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A Deadly Chapter

ebook
4 of 4 copies available
4 of 4 copies available
Thousand Islands bookseller Shelby Cox is caught between a lethal rock and a hardheaded newcomer in Essie Lang's third Castle Bookshop mystery, a must-read for fans of Lorna Barrett and Vicki Delany.
Wake up on a houseboat, moored in scenic Alexandria Bay, New York. Ride the gentle waves to work at quaint Bayside Books, where you spend your days supplying literature and conversation to the charming locals and seasonal tourists. Sounds pleasant, doesn't it? Except bookseller Shelby Cox has already sleuthed two murders from Bayside Books's home base on Blye Island, one of New York State's famed Thousand Islands. And this time, mayhem knocks right on Shelby's waterside door when she finds a body lodged between the side of her houseboat and the dock, his skull shattered.
The victim is no local, but Shelby can't shake the feeling she's seen him before. Twice, in fact—that's how many times he's dropped into Bayside Books asking about an enigmatic woman who lived on Blye Island many years before. The last time? The day before he was found. But the poor man obviously was killed elsewhere, so who brought him down to the bay, and why?
When the victim's daughter hits town demanding answers, Shelby takes the case, despite Police Chief Tekla Stone's usual reservations. But she uncovers more suspects than there are pages in War and Peace, and Shelby can expect no peace—except the peace of the grave—unless she can turn the page on this grisly mystery.
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    • Kirkus

      January 1, 2021
      A bookseller finds New York's Thousand Islands as deadly as they are beautiful. In the short time since Shelby Cox moved to Alexandria Bay, she's already been involved in two murders, found the love of her life in Zack Griffin, and developed a close relationship with her aunt Edie. Running the Blye Island bookstore she and Edie own has helped Shelby make many friends. But her happy life runs into some speed bumps when she finds a body floating between her houseboat and the dock. Police Chief Tekla Stone, who's well aware of Shelby's sleuthing tendencies, warns her not to get involved, but when Nathan Miller's daughter begs her for help, she can't resist. Before he was killed, Miller had been asking local residents about a woman who may have moved to town seven years earlier. He was also doing some consulting work in the area, and his daughter, who hasn't been close to him since his second marriage, thinks there may be something odd about the work. Tracking down clues gives Shelby a break from two painful decisions she must make. Her long-estranged mother has resurfaced, eager to resume some kind of relationship, and Zack's been offered a promotion that would require a move to Boston. Being stalked by a killer bothers Shelby less than coming to terms with her past and future. A bookstore-themed cozy with a lively heroine and romantic overtones.

      COPYRIGHT(2021) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

    • Publisher's Weekly

      January 25, 2021
      Lang’s pleasant third Castle Bookshop mystery (after 2020’s Death on the Page) opens with Shelby Cox, co-owner of Bayside Books in Alexandria Bay, N.Y., and a bookshop in a historic castle-cum-museum on nearby Blye Island, discovering a dead body wedged between her houseboat and the dock. The victim’s identity is unknown, but Shelby recognizes him as a man who recently visited one of her bookshops in search of a woman who moved to town seven years earlier. He didn’t know the name the woman might be using, but he did know that she loved books and reading. Shelby once again turns sleuth, but she does little investigating, being too busy helping out at a mystery book event and mulling over her relationship with boyfriend Zack Griffin, a Coast Guard Investigative Service agent. Diehard romantics will look forward to returning to this idyllic cozy setting; those who expect some serious detecting may prefer to pass. Agent: Kim Lionetti, BookEnds Literary.

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