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    Trouble on the Books: A Castle Bookshop Mystery
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    Trouble on the Books: A Castle Bookshop Mystery
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    Trouble on the Books: A Castle Bookshop Mystery
    Audiobook9 hours

    Trouble on the Books: A Castle Bookshop Mystery

    Written by Essie Lang

    Narrated by Teri Reeves

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Shelby Cox never intended to become a bookseller, so when the former editor returns to her hometown of Alexandria Bay, nestled in upstate New York’s breathtaking Thousand Islands region, to take over her aunt’s bookstore, she has no idea what to expect. To her amazement, she discovers that she now owns a fifty-percent share in Bayside Books and will also run the store’s second location in the majestic castle on nearby Blye Island.

    But just as Shelby is gearing up for the start of the tourist season, the Castle volunteer coordinator is found murdered in the nearby Grotto. Castle caretaker Matthew Kessler is suspect number one, but Shelby thinks the killing may be connected to an earlier era when violence among Prohibition-era smugglers was rampant in the region.

    As Shelby launches her own investigation, handsome and unnerving Special Agent Zack Griffin of the Coast Guard Investigative Services tries to quell her smuggling theory and keep her safe. But Shelby is determined to summon all her savvy as a book editor to plot the murder—and find the killer before he strikes again.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDreamscape Media Audio
    Release dateJul 30, 2019
    ISBN9781974975754
    Unavailable
    Trouble on the Books: A Castle Bookshop Mystery
    Author

    Essie Lang

    Essie Lang is an Agatha Award-nominated author who has also been shortlisted for an Arthur Ellis Award for Crime Writers. The former owner of a bookstore dedicated to mysteries, she loves all things cozy. When not writing, she enjoys choral singing and entertaining her Siamese cat, Keesha.

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    Reviews for Trouble on the Books

    3.5/5

    33 ratings9 reviews

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    • 3/5
      Shelby Cox's aunt has had a knee replacement and needs help during her recovery so Shelby takes a ,leave of absence from her job and returns to Alexandria Bay to take over the new Book shop opening in Blye Castle. She isn't thrilled with the head of the volunteers, Loreena Swan, but when Shelby finds Loreena dead, she feels a need to find out who is the murderer.This was the start of a new series, and I love books that are set in libraries or bookstores. I can just see myself there. Having the bookstore in the castle just adds another dimension to the story. I think that the characters were okay but can see where there is room for development. Will look for the next one, hopefully soon.
    • 3/5
      Trouble on the Books by Essie LangBook #1: Castle Bookshop Mystery SeriesSource: PurchaseRating: 2½/5 stars**MINI-REVIEW**The Bottom Line: I think the thing I enjoyed most about this book is the setting. It’s hard to dislike a setting that involves a lovely island locale, and old castle, and a couple bookstores. I wish as much thought and effort had gone into the plot and the characters as was put into the setting. In truth, it is the description of the setting(s) which is very clear and interesting that kept me reading this book more than the plot and characters. I found the plot to be somewhat flat and many of the characters to be unrealistic and ill-defined. In general, cozy mysteries, especially those involving a bookshop keep me hooked and speed-reading, but the failures in the characters and plot had me plodding through this book and it took me an extended amount of time to get through it. With that being said, I always take into account the first-in-a-series status of a book and feel I should give the series, especially one in such a lovely location a second chance.
    • 4/5
      The first in the Castle Bookshop series is a solid series debut. I liked the plot and the characters well enough and I'd call it good, but not great. The pace was slow at times and it could've used some tightening up.Overall, though, it was a good mystery, one that I'd recommend to cozy fans and I might look for the second in the series when it comes out.(I received a copy of this mystery from the publisher, via Net Galley.)
    • 3/5
      Trouble on the Books has an intriguing premise with a bookshop in an old castle on an island (love it). Shelby Cox is twenty-nine years old and has been working as an editor for Masspike House in Massachusetts. When Aunt Edie needs Shelby’s assistance, she takes a leave of absence and returns to Alexandria Bay. Shelby is living on a houseboat until winter and managing the new satellite location of Bayside Books on Blye Island inside the historic Blye Castle (it would have made more sense to live with Aunt Edie who needs her help getting around). I knew Loreena Swan would end up dead after the altercation with Shelby and the way she treats the volunteers at the castle. The murder occurs early in the book. There is little investigating by Shelby until later in the story when Shelby asks various people questions (people she does not know). I wish the mystery had been more of a focus with more complexity. I found it a snap to solve this crime. Shelby’s attention is split because she is determined to learn more about her mother. Her father would not discuss her mother who died when she was three, and Shelby is hoping to learn more about her from the people that knew her in town plus Edie. Shelby is searching the local cemeteries for her mother’s grave. I was curious why Shelby did not research her mother online (death certificate would pop up). The pacing of the book was lethargic which made it hard for me to stay interested. The author is a detail oriented which slowed down the pace (an example is making tea—getting the kettle, filling it with water, putting in on the stove, turning on the stove, etc.). Add in a daydreaming main character with a significant amount of internal dialogue and repetition of information. Shelby also has trouble remembering people’s names and figuring out a person’s age (makes it hard for a reader). She states she is not a people person, but Shelby is working in a bookshop frequented by tourists (an oxymoron). I felt that Trouble on the Books needed more pizzazz (oomph). The characters failed to come alive for me. We are not given many details on them which I found disappointing. I hope the characters will be fleshed out more in the next installment. I did enjoy the descriptions of the castle, island and bookshop. Trouble on the Books could have benefited from further editing (there are inconsistencies). A Castle Bookshop Mystery series has potential which I hope the author will achieve.
    • 4/5
      I love books that I pick up for challenges because I find that I am constantly surprising myself...usually in a good way. This one, from the cover, reeked of "cozy"...and I am not a big fan of that genre....but it had an animal on the cover so off I go with it. From the very first chapter I really liked it. The only glitch keeping it from an extra half star was that this author is very "detail oriented" which tended to slow down the pace. I didn't need a detailed description of how the water filled the kettle for her tea. Other than that it was a captivating beginning to a new series that is well worth reading.
    • 5/5
      cozy-mystery, amateur-sleuth, women-sleuths, murder-investigation, family-dynamics, greed CGIS stands for Coast Guard Investigative Services, I didn't know that. The publisher's blurb is pretty good, so there's no need for recap or spoilers here. The characters are all interesting, the locale fascinating (she's renting a houseboat to live in!), and the mystery is well done and with the expected plot twists and red herrings. There's lots more I'd like to say, but it would either be redundant or get into spoiler territory, so I'll just let you know that it's a great book that grabs by the imagination and doesn't let go! I requested and received a free ebook copy from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley. Thank you!
    • 4/5
      Shelby Cox moved to Alexandria Bay, New York, to help her Aunt Edie run two bookstores, discovering that she owns a fifty percent share. Edie is recovering from knee surgery and therefore leaves Shelby in charge, and she's enjoying her respite from the small publishing house she's where she's been working as an editor. She doesn't, however, enjoy working with Loreena Swan, curator of exhibits and volunteer coordinator at Blye Castle on Blye Island, the location of their second bookstore. In fact, Loreena and Shelby have a run-in when Loreena attempts to tell Shelby how to run the bookstore. But when Shelby decides to take a stroll around the castle she finds herself in the grotto...along with a very dead Loreena. When the authorities set their sights on Matthew Kessler, caretaker of the island, Edie asks her to intervene and see if she can figure out who wanted Loreena dead, since she's convinced Matthew had nothing to do with it. It turns out Matthew's an ex-true crime writer, and when his wife was murdered years ago, he came to the island. No one was caught in that case, and Edie's afraid that the police will falsely arrest him for killing Loreena.Shelby also has some questions of her own about her late mother. Since she and her father left Alexandria Bay when she was three, after her mother's death, she knows nothing about her. But no one - including Edie - seems to want to tell her anything, or claims they don't know. So Shelby has two reasons to ask people questions. But will she find out the truth, or will a killer find her first?...This is the beginning of a new series, and I liked the premise, since it appeared to be interesting, and thankfully, different from the formula. Shelby isn't running away from a relationship, and she hasn't lost her job. There's no 'evil nemesis' out to get her, and (relieved sigh) there's no love triangle. All things I really dislike in mysteries. So, with that to get me started, I was happy to pick up this book. Although I will state I did have a bit of trepidation at the beginning when Shelby stated she had a healthy fear of water, but then I found out she lived on a houseboat. Hmmm...thankfully, it was never mentioned again, and I found no other contradictions in the story.Anyway, Shelby is used to living on her own and caring for herself, so while her aunt wants her to move into the home where her father grew up, she'd rather be on her own, hence renting the houseboat. I don't think I'd ever get used to sleeping on the water, but I can see where she found it to be restful. She's finding her way in their town and trying to make new friends, but when her aunt tasks her with finding out the truth, it's not easy to ask questions and hope to keep from ruffling feathers.There's also a certain Coast Guard investigator named Zack who shows up every now and then; Shelby of course is attracted to him, but I'm glad to say she doesn't act like a tongue-tied schoolgirl when he's around, and he manages to convey interest in her without giving any appearance of doing so. It will be intriguing to watch this progress in future books.I found the mystery quite well written; while it seemed Loreena had her share of enemies, none of them hated her enough to kill her, which made it all the harder to discover who wanted her dead. There were no evil deeds by the woman, and while she managed to rule the roost, as it were, the clues were hidden nicely within.I also liked the back story of finding out the truth about her mother; I would like to see more pursuit of this in the next book also. Secrets and lies are never a good thing, and someone is always bound to be hurt in the long run.When the killer was discovered, and the reasons why, it made sense (in the mind of the killer, at least) and I found the climax put together quite well and I was happy to see that Shelby held her own in the matter, and could think on her feet, as it were. The murderer came as a surprise, which bodes well for the next in the series. I read a lot of mysteries, and one doesn't want to figure out the solution too soon. I feel that this author has a decent career ahead of her if this book is any indication. Recommended.
    • 3/5
      Shelby Cox is settling in running the second location of Bayside Books. She has learned that she is the half-owner along with her Aunt Edie. The second location is in a tourist attraction on Blye Island. As she is setting up the store for the opening of the tourist season, she has a run-in with volunteer coordinator Loreena Swan. She is surprised to discover Loreena's body when she goes for a quick walk after work before taking the shuttle back to Alexandria Bay.The murder draws the attention of the local police, the State police, and the U. S. Coast Guard Investigative Service in the person of handsome Zach Griffin. Shelby's Aunt Edie, hobbled by knee replacement surgery, asks Shelby to ask around because Edie's new love interest Matthew Kessler is a person of interest in the crime. Shelby is also working on another mystery. She wants to find out more about the mother who died when she was three causing her father to move away from the area and raise her in Boston. But everyone she asks finds various ways to stonewall her. She finds herself exploring local cemeteries looking for her mother's grave. Why she didn't do an internet search is a question that is never answered and is just one of the inconsistencies I found in the story.Shelby gets it stuck in her head that the murder had to do with smuggling. She bases this belief on information that the owner of the island during Prohibition was a smuggler. She also believes that the Coast Guard wouldn't be involved if smuggling wasn't happening.She has a wide variety of suspects as she gets to know the locals and make a place for herself as a bookstore owner. It seemed strange how many people were willing to answer her questions as she went about her investigation. I had some issues with the story and with the characters. Shelby repeats, frequently, that she isn't a people person, can't judge how old someone is, and can't remember names of people she's introduced to. It made it confusing for me as a reader when I tried to figure out how old people were and what their relationships were. I'm also still wondering why she goes to a Greek restaurant with a potential love interest and orders Spaghetti Carbonara.
    • 4/5
      Essie Lang is a former mystery bookstore owner and has crafted an entertaining cozy mystery in a setting which is picturesque in my mind as per her descriptions. I moonlighted multiple times over the years and all the positions were fun especially working in a bookstore. To think of Shelby Cox becoming a co-owner of Bayside Books and being the "lead" at the store's second location in the majestic castle on nearby Blye Island sounds quite blissful although I'll only wish for her position on days of smooth waters as she replaces Boston's traffic jams with ferry rides. As Shelby has returned to her hometown of Alexandria Bay, nestled in upstate New York's Thousand Islands region she is renting a houseboat and I can easily picture myself on the houseboat with the cat who has adopted her just as easily as I can envision myself enjoying Minnie Hamilton's houseboat docked in Chilson, Michigan in the "Bookmobile Cat Mystery Series" by Laurie Cass. Hmm. East Coast or Midwest? Decisions, decisions, decisions. Delightfully as a reader I can live on either houseboat and enjoy visits with JT or Eddie.It's a delightful series opener as there are friendships and romances that can continue to evolve. I'm also curious as to whether JT will ever travel on the ferry to accompany Shelby to work as Eddie enjoys his rides on the bookmobile with Minnie.As a former copy editor when there are missed edits a part of me cringes particularly when the author gives appreciation to authors, relatives, and beta readers for multiple readings prior to publication. Perhaps next year I'll change my mind but over the years I have continued to lower my ratings by one star for errors that distract my enjoyment as a reader. This is a glaring error example: Trudy had left a message late the afternoon before that there was a box of new books that needed to go over to the castle. If it wasn't too cumbersome, Shelby would take the box with her. If it needed more muscle, she'd leave it for Cody...She tried lifting it. She could manage. "How's Edie doing?" she asked Trudy once she'd tried lifting the box and decided to leave it.