Tess Harrow is about to launch her latest book coinciding with the opening of her new bookstore, but instead of the big crowd she was anticipating, Tess gets caught in the crosshairs of another murder in the third By the Book mystery by Tamara Berry, MURDER OFF THE BOOKS.
Tess and her fifteen-year-old daughter, Gertie, are surprised to see Tess’s mother arrive in Winthrop. Bernadette Springer also has a much younger man following her and Tess and Gertie soon learn it’s her new boyfriend, Levi Parker. Unfortunately, Levi Parker is no ordinary man, he is a notorious murder suspect in the death of three previous women. What in the world is Tess’s mother doing with him? As Tess tries to uncover the reason, Levi winds up dead and a famous podcaster snags the town’s attention and starts pointing the finger at Tess’s mother as the suspect. It’ll take a lot of sleuthing, breaking and entering, secret hackers, coolers with fishy money, blackmail, hemlock, and a second killing to get to the bottom of this mystery.
MURDER OFF THE BOOKS is a fun cozy mystery that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Tess is a famous thriller writer and she owns a bookstore. She is a feisty relatable character raising a teenager and dealing with a slightly narcissistic mother. She has two love interests, which adds nice romantic tension, and the love triangle resolves itself by the end of the book. The story is nicely balanced with some funny and light-hearted moments mixed in with all the clues and twists in the mystery. The podcaster, Neptune, is a strong nemesis and the story is entertaining all the way until the thrilling conclusion when Tess learns who she can really trust. MURDER OFF THE BOOKS is a great way to spend an afternoon being entertained by Tess and her friends in the touristy Washington town of Winthrop, where murder comes to visit.
2023 Edgar Award Nominee, Lilian Jackson Braun Prize for Buried in a Good Book
Author Tess Harrow is looking to get back in the town of Winthrop's good graces after she uncovered not one, but two long-forgotten murders. With the perfect plan of combining her new book release with her bookstore's grand opening she'll have the chance to wine and dine the locals and some big press contacts.
But the night before the party, Tess is greeted by a surprise: her mother has come for a visit, with her much-younger new boyfriend in tow…a boyfriend her daughter Gertrude recognizes as the notorious Levi Parker, a man recently connected to the deaths of three elderly widows.
Tess immediately alerts Sheriff Boyd about Levi and his suspicious past, but it's already too late—Levi Parker is found dead and Tess's mother is starting to look like the prime suspect. Bernadette swears she didn't murder Levi, and Tess is doing her best to maintain her mother's innocence, but too many coincidences keep stacking up. With the whole town seemingly against her family, it's up to Tess to get to the bottom of the story before it's too late.
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