia in the first book (Murder is Binding) but for some reason she just annoyed the ever living crap out of me in Bookmarked for Death. First, I don't get her relationship with Russ. She seems to not trust his motives for anything while her motives are very similar to what she blames him for doing. Her relationship with the Sheriff is horrid (they don't like each other) but in one instance I really sided with the Sheriff (which I didn't do at all in the first book). Tricia was listening to the blotter, followed a break-in call, beat the cops there, went in, and then acted prissy when the Sheriff pointed out that she needed to quit interfering with crime scenes. That scene just annoyed me. The end though made me think I will continue to the series. Tricia seemed to eat a little crow so I am hoping she goes back to how she was in the first book in the next one. Sorry but I was just really disappointed with her!Audio Thoughts: Narrated By Cassandra Campbell / Length: 8 hrs and 29 mins Cassandra did an excellent job once again! This was a rather short audiobook and perfect for a commute or housework type of listen. Cassandra's emotion and pacing were excellent for all the characters. I recommend this series in audio form.Final Thoughts: Despite my dislike of Tricia in Bookmarked For Death, I am continuing the series with hopes of Tricia past!

I do enjoy this series as they are based in NH in a town with many, many bookstores. It screams homey to me and I love the cozy atmosphere it creates for my minds eye.

Tricia Miles, proprietor of the Mystery book store Haven't Got a Clue, invites the local writer to her shop for a book signing , but things go terribly wrong when she finds the writer dead in her restroom. Since the local sheriff is not her greatest fan, Tricia has her shop shut down for nearly a week, so she uses the time to try to find the murderer.Love the character interactions and will be reading the next one soon for Bibliophile month.

It was a good read and still really enjoy the characters. My only disappointment was that I picked the murderer by 2nd chapter. Will probably still continue to read the series.

Nothing will put a damper on a book signing like the guest of honor dying in the bathroom, but it's just Tricia Miles' luck that that's what happens when famed mystery author Zoe Carter agrees to a book signing, despite her reclusive tendencies. With her shop closed as a crime scene, Tricia feels she has no choice but to do some investigating of her own. However, she soon finds that the instincts of an armchair detective aren't always up to snuff.

***Possible spoilers*** The first book was a great read. It’s fun, it’s quick, and it’s light. Same goes for this one as well. It may help reading them in order, as it would be nice to know who’s who and how were they introduced in the book. What I love the most about these particular series is Booktown itself. It’s such a quaint little place and it’s written up so nicely it makes you feel like you want to visit this place yourself. The characters themselves give the setting a nice tone even though they’re a little more than just cookie cutter characters. Tricia is likable and her staff are always nice to read through. Angelica can get on your nerves like any sibling would. However when it’s all said and done they add to the quaint setting. The mystery itself was good. Although the crime is done ‘off stage’ things that happen to Tricia are a little more graphic than what I’m used to seeing in cozy mysteries. Which is not a bad thing. You’d have to wonder though, if it’s like this in every book, Tricia is in for a lot of surprises. There’s a mild twist in it but not enough to wow the reader. I don’t like what’s going on between Tricia and Russ. In fact I don’t really see the appeal in Russ at all. He’s not that great, he doesn’t have much of a personality and what’s happening between him and Tricia isn’t really fireworks either. I’m not expecting something incredibly romantic between the two of them. But, some chemistry would be nice at this point. There’s nothing like that between them. Overall, it’s still good for a fast quick read. Cozy mystery lovers would enjoy this one. I’m a sucker for the recipes in the back as well.

Book on CD performed by Cassandra CampbellIn book number two in the Booktown Mystery series Tricia Miles is celebrating Haven’t Got a Clue’s first anniversary. But the party is marred when a reclusive author is murdered in the bookshop's bathroom. Of course, she can't help but investigate. This is a typical cozy mystery scenario, with an amateur sleuth who cannot keep out of the investigation. There’s a significant subplot involving Tricia’s sister Angelica and her inability to keep help at her Cookery shop. The plot stretches credulity, but I like the many references to mystery authors sprinkled throughout. I certainly see why it’s become a popular series. Cassadra Campbel does a fine job of narrating the audio version. She has good pacing, and is able to give each character a sufficiently unique voice so that there’s no confusion as to who is speaking.

Still enjoying this series, still have a few reservations about it. I wasn't sure what was bugging me at first but I think its the interaction between the sisters that is most bothersome. I love the setting of a town with multiple bookshops, I love that the main character runs a mystery bookshop. She and her sister however tend to get on my nerves. I'll keep reading because, so far, I've been able to get past a lot of their bickering.

The second book in the Murder in Three Volumes. Definitely love the bookstore setting. A well written book that I enjoyed more than the first one now that I've gotten to know some of the characters.

This was a fun cozy mystery where which takes place in a small town in New Hampshire where the folks have really made their town a book junkie's Heaven. A reknowned authoress visits the "Haven't Got A Clue" mystery book store for a book signing and all mayhem breaks loose. As the female police chief is not in any hurry to solve the mysteru or allow the proprietess to re-open her bookstore anytime soon, Tricia takes matters into her own and tries to solve the murder mystery. In the process of tracking down clues, she nearly succumbs to the authoresses fate. The ending was a complete surprises. Enjoy!

Book 2 in the Booktown Mystery series. Tricia Miles owns the mystery bookstore, Haven't Got A Clue. A well known mystery writer who also happens to be a local citizen comes to the store on a national tour and is murdered in the store bathroom. It's Tricia that finds the body and the sheriff thinks she could be the perp. Knowing the sheriff isn't going to work too hard at finding other suspects, Tricia has to solve the mystery herself. A fun, quick read, I'll enjoy picking up with the characters again in book 3 when another cozy mystery suits.

In Barrett's mystery novel, bookstore owner Tricia Miles is hosting a book signing for bestselling author Zoe Carter to celebrate the bookstore's anniversary. Before long the police and the media are demanding answers when the author is found dead in the washroom. The prime suspect appears to be the author's mousy niece and with an uninterested sheriff, Tricia takes the investigator on herself to solve the mystery. An excellent sequel in A Booktown Mystery series. Tricia Miles is one tough slueth!

Quick fun read. The local author is found dead in the bathroom at a book signing in Trisha’s NH bookstore. Feeling that the sheriff is incompetent and has a grudge against her, Trisha starts investigating the case herself to speed the investigation along so that she can re-open her shop. The author’s niece who acts as the personal assistant is the prime suspect but Trisha uncovers lots of townspeople who hated the author, Zoe.

Tricia Miles owns Haven't Got a Clue mystery bookstore in the book town of Stoneham, New Hampshire. At her booksigning event at the store, local author Zoe Carter turns up dead. Tricia doesn't have a lot of confidence in Sheriff Wendy Adams' ability to solve the case so she begins her own investigation. The subplot of a geese problem has a couple of great moments, but overall I think it detracts from the book. This is just a fun, cozy read. Most veteran cozy readers will be able to determine who the perpetrator was mid-book, but I don't think it will mar their enjoyment of the book as they see the plot unfold. With a cat named Miss Marple, what's not to like?

In this book (the second of the Booktown Mystery series), Tricia Miles holds a signing for mystery author Zoe Carter. But before the event ends, Zoe is found dead in the bathroom of the mystery bookstore, Haven't a Clue. The main suspect is Zoe's niece Kimberly, who was a holy terror during the signing and was even sent home early by Zoe because of her behaviour.Unlike the first book, when Tricia starts investigating because she's the main suspect, her impetus for investigating this time is because her bookstore gets shut down by the town sheriff as a crime scene. Because of events in the first book, there is no love lost between Tricia and the sheriff, and Tricia is convinced that the sheriff will drag her feet on the investigation just to keep the store closed and hurt Tricia. Tricia quickly uncovers a viable motive (it appears that Zoe probably didn't write the books herself), but finding suspects (including whether Kimberly could have done it) is another matter.During this book, Tricia is also balancing her budding romance with Russ, the local weekly newspaper writer, and her relationship with her sister Angelica, who has opened a cookbook store next door and is dating a man Tricia can't stand.This book had great pacing, and I enjoyed the plot. The subplot about the geese was a little tedious at times, but also representative about what happens in small towns with lakes, so I didn't mind as much as some other reviewers seem to have. I like how the relationships between some of the characters are developing as the series has continued. It's a great little cozy, and I'm looking forward to the third book.

This is the second in the Booktown series, and it was quite an enjoyable cozy to my way of thinking. I did figure out who had done the deed about half way through the book, but that did not lessen my enjoyment of the story. I like the characters for the most part and that is what makes a good cozy. Tricia Miles almost finds herself getting killed as she tries to hunt down the person who murdered the local author in the bathroom of her bookstore. I love reading bibliophile series, and was quite pleased to find this one. I will certainly continue with it.

A cozy mystery set in a mystery bookshop set in a town full of bookshops...what more can a reader want? What you get here is a cozy mystery with well drawn characters, both the good and the bad, a good mystery and a good reason why the main character, Tricia, needs to solve the murder. The sheriff hasn't much talent, but has a lot of animosity towards Tricia, so isn't in a hurry to clear Haven't Got a Clue as a crime scene. Tricia needs her shop open so she can sell books and make a living. AND be able to get back to her life and home since she lives above the shop. I'm looking forward to book four BOOKPLATE SPECIAL and #4 CHAPTER AND HEARSE. One is on the nightstand and the other is on its way from Cynthia at High Crimes Mystery Bookshop. I like watching Tricia and her sister bicker and get along, like sisters can and will do. And I want to visit Stoneham, New Hampshire!Five a-town-full-of-bookshops-is-cool beans.....

This is the second book of a nice cosy series that takes place in a "book town" in New England. The idea of a town stuffed with specialty bookstores is a big part of the charm in this series, though Barrett's character development is very strong. I like the very human voice of her protagonist, and the mystery itself was sufficiently tricky to hold my interest.In this installment, Trisha is compelled to solve the mystery of an author's murder. A sweet added point of interest in the series is a series of delectable recipes for dishes referenced in the mystery itself. I really like the character Sherriff Wendy Adams and hope we see more of her in future installments of the book town mysteries.

Second in the series finds Tricia Miles celebrating her one year anniverary owning her bookshop. She decides to host a book signing featuring author, Zoe Carter.Zoe is found dead in the washroom and once again, Tricia must solve the crime.Another fun read with recipes added. A pleasure to start and continue a series with an engaging protagonist and a quirky cast of characters.

This is another nice installment to this series. This start off with Trish (who owns a bookstore that just sells mysteries) is hosting an author signing featuring Zoe, a famous mystery author. As the signing ends, the Zoe can't be found. It turns out that she was found in the bathroom, and she's been murdered. It's up to Trish and her friends to solve the murder and bring the murder to justice. Bookmarked for death has some very nice plot twists and turns. It's nothing major, but just enough to make this a cozy mystery. The characters are interesting enough that you want to read about them and get involved with their lives. Also, the character have a lot of depth to them, and makes them leap off the page at you. I liked when the murder was found, and their motive, that was a nice twist. I will admit, that amount of time that was spent talking about the goose droppings kind of got on my nerves a bit. I also liked how it had recipes in the back. Over all, if you start this series (or start with the second book in the series) I can pretty much promise you won't be sorry. I can't wait to read the third book, just to see what Trish and her friends are up to.

Trisha is celebrating the anniversary of the opening of her bookstore in Stoneham, the so-called Booktown due to the Chamber of Commerce inviting bookstores to fill an area of town to bring in new tourism and brighten up the town a bit. She is hosting a booksigning for the one-and-only Stoneham celebrity in town, Zoe Carter, a hugely successful author. Toward the end of the event, Zoe is discovered by Tricia as a murder victim on her premises. Anyone who read book #1, "Murder is Binding", will recall that Sheriff Wendy Adams is definitely not friendly nor helpful toward Trisha and forces her out of her store for several days to do her "investigation". Trisha takes refuge in her sister Angelica's Cookbook store/living quarters.With many people attending the event, there are of course many suspects to go through, and with Tricia anxious to get back into her home and store, and with lack of trust in the Sheriff, she begins her own investigation. During her investigation she finds out more than she wants to know about Zoe, her niece and assistant, friends, and acquaintances around town and soon draws special attention to herself in a near miss accident. The book has many twists and turns, as did Ms. Barrett's first book and is an entertaining cozy read. It seems that every time Tricia thinks she is getting somewhere, someone else gets hurt with no apparent reason and that includes herself. I love the camaraderie of the booksellers and book clubs, the feel of small town unspoken separation between the originals and the newcomers is comical in its truth. For a light-weight humourous read, fun yet focused, this series fits the bill. 4 1/2 stars.

This is a quirky mystery set in a typical NH town. Zoe Carter, a local author, is murdered in the restroom of Haven't Got A Clue. Tricia sets out to clear her name and solve the murder in the process.The standout is Sheriff Wendy Adams who does not do much of the investigative work herself and keeps Haven't Got A Clue closed for business as long as she can. There is also a subplot of Canadian Geese taking over the lane of businesses closest to the water and leaving their droppings for business owners to take care of.All business gets taken care of and in the process we come to care about the people of this quirky town. I give it five stars because it never gets too complicated and moves quickly. The ending line is classic. Great little read of a book.

This is the 2nd book in the Booktown mystery series. It is set in a fictional NH town, but it is based on a nearby town and uses a lot of local color.I started the series because the first book was for a RL book group read. I enjoyed it enough to continue with the series. Let me say up front I don't like Cozies. They remind me of the pink, plastic, formulaic romances where everything is prefect and ends just so. In spite of that I enjoyed these. The POV of the series is a young woman who owns the mystery bookstore in town. Of course she is always involved in the murder that is the main mystery. True to Cozy form, the sheriff in town hates her, and refuses to do 'real ' investigations. That aspect I find to be too strong and not realistic.The real strengths of the book are the characters. The POV and her sister have a rocky past, and still annoy each other. In the stories they work at their relationship, with some success and some failure, and it isn't always the sister who is to blame. I like how its handled and how it develops. I also really like the supporting characters, especially a coupe of elderly folks, and a quirky Texas transplant.It counteracts the young, well groomed, gap clad men and women who often people these things.I will be on the look out for the next one.