Monday, November 23, 2020

The Secret, Book & Scone Society by Ellery Adams

 

First Line: The man on the park bench stared at the empty space above the knuckle of Nora Pennington's pinkie finger.
 
The man on the park bench seems like so many others who visit Miracle Springs, North Carolina, hoping the the hot springs, five-star cuisine, and renowned spa can sure what ails them. But Nora Pennington, owner of Miracle Books, senses that he's different somehow, and when red-hot gossip tells her that he jumped in front of a train just a few hours later, she isn't as convinced that it's suicide as the lackadaisical police seem to be.
 
Nora then learns that three other women share her opinion, and-- to the hermit-like Nora's utter surprise-- she forms the Secret, Book & Scone Society to find justice for the dead man. Nora is a bibliotherapist, adept at prescribing the perfect book to ease a person's deepest pain. Hester Winthrop is the owner of the Gingerbread House and a master at baking just the right "comfort scone" for those who request one. Estella Sadler, owner of the Magnolia Salon & Spa, and June Dixon, Miracle Springs Thermal Pools employee round out the group. At their first meeting, they realize that they are all damaged in some way and that they all have trust issues-- and that the only way this group is going to work is if they each share their darkest secret, the terrible truth that brought each of them to Miracle Springs in the first place. Revealing secrets builds trust. But do they have what it takes to find the truth behind the dead man's murder?
 
~
 
I will always recommend Ellery Adams' Books by the Bay series for cozy mystery fans, even though it has a controversial ending. (A Killer Plot is the first book.) I admire Adams' willingness to risk alienating her fans in order to end her series the way she wanted to (and the ending fit the character, by the way). There can be something therapeutic about her writing and the way she deals with damaged characters. As the Secret, Book & Scone Society members reveal their secrets one at a time, a layer is pulled back, allowing us to begin to see what's behind the person's facade. 
 
Some readers may ascribe Nora's bibliotherapy and Hester's comfort scones to some sort of magic, but I don't. I think all four women are highly empathetic, and it's this empathy that helps them arrive at the truth-- as does their belief that everyone deserves a second chance. I did despair when the local law enforcement was introduced-- the nickname "Sheriff Toad" says it all-- but I should've known better since I am no stranger to Ellery Adams' writing. 
 
Reading The Secret, Book & Scone Society was balm for my spirit. I liked the mystery. I liked the setting. Most of all, I liked Nora, Hester, Estella, and June. I know that reading the second book in the series is in my future.  


The Secret, Book & Scone Society by Ellery Adams
eISBN: 9781496712394
Kensington Books © 2017
eBook, 322 pages
 
Cozy Mystery, #1 Secret, Book & Scone Society mystery
Rating: B+
Source: Purchased from Amazon.

14 comments:

  1. It's interesting how powerful empathy can be, isn't it, Cathy? I can see how it would serve these women well. And the premise of this one does sound intriguing. Oh, and I love the name of that society! You make an interesting point about authors, too. Sometimes it's best for the author not to worry too much about alienating fans, if a story or event really is the best fit for a character. Not an easy choice to make, but sometimes that's what works best.

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    1. Yes, sometimes this is what works best, but in this day and age of internet anonymity, writers who don't play it safe and tell their stories the way they want to risk being buried alive in vitriol. This is what happened to Adams when she ended her Books by the Bay series the way she wanted.

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  2. Am I the only one who struggled to make complete sense of that title? That "missing" comma (in my opinion, it's missing) caused me to play with the title a while to see how best to describe the society. It would have been even worse (for me) if "and" had actually been spelled out.

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    1. No, I think the title, although descriptive, is a bit unwieldy; however, I don't think that comma is missing. I think it would look very strange right in front of that ampersand.

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  3. Well, I'm both intrigued and confused. Is this a cozy? It sounds interesting from your review.
    I don't think a comma is needed where it is and I've been taught by a 50-year copy editor who told me I use too many commas! Or I did years ago; she taught me not to do that.

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    1. It's not quite your typical cozy; it has a bit of an edge to it, and the main characters aren't as saccharine as they can tend to be in typical cozies. Most cozies can be called "cute." This book isn't cute; however, it does fit the cozy requirements of (1) female amateur sleuths, (2) no sex scenes, and (3) no graphic violence.

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  4. I'm intrigued that Ellery Adaams got in trouble with readers by how she ended her series.
    I remember when Dana Stabenow killed off a favorite character in her Kate Shugak series many years ago. People were writing in furious emails. One guy, I recall, burned a copy of the book and buried it in his backyard.
    Readers do get involved.
    I can understand it. How would we feel if something bad happened to Ruth Galloway? I think people with pitchforks and torches would descend upon Elly Griffiths' house.

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    1. No, I wouldn't be happy if something dire happened to Ruth, but at the end of the day Ruth is fictional and I would respect Griffiths' decision to do what she wanted to with her character.

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  5. Of course. But readers do get involved with their favorite characters. They become like friends. I stopped reading the Kate Shugak books after that character was killed off, not because I was mad at the author, but because the books didn't appeal to me anymore.

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    1. ... but I'll bet that you didn't send Stabenow any horrendous hate mail over her decision to kill off that character.

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  6. No. I'm not over the top. Thesse are characters, not real people.

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  7. I only write authors to rave about their books, like "The Pull of the Stars," by Emma Donoghue. I emailed her.

    Well, once I wrote to an author who got some information totally wrong about Haiti, and I was so annoyed. Even going by NY Times information, he was just wrong. Basic facts. I did write to him or I wrote on a blog, and he emailed me.

    I think authors have a responsibility to get the facts right, especially about the people of a country.

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