A Deadly Chapter by Essie Lang

ByRita
A Deadly Chapter by Essie Langfive-stars
A Deadly Chapter by Essie Lang
Series: Castle Bookshop Mystery #3
Genres: Cozy Mystery
About the Book:

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.

goodreads


Add to Goodreads

get the book


BUY ON AMAZON


In this series: Trouble on the Books
Other books from this Author Trouble on the Books

I received this book for free from in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Shelby Cox is back and boy is she on an emotional rollercoaster this time! Shelby has now been living in Alexandra Bay for a year and she is still helping her aunt run the two two “Bayside Books” bookstores they own together. She is also still live on her houseboat where a body is found bumping against it. Okay, I have to say this, if I was living in a houseboat and body ( a murder victim at that) is bumping against it I would move that minute! I’m just saying, that would freak me out a bit.

Shelby begins to investigate with the victim’s daughter much to the dismay of the police chief. She does make a few mistakes that could have ended up deadly but Shelby persists. I swear I kept waiting for the police chief to start getting that eye tick that the chief had with Inspector Clouseau had (if you’ve seen those movies you know what I’m talking about.) Shelby as always is such a joy to read and take a journey to figure out what happened with.

This is the third book of the series and can easily be read on its own. I recommend going back and reading the first two because this is such a wonderful series adn the characters are so much fun.

About Essie Lang

Essie Lang is the pen for Linda Wiken.

For 15 years, Linda Wiken owned the mystery specialty store, Prime Crime Books in Ottawa, ON. It was with sadness and a sense of anticipation that she closed the store in 2010. Now, she’s embarked on a life of crime between the pages. Her first novel in the Ashton Corners Book Club mysteries, A Killer Read, was published April, 2012 as her alter ego, Erika Chase, and was shortlisted for an Agatha Award for Best First Novel at the Malice Domestic conference. There are now five books in the series.

Her next writing adventure was as the real Linda Wiken with another series, the Dinner Club Mysteries, also from Berkley Prime Crime. There are three titles in that series.

She’s now experiencing life in a castle bookstore writing the appropriately named, Castle Bookshop Mysteries for Crooked Lane Books. Oh, yes…and she’s doing it under a new name, Essie Lang.

Her short stories have appeared in the seven Ladies’ Killing Circle anthologies (three of which she co-edited), and in the magazines Mysterious Intent and Over My Dead Body. She has been short-listed for an Arthur Ellis Award, Best Short Story, from Crime Writers of Canada.

Before life in the world of mystery, she worked as an advertising copywriter, radio producer, journalist and community education worker.

As a volunteer with the Ottawa Police Service for over 15 years, she developed a strong, sometimes scary interest in police procedures. She wrote weekly crime stats articles for the local community newspapers for them, along with stories for the OPS internal newsletter.

She is an avid chorister and loves being a choir member.

Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon

You may love...

25 Comments

  3. My aunt loves cozy romances and this sounds like a series she’d like! Good to know that it’s helpful to start at the first book.

    Reply

  7. This sounds like a great book and one I would like to read I will also have to check out the previous two books in this series.

    Reply

  10. Ooh, I love the setting! I love the contrast of a supposedly nice and calm location with a mysterious and possibly dangerous situation.

    Reply

  23. This sounds really good. I’m glad that it can read as a stand-alone. Sometimes I like to start in the middle of a series, and then go forwards and backwards. Crazy, I know, but it works for me!

    Reply

  24. Thank you for sharing your review of A Deadly Chapter, this sounds like an awesome cozy mystery book and series and I am looking forward to reading all of the stories

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *