Murder on the Half Shelf by Lorna Barrett

First Line: The overloaded luggage trolley bumped along the sidewalk, following Tricia Miles like an overgrown puppy.

Tricia isn't sure how her sister Angelica did it, but she managed to win a weekend stay at Stoneham's new bed-and-breakfast, the Sheer Comfort Inn, and she insisted that Tricia come with her. Any thoughts of a relaxing night go right out the window when Tricia discovers the body of Pippa Comfort out in the flower bed. Now Tricia's boyfriend, Chief of Police Grant Baker, won't speak to her because she's involved in the investigation, the dead woman's husband is Tricia's first love who faked his own death twenty years ago, and she has yet to find an assistant to work with her at Haven't Got a Clue. Won't someone cut this bookstore owner some slack?

This is one of those reviews that I find extremely difficult to write, and I'll tell you why. This is the sixth installment of the Booktown series that I've read. I love the setting that Lorna Barrett has created-- a small town in New Hampshire revitalized into a "booktown," filled with store owners who care for one another, help each other out, and work together to think of ways to keep the community thriving. This is a setting in which I could easily live. It also helps that the main character runs a store specializing in crime fiction, and this devoted dog person even likes Tricia's cat.

I also enjoy the author's writing style and sense of humor. She creates intriguing mysteries that keep readers guessing chapter after chapter, peppered with scenes that can make you laugh out loud-- just like she's done here with Murder on the Half Shelf. She also has created characters that I've grown to care about, like the elderly couple Mr. and Mrs. Everett.

However, it's several of those characters that have created a dilemma for me. I can-- and do-- read books that have characters I do not like, and as in real life, I simply deal with them and move on. Many cozy mystery series seem to have that one character you'd just like to smack. The problem occurs when the number of characters you want to smack just keeps growing and growing. Sooner or later I reach a saturation point, and that is what has happened with the Booktown series.

The last sentence of chapter twenty-two pretty much sums up the main character: "And why couldn't Tricia ever get a break?" I have an answer for that: because Tricia spends too much of her time letting people walk all over her and then she whines about it. The main person running roughshod over her is her older sister, Angelica, who has to be one of the most self-absorbed divas in the fictional world. True, Angelica does have the occasional scene when she actually thinks of someone other than herself and comes through for her sister, but these scenes are few and far between. Angelica's on-again off-again main squeeze, Bob Kelly, is not above trying to broker shady deals or cavorting with other women. I can't think of one redeeming quality he's shown. Then there's the police chief who knows Tricia attracts corpses like mud puddles attract little boys, and instead of dealing with the investigation and their relationship in an adult manner, he gets huffy and argumentative. (Don't worry, I'm not going to list all the characters who aggravate me!)

I like this author. She writes solid, enjoyable mysteries that I have enjoyed in the past, and just because I started having problems with this series does not in any size, shape or form mean that you should avoid reading them. However, I've come to the reluctant conclusion that it's time for me to leave Booktown. I'm not happy about it, but there it is. Fortunately Lorna Barrett (AKA L.L. Bartlett and Lorraine Bartlett) has other series that I can enjoy.

Murder on the Half Shelf by Lorna Barrett

ISBN: 9780425247754

Berkley Prime Crime © 2012

Hardcover, 304 pages

Cozy Mystery, #6 Booktown mystery

Rating: B

Source: Paperback Swap 

Sentenced to Death by Lorna Barrett

Title: Sentenced to Death
Author: Lorna Barrett
ISBN: 9780425241868
Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime, 2011
Mass Market Paperback, 352 pages
Genre: Cozy Mystery, Amateur Sleuth, #5 Booktown mystery
Rating: C+
Source: Paperback Swap

First Line: Founder's Day weekend.

The entire town of Stoneham, New Hampshire, has been gearing up for the big Founder's Day celebration, but everything literally goes up in smoke when a freak accident kills one of Tricia Miles' friends right before her eyes.

The Sheriff's Department chalks the entire thing up as an accident, but as Tricia learns bits and pieces of information, she starts thinking that there's a lot more to the story, and sets out to prove her point with potentially fatal results.

This is one of my favorite cozy mystery series, and although I did enjoy this book, it is enjoyment with reservations. I found it to be less satisfying than the others in the Booktown series.  The plot and the identity of the murderer felt a bit convoluted and over the top. The main character, Tricia, seems rudderless and looking for a change. Her ex-husband is making overtures, and she can't make up her mind between showing him the Welcome mat or a restraining order.

I hope that Barrett is setting us up for something new and exciting in the next book in the series. I don't think I'm the only one who doesn't care for indecisive main characters.

Sentenced to Death at Amazon.

Sentenced to Death at The Book Depository.

Sentenced to Death at Your Favorite Indie.

Bookplate Special by Lorna Barrett

Title: Bookplate Special
Author: Lorna Barrett
ISBN: 9780425231197
Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime, 2009
Mass Market Paperback, 320 pages
Genre: Cozy, Amateur Sleuth, #3 Booktown mystery
Rating: B
Source: Paperback Swap

First Line: "Get out of my house!"

Former college roommate Pammy Fredericks has overstayed her welcome in more ways than one. After Tricia discovers that Pammy has stolen one of her checks, forged her signature, and cashed it, Tricia throws her out of the house. That very same day, Pammy is found dead in a trash container behind the café owned by Tricia's sister.

Tricia learns that Pammy had found a diary and was trying to blackmail someone. When she starts getting threatening phone calls linked to Pammy, Tricia decides to do her own investigating. Even though the county sheriff has given the case to a handsome captain, Tricia wants to learn the facts firsthand-- while she's also running her bookstore, helping to plan a wedding, and dealing with her annoying sister.

When I read that the latest Booktown mystery, Chapter & Hearse, had been published, I knew I had to get this book off my TBR shelves and get it read. I enjoy this series, and I don't want to get too far behind in reading it.

The mystery kept me guessing, and I enjoyed the camaraderie of Tricia with her employees and other friends in town. What absolutely tickled me six shades of pink was the non-appearance of Sheriff Wendy Adams. There are certain types of characters that annoy the pudding out of me: the meddling mother who disapproves of her daughter's choice of career and won't rest until said daughter is married, pregnant, and chained to a stove (preferably six-burner and stainless steel); the obnoxious sibling who takes the main character for granted and signs her up for all sorts of things she doesn't want to do; and the law enforcement official who takes an unreasoning dislike to someone and spends all his/her energy trying to pin the crime on the hated person.

Sheriff Wendy was a prime example of the third type of annoying character I listed, and I was sick of her trying to pin everything from crab grass to murder on Tricia. Having a new (and handsome) captain taking over crime solving and also providing a romantic interest is a definite plus.

Unfortunately, there also happens to be an obnoxious sibling in residence. Her name is Angelica, and no matter how wonderfully she cooks, I'd love to ride the woman out of town on a rail. She's constantly taking on work she knows she can't do because she fully expects her sister, Tricia, to do it for her. I suppose all this means that I'm also annoyed at Tricia for being so spineless.

Grow a backbone, Tricia! Learn how to say NO! I'm only saying this because I like you and your investigations so much. There is hope for you, and I'll keep reading and hoping you'll see the light. It is possible to be nice and be able to stand up for yourself, you know! (Oh oh. Please don't tell anyone that I just yelled at a fictional character....)

Buy from Amazon.
Buy from The Book Depository.
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Bookmarked for Death by Lorna Barrett

Title; Bookmarked for Death
Author: Lorna Barrett
ISBN: 9780425226414, Berkley Prime Crime, 2009
Genre: Amateur Sleuth, #2 Booktown mystery
Rating: B-

First Line: Crowded behind a table with her two employees and her guest author, Tricia Miles, owner of the Haven't Got a Clue mystery bookstore, held the left end of the sheet cake and flashed her most winning smile.

Tricia Miles is celebrating the first anniversary of her bookstore, Haven't Got a Clue in the "booktown" of Stoneham, New Hampshire. She's been doing well, and if it weren't for the fact that her sister runs through employees as though there's an endless supply, everything would be close to perfect. Well... except for the influx of Canada geese which means all the business owners have to go out several times a day to clean goose poo off the sidewalks.

It's quite a coup when Tricia manages to snag reclusive writer Zoë Carter for a book signing, but she has good reason to change her mind when Carter's body is found in the book shop restroom. Once again town sheriff Wendy Adams has an excuse to make Tricia's life miserable, and Tricia knows that the only way she'll be able to re-open Haven't Got a Clue is to conduct her own investigation.

Reading Bookmarked for Death is a good way to spend a pleasant afternoon. There's nothing too complicated going on, and although the characterization is a bit stereotypical, I enjoy these people. Tricia is very likable, I want to choke her sister occasionally, and I sincerely hope that Stoneham gets rid of its sheriff. Wendy Adams is the one character that brings this series down for me.

When I first began to read a high percentage of mysteries, a lot of the books I read were cozies like this. My reading tastes have gradually changed over the years, and now the mysteries I read are mainly police procedurals and darker fare. However, from time to time I enjoy reading something that's not so complicated-- something light and fun. This is one of the wonderful things about mysteries: they cover such a broad spectrum that, no matter your mood, you can find a whodunit that will fill the bill.

When you're in the mood for something light, something with a good sense of humor, try Lorna Barrett's Booktown mystery series. They should hit the spot!

REVIEW: Murder Is Binding

Title: Murder Is Binding
Author: Lorna Barrett
ISBN: 9780425219584/ Berkley Prime Crime, 2008
Cozy Mystery, #1 Booktown mystery series
Rating: C

First Line: "I tell you, Trish, we're all victims."

Stoneham, New Hampshire, was a dying town until real estate entrepreneur Bob Kelly got the idea to turn it into a "Booktown" modeled after Hay-on-Wye in the UK. Divorcee Tricia Miles decided to folllow her dream and moved there six months ago, opening a mystery book shop called Haven't Got a Clue and living in a loft apartment on the third floor. She's made a friend or two, but her next-door neighbor, Doris Gleason, isn't one of them. Doris, owner of The Cookery, sells cookbooks but finds business is tough. (Probably because she never read How to Win Friends and Influence People.) When Tricia finds The Cookery on fire one night and stumbles over Doris's body, she immediately finds herself as the local sheriff's prime suspect, and it's up to her to clear her own name.

Murder Is Binding is a promising start to a new cozy mystery series. Having been able to wander around Hay-on-Wye on my own for almost an entire day, the idea of a "booktown" in a small New England village appealed to me. Tricia is a likable character, and it's interesting to see her slowly change from a big city dweller to someone who lives in a small town. Her employees, her cat (Miss Marple), and some of the townsfolk are well-drawn and interesting. And with the arrival of her hated older sister and their strained relationship, future books are set up to explore these sibling dynamics. However, the weakness in the book is the plot. At first Tricia seems to choose her suspects by whether or not she likes them, and she didn't really strike me as that naive. It was too easy to figure out whodunit, and the ham-handed small town sheriff is a convention so old that it creaks.

Although there are some problems with the plotting, the setting and the characters--the strongest draws for cozy mystery lovers--are there and are very good. I'm looking forward to seeing what Barrett does in the next book in the series.

[Note: I forgot to mention that recipes are included in the back of the book. If you love to cook, it certainly wouldn't hurt to take a look at them. On the other hand, I hate to cook, which is probably why I forgot to mention them in the first place!]