chez_jae: (Books)
On Spine of Death (By the Book Mysteries, #2)On Spine of Death by Tamara Berry

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


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For the second Sunday in a row, I rewarded myself for cleaning the house by finishing a book. It was On Spine of Death by Tamara Berry, and it's the second book in the "By the Book" mystery series. The main character is bestselling author, Tess Harrow.

Now that Tess has decided to stay in the small town of Winthrop, in the cabin she inherited from her grandfather, she turns her attention to renovating her grandfather's old hardware store in hopes of turning it into a book store. During work, bones are discovered buried in the floor, reopening a 30-year old cold case. When a second set of bones are found in the hardware store, Tess realizes everyone in town thinks her grandfather was a serial killer. Desperate to clear his name, she calls upon a fellow author, horror writer Peter Oblonsky, to lend his expertise in forensics. In the meantime, FBI agent Nicki is assigned another agent to help with the case she's building against the Peabody brothers, and Tess' teenage daughter, Gertrude, begins job shadowing at the morgue. When the bones disappear from the morgue, and a book that seems to be based on the unsolved murders is found and lost, the race is on to solve the case before anyone else is murdered.

A good, fun read with lots of action and distraction. I kept thinking I had things all figured out only to discover how wrong I was. Characters were wonderful, the plot was smooth and engrossing, and I enjoyed the humor throughout.

Favorite lines:
♦ "This woman has more lawyers than a Harvard class reunion."
♦ Tess swore that no matter how many times she cleared out the teenager's room, the empty plates and cups multiplied by the dozens. It was like living with a feral-rat child.
♦ With the possible exception of psychopaths--or werewolves--very few crimes strayed from the norm.
♦ "If it looks like a cow pie and smells like a cow pie, there's no need to taste it and find out for sure."
♦ "We can't have a dinner party in the middle of a murder investigation."
♦ "I'd like it stated for the record that I in no way, shape, or form condone the use of a teddy bear to catch a murderer."
♦ Edna was the type who could milk the drama out of a butchered cow.


Good book, exciting and funny. Four stars.
chez_jae: (Archer book)
Buried in a Good Book (By the Book Mysteries, #1)Buried in a Good Book by Tamara Berry

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I finished reading Buried in a Good Book last night. It's the first in author Tamara Berry's "By the Book" mystery series, starring best-selling writer, Tess Harrow.

Recently divorced, Tess is looking for a fresh start and some inspiration when she takes her teenage daughter, Gertrude, to the isolated cabin that Tess inherited from her late grandfather. Tess is charmed by the rustic location, but Gertie is less than pleased at the lack of electricity or WiFi. Not long after they arrive, there are several explosions nearby, followed by a deluge of fish guts...and a human arm. Tess suddenly finds herself involved in a real murder investigation, and the sheriff is disconcertingly similar to her fictional detective. Sheriff Boyd is exasperated with Tess' zealous efforts to dog his investigation, but she won't be dissuaded. Soon Tess is chasing down clues and leads, adding her "expertise", and getting caught up in the local hunt for Bigfoot. If nothing else, she's certainly getting inspiration for her next novel.

This story was wonderful. Quite a bit of it was silly and madcap, but not distractingly so. Tess was a delight and someone you'd like to know in real life. Other characters were well-written, from Gertie's teenage angst and mood swings to Sheriff Boyd's taciturn disapproval. The plot was fast paced and twisty. If I have a complaint, it's that Tess was almost always engaged in sleuthing. Nevertheless, I was engrossed in the story.

Favorite lines:
♦ "I bet it's Bigfoot."
♦ She had a feeling Sheriff Boyd wouldn't appreciate that particular anecdote, even if the detective had uncovered a corrupt maple syrup mafia with the setup.

This is the second cozy mystery I've read that referenced a maple syrup mafia. Does such a thing actually exist?!
♦ "Did you physically see someone take him?" // "No, but that doesn't mean anything. I don't physically see the air around me, but it's there."
♦ "You're using an unstable ladder for the sole purpose of getting a ladder upgrade?"
♦ "If I had to take a guess, I'd say the toucans got him."
♦ People with cats could never get rid of all the hair, no matter how hard they tried.
♦ "They're in cahoots together." // "No one has used the word cahoots since 1888."


An unexpected delight. Four stars.

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chez_jae

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