On the surface, the plot sounds simple and direct. Bookshop owner Addie and co-worker/friend Paige travel to Pen Hollow to see what she can find to buy at a library that is closing down. Then it starts to get complicated as she winds up buying a bookmobile, too. The person in charge of delivering it to her, in front of television cameras, no less, is murdered. Then it gets really complicated. Despite the fact Addie and Paige had met the woman for only the first time only an hour or so before her death, they are singled out as the main suspects. And, oh, yeah, she runs into an old boyfriend who just happens to be a best-selling author nowadays.
While I found it a bit of a stretch to believe that any police officer with years of experience would pinpoint Addie and Paige as suspects based on the fact they were from out-of-town, it does set up an interesting story with lots of twists and side-stories. Let's just say it's a good thing that ol' friend now has an accomplished lawyer on speed dial. Ironically, it's Addie's boyfriend Simon who, as coroner, pinpoints the cause of death, pulling him into the area to meet the former boyfriend, Tony. Valuable first-edition and rare books are missing and although Addie saw them in the bookmobile prior to purchase, they are nowhere to be found. Who put them in the bookmobile, which the local police insist was searched diligently? Where did they come from? Where did they go? What is Tony's connection to all this?
While all of this drama is going on, of course life in Greyborne Harbor goes on. Addie's pregnant friend nears her delivery date and seems in a panic. What is going on with Simon? Who is taking care of Paige's child while she is being detained in Pen Hollow? Why can't Addie vocalize the words "I love You"? Why do the clues seem to keep leading to dead ends? Who killed the woman it turns out almost no one in Pen Hollow liked?
All these questions and more..... and, no, I'm not telling. You'll have to read the book. Finding out not just who the murderer is but why her pregnant friend's dash to the hospital seems to have turned into an emergency, whether Addie's dog has created another heart open to a rescue pup, and if that darn bookmobile will ever make it to Greyborne Harbor intact is part of the fun.
Thank you #NetGalley and #KensingtonBooks for letting me evesdrop on Addie's world for a time.
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