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Bookstore owner Tricia Miles has put up-and put up with-her uninvited college roommate for weeks. In return, Pammy has stolen $100. But the day she's kicked out, Pammy's found dead in a Dumpster, leaving loads of questions unanswered.
jlcoy
Posted Wed Nov 18 00:00:00 EST 2009
I thoroughly enjoyed the third installment to Lorna Barrett's Booktown Mystery series. I enjoy reading the continuing saga of Stoneham and its residents. Each of the three books can stand alone, but the stories are entwined and sort of continuing. In this book, finding a body in a dumpster gave a whole new meaning to 'taking the trash out'. Tricia Miles, quiet shop keeper, seems to find a body everywhere she goes. Is she the town 'jinx' or not?
I do like the characters and I was happy to see Tricia get a little more depth to her character this time around. Her sister Angelica is a hoot and always livens things up whenever she's around. The other re-occuring characters help build a nice comfortable setting. They have become like old friends and I like the way Lorna Barrett brings their stories to light while weaving the mystery around them all.
I was quite surprised by the who in this whodunit! Barrett seems to have a knack for keeping me guessing until the very end and then I sit there and wonder what I missed that I didn't see it coming.
Bravo Lorna, you did it again and I can't wait for the next installment to come out. Your 'preview' has already sucked me in and I'll be pre-ordering that book as soon as I can.
7 out of 7 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.All was quiet in Stoneham, New Hampshire. Well, almost. Tricia Miles hadn't been so uptight since Zoë Carter was found deader 'n a doornail plopped on her toilet at her mystery bookstore, "Haven't Got a Clue." Before that there was Doris Gleason who was done in by a little carving knife chop job. She seemed to be turning into a professional corpse finder and there was going to be a third one if Pammy Fredericks didn't get the heck out of her apartment. Normally soft-spoken, she'd just about reached the end of her rope with Fredericks the freeloader and practically screamed, "Get out of my house." College was one thing, but there was a time to grow up and two weeks with her was more than enough. Out, out, OUT!
Pammy was as welcome as a plantar's wart, but when she insisted she leave, Tricia began to feel pangs of guilt. Stoneham, New Hampshire was a well-known bookstore mecca and the type of place if you had any business whatsoever, everyone else knew about it. Before the last "out" was shouted, it was heard at the other end of town. Meanwhile, Pammy found employment with Angelica, Tricia's sister at her café, "Booked for Lunch." Tricia was even more annoyed when her sister insinuated she had thrown poor Pammy out. Next thing you know.
Tricia stepped out into the alley and guess whose pink Crocs she saw sticking out of a trash cart? "I understand this is not your first encounter with the law here in Stoneham." At least Captain Grant Baker was a hunk, unlike Sheriff Wendy Adams. This whole thing was enough to make anyone throw up. Why had Pammy been dumpster diving for food? Who were all these "freegans" she was associating with? Why was Pammy trying to blackmail Stuart Paige? Who was smashing all those pumpkins? Who, what, when, why? At least Ginny, her book clerk, thought she lived a charmed life. "I'm divorced, my sister lives next door, and I keep discovering dead bodies. How charmed is that?"
Lorna Barrett is really starting to find her voice in this series. The characters are becoming more fleshed out and I actually felt as if I was getting to know what to expect from some of them. The plot line, although still fitting into the "cozy" genre, was more complicated and there were many more questions to be answered and the whodunit was not as easy to peg. There is one little surprise that was a real stunner and an unexpected twist. Get ready to pop a lot of popcorn, cuddle up under a blanket and spend a little time with Tricia Miles and crew. Ms Barrett, queen of the cozys, has a winner here! The next one up in the Booktown Mysteries series is called Chapter and Hearse and I, for one, can't wait!
Quill says: If you love cozys, this is one series that was cooking and now is HOT!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Well, since I am a "Johnny Come Lately" with this review, and I am sure you have a good handle as to what this is about from the multitude of other reviews. I will just give you my personal thoughts on this issue of the Booktown segment. Barnett's first two were fun and moved right along. This one seemed very slow getting your interest perked. Pammy, the barely friend from the past was not endearing and her victim status was a little on the ho hum side. Of course the driving force was desire to learn the who and why of the drama. It was a little too political correct though Tricia's scheduled periods of anger and kindness <she always trys to do what is right> help smooth out what I was afraid might end up too Al Goreish for me. Always fun to reconnect with the supporting cast, and we are adding a bit to it. Angelica her very out spoken, dual shop owner, and "soon to be published author... cookbook of course, Sister, adds to the fun. The sisters are not the cookie cutter variety but hence the reality which adds much. Miss Marple, the shop cat, is delightful and we introduce a new feline who make a transformation from feral to a sweet pet with the advice of Tricia.
About 3/4 of the way through, things started to happen and matter. A good bit of red herring, a new romance interest, a surprise of good guy who truly wasn't made it finally enjoyable. The recipe section was really dull, who that has lived a few years doesn't have a good meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and garlic bread recipe in their repertory? You think?
The sampling of Barrett's soon to released, NOT a cookbook.., has peaked my interest so I will once again be visiting Stoneham, Haven't Got a Clue, in hopes we will be back on track with an exciting mystery read!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.nlb1050
Posted Sat Jun 26 00:00:00 EDT 2010
I only recently found Ms Barret and was hooked from the start. With this third book in the series she has brought more insight into the main characters and setting of the series.
I am so ready for more!!!!!!!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Mary51
Posted Thu Mar 25 00:00:00 EDT 2010
I really enjoy this series. The descriptions of places, characters are great. Each time I read one, I can't wait until the new one comes out!! I enjoy going to the authors web site also. A very nice read!!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.VPI66
Posted Sat Jan 09 00:00:00 EST 2010
Others may enjoy it if they like this genre. It was repetitive and the characters were not quite believable to me. I think this is a series and I didn't read the first one. If I had, maybe my opinion would be different.
1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted Sat Dec 12 00:00:00 EST 2009
Barrett's books are light but fun and interesting reading. Never disappoints.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.The town of Stoneham, New Hampshire is a quiet quaint place in which tourists who love to read visit the numerous bookstores as much as go on foliaging treks to see the leaves change colors. Tricia Miles owns the Haven't Got a Clue bookstore. She has an awkward problem as her college roommate Pammy Fredericks came to stay for the weekend, but has extended her visit to two weeks with the end nowhere in sight.
Sick of Pammy's laziness, her theft of $100 and her freeloading, Tricia finally tells her to leave her home and business. Pammy gets a job at her sister's bookstore Booked for Lunch. When Tricia goes to the dumpster with trash, she notices Pammy in a can with a bag around her head. Captain Grant Baker leads the homicide investigation. He and Tricia go to the victim's car to see if anything was stolen. Nothing seems out of place, but soon afterward Tricia gets creepy phone calls from someone using a voice alteration device; the person demands she hand over the diary. Tricia ignores the caller as she is clueless to whatever the person refers too. That changes when pellets are shot through her home window. The captain warns her to stay out of the way, but Tricia seeks the diary and subsequently the killer.
This is one amateur sleuth whodunit that would be a crime for cozy lovers to ignore due to quirky characters bringing alive the New England change of seasons while concealing secrets inside of a the bucolic colorful town. The story line provides a taste of small town New Hampshire living with a heroine who seems to have as many corpses as she has books (a bit of an exaggeration). Loran Barrett provides her fans with a BOOKPLATE SPECIAL as the feisty heroine is BOOKMARKED FOR DEATH if she fails to hand over to an unknown adversary what she does not have or know what it is.
Harriet Klausner
1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted Thu May 17 00:00:00 EDT 2012
Easy read!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.debbieaheaton
Posted Fri Mar 16 00:00:00 EDT 2012
In Barrett's mystery novel, Pammy Fredricks is something of a "free spirit." Actually, she's more of a freeloading thief. Tricia puts her up for two weeks, and put up with her uninvited college roommate as well. What did Pammy do out of gratitude? She stole one hundred dollars to start with. When Tricia kicks her out, Pammy winds up dead in a dumpster, leaving a ton of questions behind for Tricia to piece together. An engaging whodunit and a wonderful addition to the A Booktown Mystery series.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.ReadsALotBR
Posted Fri Sep 09 00:00:00 EDT 2011
Just the book to curl up with when you want to relax and have a quick read. Not too serious or silly, just right.
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Posted Tue Oct 26 00:00:00 EDT 2010
I read all 4 of the books (not in order but that didn't spoil anything) and I liked this one the best. Perhaps I have a bias: I am a cat lover and one of the characters took in a stray cat but I felt more "on the edge of my seat" than with the others. All in all, readers should catch all 4 of Ms. Barrett's books.
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Posted Mon May 17 00:00:00 EDT 2010
I love Lorna Barrett! She keeps me entertained and the "one who dunnit" isn't featured prominently as a main character, but is mentioned briefly from time to time, making the outcome a jaw dropper.
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Posted Sun Apr 25 00:00:00 EDT 2010
Imaginative plot. You will have a good time reading it.
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Overview
Bookstore owner Tricia Miles has put up-and put up with-her uninvited college roommate for weeks. In return, Pammy has stolen $100. But the day she's kicked out, Pammy's found dead in a Dumpster, leaving loads of questions unanswered.