In MURDER OFF THE BOOKS, Tess Harper, bestselling author, proves to be a determined investigator. But, as she gets ready for the grand opening of her new bookstore, The Paper Trail, she finds herself distracted by a surprise visit from her mom, Bernadette, along with Mumford Umberto, a journalist with plans to shadow the writer for an article.
Complicating issues include the fact that the journalist will stay at Tess’s home for the week he intends to follow her around. Then, there’s the young Levi Parker, who comes along with Bernadette, acting like her boyfriend. Levi is somewhat notorious as he is connected to the deaths of three recent widows. And 'Murder, at Last’ podcaster Neptune Jones is on Levi’s trail, hoping to catch him “tracking a new victim,” as she puts it.
Lots of action as the folks visiting Winthrop start interacting. First, Levi Parker is found dead, and Bernadette becomes the leading suspect. Then, Neptune traps Tess into an interview for her podcast in which the two women trade accusations about who may be responsible for Levi’s murder: Tess’s mother and a person of interest or Neptune, who admits that Levi “was dangerous in more ways than one."
Sheriff Victor Boyd announces that Hemlock was used to poison Levi. As Tess begins her investigation, she visits Edna, who maintains a fabulous garden where she finds no Hemlock but engages Edna in a discussion about poisonous plants. Next, Tess discovers Mumford is not solely interested in the interview with her, and his distraction seems to be related to his financial quandary. This discovery comes just after Tess’s daughter Gertrude finds $100,000 in cash under fresh tuna, at the bottom of a cooler.
Tamara Berry makes it tricky to follow all the threads she weaves into this impressively conceived mystery, but she pulls it off at a suspense-driven pace. The complex elements include red herrings, intriguing twists, and well-developed characters. MURDER OFF THE BOOKS, the third By the Book Mystery, firmly establishes Ms. Barry as an author not to be missed.
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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