Lori C. (dollycas) reviewed Murder Off the Books (By the Book Mysteries, 3) on + 704 more book reviews
Dollycas's Thoughts
Tess Harrow has timed the release of her new book to coincide with the opening of her new bookstore. Her daughter Gertrude has all kinds of food planned too. Now they just need the community to turn out to make the event a big success.
Her mother has made a surprise visit with her "boyfriend" the day before though and that could ruin the whole event. Gertrude recognizes the younger man as Levi Parker, a man that has been linked to three elderly widows' deaths. What the heck is he doing with her mother?
Later, Tess tries to get Sheriff Boyd involved but he is attending to a death at the local hotel. She is shocked to learn the dead man is none other than Levi Parker and his number one suspect is her mother, Bernadette.
Add to that a true crime podcaster comes to town tailing Levi and a "fancy journalist" is in town following Tess around to "get a good look at her writing process". Can she open her bookstore, launch her new book and prove her mother isn't a killer? Or will her whole life blow up and chaos reign?
_____
In this 3rd By The Book Mystery, Tess wants to enjoy the fruits of her labor, a book based on a murder she helped solve and the opening of The Paper Trail. Instead, she must solve another or at least help Sherrif Boyd catch another killer. Tess is a strong main character who can think on her feet and her daughter is an impressive amateur assistant too. Tess's mother, Bernadette held back a lot of information making it pretty hard to keep her out of jail. I enjoyed the way Tess and Gertrude have continued to evolve. The addition of Bernadette added angst and humor in perfect amounts.
The mysteries were complicated with a lot of moving parts and characters weaving in and out. Twists, turns, and a bit of mayhem, along with plenty of suspects kept me guessing from the start. With so much going on, I had to slow down my reading pace because I didn't want to miss any vital clues. Tess had to work hard to untangle this one and she put herself in danger more than I usually like, but "solving crimes is kind of" her thing and things get suspenseful when she does.
Like the previous two books, Tamara Berry knows how to bring the funny. The character interactions and situations can turn from normal to serious to humorous and back again quickly. I found myself giggling quite a few times. There has also been romantic tension simmering for quite a while. This leads to more humorous moments but by the end, I was smiling as the author was taking this relationship I had been hoping for.
Murder Off the Books features a complex mystery and engaging and entertaining characters. Tess still has a lot to accomplish including getting to work on her next book. It seems she is ready to shake things up fictionally and on the homefront. That makes me excited for this series to continue.
Tess Harrow has timed the release of her new book to coincide with the opening of her new bookstore. Her daughter Gertrude has all kinds of food planned too. Now they just need the community to turn out to make the event a big success.
Her mother has made a surprise visit with her "boyfriend" the day before though and that could ruin the whole event. Gertrude recognizes the younger man as Levi Parker, a man that has been linked to three elderly widows' deaths. What the heck is he doing with her mother?
Later, Tess tries to get Sheriff Boyd involved but he is attending to a death at the local hotel. She is shocked to learn the dead man is none other than Levi Parker and his number one suspect is her mother, Bernadette.
Add to that a true crime podcaster comes to town tailing Levi and a "fancy journalist" is in town following Tess around to "get a good look at her writing process". Can she open her bookstore, launch her new book and prove her mother isn't a killer? Or will her whole life blow up and chaos reign?
_____
In this 3rd By The Book Mystery, Tess wants to enjoy the fruits of her labor, a book based on a murder she helped solve and the opening of The Paper Trail. Instead, she must solve another or at least help Sherrif Boyd catch another killer. Tess is a strong main character who can think on her feet and her daughter is an impressive amateur assistant too. Tess's mother, Bernadette held back a lot of information making it pretty hard to keep her out of jail. I enjoyed the way Tess and Gertrude have continued to evolve. The addition of Bernadette added angst and humor in perfect amounts.
The mysteries were complicated with a lot of moving parts and characters weaving in and out. Twists, turns, and a bit of mayhem, along with plenty of suspects kept me guessing from the start. With so much going on, I had to slow down my reading pace because I didn't want to miss any vital clues. Tess had to work hard to untangle this one and she put herself in danger more than I usually like, but "solving crimes is kind of" her thing and things get suspenseful when she does.
Like the previous two books, Tamara Berry knows how to bring the funny. The character interactions and situations can turn from normal to serious to humorous and back again quickly. I found myself giggling quite a few times. There has also been romantic tension simmering for quite a while. This leads to more humorous moments but by the end, I was smiling as the author was taking this relationship I had been hoping for.
Murder Off the Books features a complex mystery and engaging and entertaining characters. Tess still has a lot to accomplish including getting to work on her next book. It seems she is ready to shake things up fictionally and on the homefront. That makes me excited for this series to continue.
Brenda H. (booksinvt) -
Murder Off the Books is the third installment in the By the Book Mysteries series set in Winthrop, Washington and featuring mystery author Tess Harrow and her daughter Gertrude. Tess has decided to combine the grand opening of her new bookstore, The Paper Trail with the release of her latest novel, Fury under the Floorboards. Her latest book is based upon the most recent murder investigation Tess helped to solve, when bones were found in her grandfather's hardware store.
Tess thinks she has everything under control; her best friend Nicki, bookmobile librarian and undercover FBI agent, is helping out as the event planner, Gertrude is cooking the canapes and professional journalist Mumford Umberto is coming to stay with her and do an expose on her life. But, boy is she wrong.
Things start heading downhill when Tess's mother Bernadette Springer makes a surprise appearance and she has her much younger beau in tow, Levi Parker. Levi is recently released from Rikers where he'd been held on suspicion of murdering three elderly, wealthy widows. The next sign of trouble is in the form of Neptune Jones, the famous murder-podcaster who seems to be hot on the trail of Levi. Rounding out the night is Gertie's discovery of a big wad of cash stuffed under the tuna that was flown in from Seattle.
When Levi turns up dead, all fingers are pointing at Bernadette when it's discovered she was friends with one of the murdered widows. Determined to prove to Sheriff Victor Boyd that her mother isn't a killer, Tess finds herself caught up in another investigation.
Another delightful mystery that will have you laughing out loud and Gertie continues to steal the show. Filled with multiple suspects that somehow also seem to tie in with the suspected logging/money laundering scheme that Nicki believes the Peabody family is operating. I can't wait for my next visit to Winthrop.
Tess thinks she has everything under control; her best friend Nicki, bookmobile librarian and undercover FBI agent, is helping out as the event planner, Gertrude is cooking the canapes and professional journalist Mumford Umberto is coming to stay with her and do an expose on her life. But, boy is she wrong.
Things start heading downhill when Tess's mother Bernadette Springer makes a surprise appearance and she has her much younger beau in tow, Levi Parker. Levi is recently released from Rikers where he'd been held on suspicion of murdering three elderly, wealthy widows. The next sign of trouble is in the form of Neptune Jones, the famous murder-podcaster who seems to be hot on the trail of Levi. Rounding out the night is Gertie's discovery of a big wad of cash stuffed under the tuna that was flown in from Seattle.
When Levi turns up dead, all fingers are pointing at Bernadette when it's discovered she was friends with one of the murdered widows. Determined to prove to Sheriff Victor Boyd that her mother isn't a killer, Tess finds herself caught up in another investigation.
Another delightful mystery that will have you laughing out loud and Gertie continues to steal the show. Filled with multiple suspects that somehow also seem to tie in with the suspected logging/money laundering scheme that Nicki believes the Peabody family is operating. I can't wait for my next visit to Winthrop.
