Lucy Arlington

Lila Wilkins finally has the life she’s been dreaming of - a job at a literary agency, a new home, and a new boyfriend. She should be content, but she’s not. She’s worried about her son Trey whom she’s allowed to live in a commune, hoping he’ll want to eventually go to college. But she has a lot on her plate right now; the agency is hosting a book and author festival and Lila is going to be busy for the weekend.

What she doesn’t expect is to come face-to-face with someone who show more resembles her so closely they could almost be twins. The woman, Melissa Plume, is a New York editor who’s attending in the hopes of finding a new author or two. But when an ominously menacing man is staring at Lila, and just as suddenly places a raven feather on her desk, she’s shaken slightly and wondering what it’s all about.

When she learns later that Melissa has been murdered, she’s sure it’s the strange man, and she’s also sure she knows his identity. But if she does, will she chase after him and only put herself in danger? Lila’s sense of justice comes to the forefront, but unfortunately, the killing is quite over yet...

This is the second book in the series, and it’s barely improved over the first. Lila is a contradiction in herself: in one scene, she’s hiding in a closet from a killer, and in the next she’s convinced her friend Makayla to go find a killer. Who does that? Lila is practically hysterical through the entire book, and I was beginning to wonder if she’s not better suited for reading childrens’ books since she obviously doesn’t have the temperament to read mysteries of any kind. They seem to set her off in imagining things.

Then again, there’s the issue of Trey: in the last book, Lila happily sent him off to live in a commune, even though he’s only seventeen, but when it turns out that there are nefarious dealings going on in that commune, she wants him out of there. Gee, do you think if she had said no in the first place there never would be any problem with her worrying about him?

Why the murders occurred didn't make any sense to me, and it's in a spoiler below:

https://joannesbooks.blogspot.com/2018/05/every-trick-in-book-novel-idea-mystery...

The spoiler is on my blog, and it contains the reason why people were killed, so if you want to know, read it, otherwise forgo this.

Which brings us back to the fact of her almost-boyfriend. I say ‘almost’ because the only time they’re spending together is when she’s calling him to save her from something and he kisses or hugs her. I would guess that cops don’t really do that unless it’s a dire situation (like she’s just been rescued from a burning building). Every single time they’re practically making out. But then again, I don’t understand why Dunston doesn’t have a homicide division and regular cops investigate murders...they wouldn’t; they’d import detectives from other close townships. So why, oh, why, is a street cop acting like a homicide cop and running an investigation? As it is, he’s a not-homicide-cop heading an investigation; making out with his girlfriend every time he sees her; allowing her to see confidential information; and allowing her to be part of the investigation. Okay, then...

I would have enjoyed liking Lila more, but she just goes around investigating the murders without any real reason to do so: it wasn't a friend or relative, it never impacted her life in any way; she just seems to be extremely nosy and wants to play detective. She also rarely goes to work and when she does she finds a reason to either get coffee or leave altogether. Does she really want this job or does she want to become a police officer? Unfortunately, this book had too many problems and too many unbelievable scenarios. Perhaps the next will be better. show less

Played by the Book was my introduction to the Novel Idea mystery series. Heroine Lila Wilkins works at the Novel Idea Literary Agency. I enjoyed learning about what such agents do as Lila goes about her duties.

Ms. Bentley Burlington-Duke isn't the easiest boss to work for, but I've had much worse ones. She wants to go all out to promote the first book of a popular TV show host, Damien York. Damien may be Franklin Stafford's client, but Lila is expected to help. One way is to let her garden show more be featured in the annual garden walk.

Although Lila hasn't worked on her cottage's garden in quite a while, things aren't hopeless. Her psychic mom, the Amazing Althea, knows she's needed. Lila's son Trey, who has survived his freshman year at college, even manages to line up a few friends for the price of pizza and cold drinks. Too bad about that skull found under a bush....

It's not easy to get her boss to understand why Lila's garden can't be featured, but she finally accepts a lot of digging and crime scene tape as a valid excuse. Good thing there's someone else willing to be featured.

The bones have been in Lila's yard for decades. She hopes the previous owner, currently living in a nursing home, can help her put a name to them.

Then a sweet old lady known for her prize roses is murdered. Her friend is certain the stepson did it so he could sell his father's land. Lila's keeping an open mind.

Meanwhile, Lila's gentleman friend, Police detective Sean Griffiths, has been kept too busy to see her. She loves him and knows he loves her, but she's pretty upset about it.

The killer was very easy to figure out, but I had fun with the characters, so I didn't mind.

Cat lovers, there's a sweet orange cat named Eliot (for George Eliot) with what's likely to be a recurring role. (Yes!)

Dog lovers, there's only a brief scene with an adorable puppy for you. show less

Because I'd read book four, Played by the Book, first, I was already spoiled for a few revelations in book three, Books, Cooks, and Crooks. I still enjoyed it, except for two things: Why didn't heroine Lila Wilkins or her cop beau, Officer Sean Griffiths, ask an obvious question after the first incident? No one seemed to have thought to save the vomit left in another scene, let alone have it analyzed. Neither omission made Lila or the Dunstan police look good.

In this entry, Novel Idea show more Literary Agency has put together a 'Taste of the Town' festival, which includes authors who have written about food. Lila loves chef Klara Patrick's show, 'Tales From the Table'. Her new book, My Grandmother's Hearth, is coming out the same day as that of another celebrity chef, Joel Lang's, Fusing Asian. Three more celebrity chefs who are also Novel Idea clients are Charlene Jacques (boo title?), Leslie Sterling, author of Over the Top, and Maurice Bruneau, author of Flavor is Everything. (Bruneau is available in case one of the chefs can't perform. Good thing he's on hand.) A chef who owns a St. John's Bistro in two big cities, Bryce St. John, is the handsomest. His book, Samplings From St. John's, isn't new.

Doug Corby, famous food critic, has had the joy of his new book becoming a 'New York Times' bestseller. A Foodie's Diary: Meals Worth Remembering (and some not so much) sounds interesting. Because I'm a fan of old cartoons, I like the fact that he twirled his mustache in chapter eight.

The festival, aside from murder, sounds wonderful. I'd have loved to have attended the food from children's literature segment. I don't know if I'd have cared for the foods prepared to honor famous lovers, but Joel Lang's summary of the Chinese tale, 'The Butterfly Lovers' was my favorite.

Among other eateries in Inspiration Valley, I wish I could visit their ice cream parlor, the Snow Queen. In fact, there are so many delicious-sounding dishes described that you might want to make sure you read this book with a full stomach.

If you're yearning for the romantic, you'll enjoy the actions of Makayla's secret admirer. The scene where he revealed himself to Lila's beautiful friend was special!

There aren't as many tips for aspiring authors in this entry, although there is a cautionary tale. Poetry lovers will be given some poets' names and there's an author recommendation for Tolkien fans.

Now, alas, I must wait for book five.

Notes:

Warning -- chapter 1 contains a spoiler for Agatha Christie's Miss Marple book, At Bertram's Hotel.

See chapter 2 for a charming story about Big Ed of Catcher in the Rye sandwich shop/café and Nell of Sixpence Bakery, two regular supporting characters.

A tour of the Marlette Robbins Center for the Arts appears in chapter 3, although a display honoring that author is described in chapter 2.

See chapter 11 for what Lila said Makayla was to Inspiration Valley and MaKayla's reply.

See chapter 14 for how Flora & Brian Merriweather got their two 17-year-old cats, Skimbleshanks & Fiddle (short for Firefrorefiddle).

See ch. 16 for an anonymous poem quoted that one need not be a mother to appreciate. show less

First Line: By the middle of October, the heat and lassitude of a Southern summer had finally loosed its hold over the quaint, artsy town of Inspiration Valley.

Everything's coming up roses for Lila Wilkins. Perfect boyfriend. Perfect house. Perfect job. Now a full-time literary agent for the Novel Idea Agency, Lila's been put in charge of some of the details for the upcoming Book and Author Festival in Inspiration Valley, North Carolina. She's looking forward to finding some talented new show more writers, but what she does find is the body of a New York City editor who bore an uncanny resemblance to Lila herself. When an author is killed, Lila has a feeling that the two deaths are linked-- and she just may have the manuscript that proves her hunch.

Having enjoyed the first book in this series, Buried in a Book, I looked forward to reading the second outing of Lila Wilkins with a great deal of anticipation. I certainly wasn't disappointed. This is a cozy series with layers, and it's a delight to peel each one back slowly.

There's a fine group of characters led by Lila herself. Her son, Trey, has asserted a measure of independence since graduating from high school, and instead of going straight to college as Lila had hoped, he's been working as part of a commune. Her mother-- who has her own business as a psychic-- is both blessing and curse to this single mother. Lila's friends and co-workers round out the cast with quite a variety of personalities and attitudes.

The mystery is a strong one in Every Trick in the Book. The creepy, pulse-raising killer is seen in flashes throughout, but what's truly puzzling is said killer's true identity and motivation for the crimes.

The thing I've grown to love the most in this fledgling series is the fact that its setting of a literary agency is more than a thin veneer used to hook readers before a fast segue way to a murder. I actually feel as though I'm learning what goes on behind those doors. In this book, more is learned about how to get a book ready for submission as Lila reads manuscripts and makes suggestions for changes to the writers. We also get to see Lila contacting editors to whom she's trying to sell the books. She's doing her best to make dreams come true, and it's fun to feel as though you're in on the process.

As hard as I try not to be any sort of snob when it comes to my reading, I think I am... a bit... when it comes to cozies. For some reason I don't seem to rate them "five star" reads as compared to the other mystery subgenres in which I regularly indulge. Cozies always seem to me to fall on the lighter, fun, read-in-an-afternoon category as opposed to the books I tend to wave under people's noses and insist they read. I think that's always been a reason why this subgenre never gets taken seriously by either the majority of the reading public or the world of publishing.

I'm thrilled to say that lately I've read two cozies that are making me rethink my attitude. Every Trick in the Book is one of them. Yes, this series may be set in a perfect little village dedicated to the arts, but there's real depth here. The characters are what you'd find in any cozy worth its salt, but there's a richness to them that you don't always see-- they face problems beyond finding out whodunit, and they are proud, contributing members to their community. The murders aren't just lessons in deduction, they point out real and oftentimes heartbreaking problems. And the setting? It's not just a marketing tool.

Every Trick in the Book is a cozy that "I-only-read-cozies" readers will love, and one that readers like me-- who love every subgenre from cozy to hard-boiled-- will sit up and say, "Hey... now this I like. A lot!" I can't wait for book #3 in the Novel Idea series. show less