Another Review at MyShelf.Com

Murder in the Secret Garden
Book Retreat #3
Ellery Adams

Berkley Prime Crime
August 2, 2016/ ISBN 9780425265611
Mystery / Cozy / Amateur Sleuth

Reviewed by Laura Hinds

 

Jane Steward is the director of Storyton Hall, a book themed resort catering to book lovers, readers and writers. The current guests include a group known as The Medieval Herbalists.

When one of their members, Kira Grace, is murdered, Jane vows to uncover the killer before anyone else is put in danger. It seems Kira had taken some incriminating photographs and was blackmailing someone. Was this motive enough for her poisoning? This is personal to Jane, not only because she feels responsible for the safety of the guests, but because she'd genuinely liked Kira and she had been the one to find her body floating in the river.

There's so much more than meets the eye in this story. The cast of characters is vast and varied, and I was pleased that most of them were listed and identified in the “Welcome to Storyton Hall” section at the front of the book. I needed to refer to it several times as I sorted out who was who and how they related and interacted.

The mystery is just complex enough to make it a challenge to the reader to follow closely enough to solve the crime. There were twists and turns throughout the book, making for an engaging read. To have the setting of a book themed resort is genius. Who amongst us bookworms wouldn't want to visit? I'll be anxious to return to Storyton Hall in the next book, that's for sure!

 

Reviewed 2016
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