Proof of Murder

Proof of Murder by Lauren Elliott
Book #5: Beyond the Page Bookstore Mystery Series
Source: NetGalley and Kensington Books
Rating: 4½/5 stars

Addie Greyborne just never seems to be in the right place at the right time. In her twoish years in Greyborne Harbor, she’s been pulled into three murder investigations, seen her best friend accused of one of them, met two intriguing men, and been generally off kilter since arriving in town. With hope in her heart, Addie is looking forward to a stretch of good and quiet where she can focus on her business, her growing relationship, and her burgeoning friendships.

And then Addie arrives in the wrong place at the wrong time!

With nothing but good intentions, Addie volunteers to help an old family show more friend get ready for an impending local auction. With her appraisers’ hat on, Addie sets to work and discovers some beautiful and very rare books that will surely bring a fortune at auction. Thinking she’s done nothing but a good deed, Addie leaves the site looking forward to participating in the auction the next day. As the next day dawns and Addie arrives at the auction site, she finds herself, once again drawn into a murder, only this time, Addie is the prime suspect.

In months and investigations past, Addie has been able to rely on her relationship with the police chief to help her through difficult times. This time, Marc is not only adamantly and angrily against her, but his new girlfriend seems to have a huge grudge against Addie and is looking to put her behind bars. With few people to rely on and trust, a very hurt Addie drags out her trusty murder board and begins to put the pieces together.

As always, the evidence and clues lead Addie down a long and winding path that takes her from the present to the distant past and through the lives of a troubled family and their dilapidated home that is now considered haunted. What’s more, the house is the site of the impending auction and for weeks, valuable items have been going missing and is the site of the murder Addie is accused of having committed. What Addie uncovers is a sordid tale of lechery, deceit, and murder that has left at least one person with nothing but revenge and retribution on the brain. To be sure, Addie is up to her neck in the mess and if she doesn’t uncover the identity of the real killer, she may be spending the next several decades behind bars.

The Bottom Line: I feel like this series has really hit its stride and I hope to continue seeing books of this quality. As with the previous books, the mystery is suitably complicated and interesting to have me turning pages like a mad woman. I absolutely love the combination of the past meets the present and that is prevalent in this book. I also like all the complicated relationships currently in Addie’s life. She is really rolling in emotions in this book and it made for a great secondary plot line that FINALLY brought out some real anger in Addie. I loved seeing her mean side especially towards those who more than deserved it. In all, a cozy mystery series that I have been impressed with and hope to see continue in a similar manner. show less

Addie Greyborne owns a bookstore that deals in both new and rare books, and lives in a Queen Anne Victorian she inherited from her late aunt. She wants to attend an estate sale, but her friends don't want her to go, insisting the place is haunted. Refusing to believe in ghosts, Addie does go and meets an old friend who's conducting the auction. While there, she runs into her cousin whom she hasn't seen in ten years, and also offers to help appraise the remaining books when the hired appraiser seems to be over her head.

During the appraisal, Addie discovers several rare first editions, especially a magazine from 1887 that carried A Study in Scarlet, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's public introduction to Sherlock Holmes. She tells her friend show more Blake, who's running the sale, and leaves. The next day she returns for the private sale, coming early to help set up, and she and Blake discover the appraiser in the vast library -- dead. She also notices the books are missing and cheap replicas have been put in their stead. The police don't think it's a murder, but Addie knows it must be, and the theft is connected somehow.

It doesn't help that police chief Marc Chandler, who was recently involved with Addie, has returned and he's treating Addie like a suspect in the thefts and, if it's proven, murder. Addie has only herself and her friends to depend on to solve this crime, and it will take all of her wits to get her out of becoming a part of the past herself...

This is the fourth book in the series, and I will say that I liked it much better than the first three. Addie isn't so petulant in this one; she's beginning to act like the adult that she is, so that's a positive change in the books. However, I really didn't care for Marc in this one. Instead of thinking logically, which means taking into consideration everything he knows about Addie personally, he acts like a total jerk in most of the book, and it seemed to be nothing more than revenge-laden. He never went to bat for her once, and he knows her as a person. She's helped him solve murders in the past, and he should have taken that into consideration and at least listened to her theories as being plausible. It was as if one Marc went on vacation and a different one returned. It didn't make me happy, to say the least.

At any rate, the plot was a very good one, with red herrings thrown everywhere and the true killer not being shown until close to the end. When it all came together, it did so nicely, with Addie giving us a rather humorous conclusion to it all. In the end, I enjoyed the story and so will continue on with the series. show less

Another really great book in the series. Addie is excited to hopefully find some more old books for her bookstore at a local estate sale brokered by Blake, a long-time friend of her father. The sale is taking place at Hill Road House, a beautiful old home rumored to be haunted by the ghost, or ghosts, of those who were murdered there years before. Serena and Paige are both none too happy that Addie plans to even step foot in the house, but she brushes off their fears about ghosts and she shows up the day of the broker's preview and is quite surprised to find her cousin, Kalea, whom she hasn't seen in years. While trying to get a look into the library to see what might be offered at the sale, she finds her friend, Blake in an argument show more with the woman completing the appraisals for the sale. It seems the appraisal for the library is not yet completed and they are frantic to get it done. Addie offers her services to help appraise the books and her cousin offers to help as well. They spend the next several hours poring over the collection and cataloging everything in the appraiser's computer. Addie thinks her exhaustion after so much intense work must be making her think she saw an apparition at the top of the stairs as she leaves for the day because surely she didn't just see a ghost! The next day Addie returns for the sale, only to find the door to the library locked from the inside. She is with Blake when he has the handyman get the door unlocked and they enter the library together only to find the appraiser dead at the desk. Things just don't add up about her death and things get stranger and stranger as books have disappeared from the collection and been replaced by lesser valued copies. Addie finds she isn't the only one who has seen things that she can't explain, but is a ghost to blame for the sightings and possibly for the death? Of course she decides to investigate even though Marc tells her to stay out of things and his new partner/girlfriend, Riley, is none too happy to have her around. Riley not only doesn't like having Addie around, she outright accuses her of stealing the missing books and is trying to pin the appraiser's death on her as well. Simon is trying to find the cause of death to clear Addie and Addie is working hard to not only clear her name, but to find out what really happened in that locked room. It's an homage to the locked room murders of Agatha Christie and it is well done. The story moves along at a good pace, there are plenty of interesting characters, missing books, and even potential ghosts! What's not to love about this story! show less

Local bookshop owner Addie Greyborne is excited to see a preview of a local mansion's estate sale, due to knowing the right people. The book is intriguing in several ways--there is a missing cousin, haunted mansion, rare Sherlock Holmes editions by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and a locked room murder! If it sounds busy, it is, but the story moves quickly as Addie is in turn questioned and then utilized for information about the books and state of the room. Her personal life takes up a bit of the story too, I hope that all settles down and everyone can be friends.

Addie Greyborne, the bookshop owner in Greyborne Harbor still isn't fully accepted by the locals so when she has visited an estate sale in the town and is one of the people who finds the appraiser dead, suspicions are rampant and Addie is forced to try to discern what happened before she is blamed.
An interesting locked room murder with "ghosts" that take rare books and scare others to death!

Fun series, looking for more!

Addie is tasked with evaluating some rare books for an estate sale. But between the evaluation and the sale, many books and other items have disappeared. Then the appraiser is found dead in one of the mansion’s rooms, with the door bolted from the inside. Addie is accused of the book theft, and Mark, Addie’s former boyfriend and the detective in charge, refuses to believe that she is innocent or that the death and theft are connected. Adding to the mix is Mark’s new girlfriend who seems to be bent on putting Addie in jail. It’s quite a conundrum for Addie who must prove her innocence by finding the guilty party. Well written, intriguing, and complex, this mystery is an entertaining story, and a delightful addition to the series.

One of my favorite series. I can not get enough of A Beyond the Page Bookstore Mystery by Lauren Elliot.
I don’t have a favorite character as I love them all but during this book, Mark was my least likable character. I literally wanted to grab him and give him a good shake. But his attitude has finally pushed Addie and I was hoping he would!
I really don’t know how the author has built this story with every detail and plot. The way Addie was playing out how it all happened and how she found all the clues. I’m always blown away with the plot, the why’s and the how’s!