Adventure, Murder, and Twists of Bookstore Merriment from Tamara Berry, in MURDER OFF THE BOOKS

Tamara Berry's wicked sense of humor is a great match for her neatly twisted plots in her "By the Book Mysteries," set in the Big Woods country of the Northwest. Crime novelist Tess Harrow's family legacy in this timber-centric town isn't as wild as her best-selling status, but it does include a former hardware stores (see the earlier books of the series) that she's turning into a bookshop of her own, with of course a stack of her newest release on the counter.

But Grand Opening plans run awry when (of course!) murder sweeps into town once again. This time, a top-selling podcaster arrives at the same time, and starts to paint Tess's recurring corpse discoveries as possible indications that she herself is a criminal!

Perish the thought, or even better, perish the podcaster. Except that's not going to happen. Tess's daughter is thrilled by the visitor. Her definitely difficult mother sweeps into town at the same time -- and the corpse turns out to be Tess's mother's boyfriend of the moment, the notorious Levi Parker, who might have tried something deadly if he hadn't been killed first. And oh yes, Tess and the sheriff may or may not be an item. Complications.

Is your head spinning yet? Jump into this lively bibliomystery laden with smart sassy women and to-die-for dialogue, as well as a plot that gets more crazy and more likely at the same time, page by page. MURDER OFF THE BOOKS is the fun mystery your summer reading stack has been waiting for. 

[The earlier books in the series are Buried in a Good Book and On Spine of Death -- treat yourself!]

PS: Looking for more mystery reviews, from cozy to very dark? Browse the Kingdom Books mysteries review blog here.

North-Woods Crime, Cold Case Frame-Ups, and Easy Humor from Tamara Berry, ON SPINE OF DEATH

Considering how tough life on a desert island can be, adding Tamara Berry's engaging mysteries to the packing list seems very wise—from the nicely complex characters to the neat plotting to the clues and chuckles, these are books that lift the gray out of the day (or winter, or desert isle).

ON SPINE OF DEATH (a play on the phrase "on pain of death" but otherwise an irrelevant title for this recipe-free cozy) is the second adventure tucked into "Winthrop, Washington" (the timberlands in the east of the state) featuring bestselling author Tess Harrow. The series title is By the Book Mysteries -- especially apt this time, since the skeletons found in Tess's inherited hardware shop seem to match those in a mysteriously authored book that's turned up in the town: Let Sleeping Dogs Lie, by Simone Peaky, a nom de plume that even Tess's resources fail to match with a real person. 

There's less urgency to locate the author of this tell-all at first, since the skeletons are obviously from cold cases ("disappearances") in the little town. But when Tess figures out that the book is also giving burial details for the local sheriff's vanished sister, the pressure is on. Not only does Tess want to solve all three cases ... she's got to do it quickly, because the devastated sheriff is also a man she cares deeply about. (How deeply? One-way or two-way? That too is a mystery.)

"It makes sense," she said quietly. She didn't let go of his hand even though it sat like a cold, dead weight in hers. "You know it does. ... Your sister's case matches every aspect of it."

The deeper she gets into the investigation, the more the local ne'er-do-wells (woods crime family, anyone?) embed themselves into her life. At last, she has only one focus, helping the sheriff: "She knew this man well enough to realize that there was only one thing that could help him heal, and that was finding the killer."

Between her risk-taking but brilliant teen daughter Gertie, her librarian buddy who's an undercover investigator, and a perilously young new FBI agent desperate for her attention, Tess has a lot to handle. Not to mention solving the case, saving her (uncertain) relationship, and responding to queries from her agent.

A third book in this series is already titled, so it's time to snag both ON SPINE OF DEATH and its predecessor, BURIED IN A GOOD BOOK, and enjoy some lively and occasionally absurd distraction.

PS: Looking for more mystery reviews, from cozy to very dark? Browse the Kingdom Books mysteries review blog here.

Outrageously Fun Summer Reading: BURIED IN A GOOD BOOK, Tamara Berry

It's such a great feeling: plunging into a really good mystery that also makes me choke with laughter, then looking up the author for the first time and realizing: She's written other books that I can order up! There's going to be more fun in my summer of reading, thanks to discovering Tamara Berry.

BURIED IN A GOOD BOOK starts with a delightful premise: Tess Harrow, a bestselling thriller author, has inherited a rustic cabin in the woods, one in shabby enough shape that it could hide a few bodies, for an imagination like hers. But how Tess is going to make time for writing, when she's also brought along her (rightfully) bitter and resentful teen daughter, will demand true creativity. 

Fortunately for Tess, there's no time to worry about that -- within minutes of their arrival at the cabin, an explosion shakes the mother and daughter, followed by fish parts and (gulp) human body parts landing on their vacation shelter. 

Thanks to the setting in the big woods of the Northwest, Tamara Berry can toss in sightings of Bigfoot and an active logging culture. But the discovery that both the traveling librarian and the local sheriff have read all Tess's books -- and have ideas about whether or not an author belongs in their real crime scene -- turns the plot into a madcap escapade.

You know the author rule about pushing your character to cope with more threat, more danger? Berry pushes Tess to cope with the ridiculous yet real, as exotic animals trample the scene and Tess attempts to climb to the cabin roof in hopes of getting enough cell signal to demand investigation of the tangled but necessarily connected events:

There were times when having a brilliant, observant, hard-edged child was a source of inordinate pride for Tess. This was not one of those times.

She threw up her hands. "You win. I want to call the sheriff and see if he's checked on those toucans for me. This is getting ridiculous. It's been two days, and no one has said a word. I can't be the only one who's bothered by them." ...

Nothing she tried to do made any sense. No twist of the plot, no turn of the screw fit the complexities of the story—particularly now that it included flamingos. A daring escape from the zoo occurred to her only to be immediately cast aside ... Detective Gonzalez was on the hunt for a killer, not a PETA vigilante.

In addition to the wacky caper aspect and the smart conversations Tess gets into (when she can get someone besides her daughter to listen), BURIED IN A GOOD BOOK embraces another pleasure: When Tess takes risks, they're intentional and part of unraveling the crime(s) at hand -- not because of stupid mistakes. So this book is head and shoulders above many cozies. In fact, if it weren't for the itch of potential romance threaded through, the book would barely fit into the cozy category at all.

Let's see, if Donald Westlake set a book in the Northwest woods and made his protagonists into smart women, and then embedded his trademark capers and humor -- no, that might be taking the possibilities a bit far. 

Besides, I enjoy Tess Harrow so much as written:

"Now, you see here, young man," she said. The steely note in her voice remained. "I don't know how you're tangled up in this dead body business, or why you're stalking me outside a grocery store, but let's get one thing straight. You don't approach me when I'm with my daughter, understand? She's a minor, and if you say one thing that's even remotely threatenig in her earshot, I'll have the sheriff on your doorstep faster than you can say harassment. ... You might have a hundred alibis, but it still wouldn't matter to me."

Put this into the summer TBR stack. (Release date is May 24 from Poisoned Pen Press.) Be a super good friend to someone else and order or buy an extra copy while you're at it. Might as well share the laughter.

PS: Looking for more mystery reviews, from cozy to very dark? Browse the Kingdom Books mysteries review blog here.