Not the Killing Type

May 20, 2013
In Barrett’s middling seventh Booktown mystery (after 2012’s Murder on the Half Shelf), Angelica Miles—cookbook author, cafe owner, and sister of mystery bookshop owner Tricia—decides to challenge her former boyfriend, Bob Kelly, in the upcoming election for president of the Stoneham, N.H., chamber of commerce. An unexpected contender for the position is sign store proprietor Stan Berry, but his campaign comes to a premature end when Tricia finds him in the local inn’s restroom, stabbed in the chest with a letter opener. Other complexities include Stan’s questionable choice of reading material as well as Tricia’s stormy interactions with her ex-husband, Christopher, who recently arrived in Stoneham; her erratic relationship with her boyfriend, police chief Grant Baker; and her confusing encounters with Will, Stan’s handsome and estranged son. Illogical behavior as well as the lack of clues to the perpetrator and alternative suspects early in the narrative mar the reader’s enjoyment. Agent: Jessica Faust, BookEnds.

July 1, 2013
A New Hampshire mystery bookstore owner uses all the knowledge she has gained from reading her wares to help solve a murder. Tricia Miles is surprised when her sister Angelica suddenly announces her candidacy for president of the Stoneham Chamber of Commerce. The longtime incumbent, Bob Kelly, owns oodles of local real estate and is also one of Angelica's former lovers. Another last-minute nominee is Stan Berry, who runs the Stoneham sign shop. Angelica wants to improve the attractive tourist destination; Stan wants to cut spending on everything. Before he gets the chance to stump for his ideas, Trisha finds him stabbed in the bathroom of the Brookview Inn, where the chamber is having a breakfast meeting. Trisha's boyfriend, Chief Baker of the Stoneham PD, is never happy when Tricia sticks her nose into his investigations (Murder On The Half Shelf, 2012, etc.), and his preoccupation with the health of his ex-wife has put a further strain on their relationship. Tricia's own ex-husband shows up in town seeking reconciliation. So does Stan Berry's son, who can certainly use the money his father left him. Although Tricia is getting ready for a busy Christmas season and supporting a friend who is soon to marry the handsome manager of the Brookview Inn, she still finds time to snoop. But she may not be pleased with what she learns. Barrett continues her winning ways with another mystery chock full of interesting suspects and a surprising denouement.

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July 1, 2013

Election Day results are up for grabs when one of the candidates is murdered in the seventh case (after Murder on the Half Shelf) for New Hampshire bookstore owner Tricia Miles.

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