Lauren Elliott (1) (1953–2025)

Addie Greyborne is preparing the bookshop for Thanksgiving and the upcoming annual Make It and Bake It Food Market cooking and baking competition. The theme for the competition is authentic Civil War Thanksgiving dinner dishes and desserts. Addie gets a distressed call from her cousin, Kalea which has her rushing to the dress shop. Addie finds a crying Kalea and Kalea’s boyfriend, Jared Munroe dead in the dress shop. Unfortunately, evidence points to Kalea as the guilty party. Addie has show more more questions than answers regarding Jared’s death. Addie needs to work quickly if she is going to prove her cousin’s innocence and unmask the true killer. To the Tome of Murder by Lauren Elliott is the seventh A Beyond the Page Bookstore Mystery. I suggest starting with Murder by the Book which will give you Addie Greyborne’s background. I thought To the Tome of Murder contained good writing and the story moved along at a steady tempo. My main problem with the series is Addie Greyborne. She is not the most likeable character nor her cousin, Kalea (I am not a fan of her at all). Addie acts like she is entitled to information on the case from the police and she treats Marc terribly (Police Chief Marc Chandler is lucky to have escaped Addie’s clutches). Addie does not take it well when no one from the force will share details with her. Kalea is a snake in the grass who I would not trust with my boyfriend or husband. I like Addie’s assistant manager, Paige Stringer. She is a friendly woman who does a wonderful job at the bookstore. I enjoyed the Civil War themed cooking competition (very original) and learning more about Sarah Josepha Hale. Sarah was a remarkable woman who has several key accomplishments. The whodunit is straightforward. I found there to be a lack of suspects which made the guilty party stand out. I kept hoping for a twist so I would be surprised. The reveal answers any lingering questions regarding the crime. I would have liked more action in the book to give it a little more pep. I enjoyed the descriptions of Greyborne Harbor. They really bring the scenery alive. To the Tome of Murder will have you craving Thanksgiving dinner with all the fixings with the Civil War culinary competition, the slain suitor, a crying cousin, beautiful bookmarks and bookends, an unendurable expert, and a curious crime. show less

After sixteen years away, Shay Meyers moves back to her home town, divorced and broke. A woman she hardly knew, Bridget Early, left her an estate which includes a tea and psychic shop. Shay was not expecting to also inherit a dead body on the shop’s roof. Can Shay identify the murderer and what her connection is to the tea shop?

STEEPED IN SECRETS was an awesome start to a paranormal cozy mystery series. I flew through the book, eagerly turning pages to find out what would happen next to show more Shay, hoping she’d figure everything out. There were so many twists and turns that kept the pacing going and the reader engaged. I absolutely loved Spirit, the dog. He was just the best supporting character and added so much to the book. Throughout the story, I kept wondering if there would be chemistry between Shay and Liam. I liked how the paranormal aspects were folded in. It was enough to make it fun and interesting without being so over-the-top that I had to greatly suspend disbelief. I liked the ending but at the same time had some unanswered questions. I typically don’t read books of a series back-to-back but in this case, I jumped right in to the second book.

I’d highly recommend STEEPED IN SECRETS to cozy mystery fans, especially those who enjoy paranormal twists. This is the first book of Lauren Elliott’s A Crystals & CuriosiTEAS Mystery series. I look forward to reading the rest. show less

After being left at the proverbial altar, Addie Greyborne retreated to England for a year to recoup and decide what to do with her life. She left her bookstore, Beyond the Page Books and Curios, in the capable hands of her manager, Paige. But the year has ended, and Addie has returned home, eager to welcome the upcoming Christmas holiday and Paige's Christmas Day wedding.

Then she receives an unexpected and surprising visit from Detective Inspector Noah Parker, whom she butted heads with show more during her time in England. She's not going to let him know how this has shaken her, since seeing him again has taken her breath away. But he delivers a special book for her from the owner of the bookshop she worked for there -- a signed edition of The Gift of the Magi -- and she's going to donate it to the local museum for charity.

When she shows up at the museum she meets one of Santa's Elves who seems to be putting the donations into boxes, and tells her to just add her donations to everything else. Barely questioning it, she does so, then discovers later that everything has been stolen, and the elf is nowhere to be found.

To make matters worse, a dead body is found the next day on the cliff by the lighthouse. Who is the man? Is he connected to the burglary? But when it turns out to be someone who's connected to a friend, and local police chief Marc Chandler is removed from the case, she has no help. At least until Noah Parker is temporarily assigned to the murder case. But the DA and the mayor want it solved quickly. With only one suspect in line for it, Addie has to work fast, and behind the scenes. Will she be able to find a killer before her friend is jailed? Or will everything go terribly wrong and she won't be able to help at all...

This is the eleventh book in the series, and I must say that it is my favorite to date. I am glad that I decided to continue reading this series after one book disappointed me (not going to say any more about that!). While I am glad to see Addie back home in Grayborne Harbor, I miss her friends she left behind in England. But she didn't leave all of them -- Detective Inspector Noah Parker is on holiday, and he's helping with the murder case. Her feelings for Noah are confusing, and she wants to see him and not see him, if that makes any sense.

With Marc off the case, everything needs to be hush-hush or both Noah and Marc will permanently lose their jobs, leaving Addie to do as much as she can by herself. She's also trying to manage her store and keep Paige from going crazy with a mother who's turned into a Motherzilla. Paige also needs her help if her wedding is to go off nicely; Addie's in a pickle and knows it.

Looking for clues, she's pretty much on her own and what she can glean from both Marc and Noah, which isn't much. She's positive the suspect is innocent, and trusts her gut instinct, which is more than not right. However, knowing it and proving it are two different things.

The book kept me interested throughout, and I loved the fact it takes place during the Christmas season. (That's just because I love the holiday, myself). Anyway, watching Addie take what she has and put it all together at the end is the best part of the book. This woman is intelligent, unflappable, and able to take care of herself in a pinch. She can also think on her feet. and that's the best kind of amateur sleuth. It makes Ms. Elliott's books are wonderful; with a taut storyline and a climax that's worth waiting for.

I will not say any more about the book in order not to spoil it for anyone (I don't think I've given any spoilers so far!) I will say I loved the intrigue, Addie's actions and her thinking, and the way the book ended. I look forward to the next in the series. Highly recommended.

I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley but this in no way influenced my review. show less

While still nursing a broken heart, Addie Greyborne remains tucked away in the British moors working at the Second Chance Books and Bindery in West Yorkshire. Her dear friend, Tony, is soon to be married and has found a rough and battered early edition of Wuthering Heights, which he meticulously re-binds to give to his future bride. All is well until the local lord claims that the book is the one which was stolen from his library years before. Meanwhile, while Addie is out for a stroll on show more the moors with her Yorkipoo, Pippi, the two encounter a young woman's body which appears to have fallen to its death. It just happens to be an unknown "guest" who had been seen at the Tony and his beloved's engagement party. Can Addie again save the day and remove the specter of "murderess" from over Tony's fiancé's head and free her from the local jail?

This tenth book in the Beyond the Page Bookstore Mystery series is charming and well written. Author Lauren Elliott, has deftly crafted a whodunit with twists, turns and many a red herring. The dark and brooding moors create an air of anticipated nefarious doings. It is good to see Addie maturing from the earlier books in the series. However, this reader still finds her willful yet indecisive and dangling the emotions of friends at the end of a stick. The supporting cast remains charming and I loved their interaction with one another as well as their grace with Addie. I look forward to reading other stories by this author and of a maturing Addie within this series.

I am grateful to Kensington Publishing for having provided a free e-copy of this book through NetGalley. Their generosity, however, did not influence this review - the words of which are mine alone.

Publisher:‎ Kensington
Publication Date: May 21, 2024
No. of pages:‎ 320 pages
ISBN:‎ 978-1496735157 show less