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BOOK INFO

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BOOK BLURB

Addie Greyborne is preparing for the holidays at her bookstore in seaside New England—but a winter storm is coming, in more ways than one…

Addie’s getting into the spirit for the upcoming Charity Auction—especially since she’s got an 1843 copy of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol to donate. Her former colleagues at the Boston Public Library have confirmed that its worth runs toward the high five figures, which should help with the new pediatric wing. Her mood darkens, though, when a visitor from the past appears—Jonathan Hemingway, the father of her late fiancé. His presence stirs up sad memories for Addie, but also has her fuming when Jonathan, true to his womanizing ways, runs off for a lunchtime liaison with Teresa Lang, who’s in charge of the auction.

Soon after, Addie heads to Teresa’s office at the hospital—and finds the poor woman’s dead body. What she doesn’t find is her valuable first edition. What sort of Scrooge would steal from sick children and commit murder in the process? As a Nor’easter bears down and a mystery emerges about Jonathan’s past, Addie must find out if she can appraise people’s motives and characters as well as she can appraise rare books…

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MY REVIEW

Addie Greyborne is back for book three in the Beyond the Page Bookstore Mystery series by Lauren Elliott, Murder in the First Edition. Addie donates a valuable book to a local charity auction. When Addie discovers the organizer of the event is dead and the donated book is missing, she investigates to discover who could be behind the murder and theft.

I’ve read the first book in this series, Murder by the Book, but haven’t yet read the second book, Prologue to Murder. As with most series, this one is probably best read in order. Murder in the First Edition can be read as a standalone though.

I enjoy Addie’s book store and the small town atmosphere. This is one of my favorite settings for a cozy mystery. The fact that the mystery revolves around a missing book only adds to my enjoyment. The mystery involves Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, and proves to be a valuable item for the local charity auction. Addie uses her knowledge of books to find the book thief.

The mystery is a standalone from the previous books, but Addie’s personal story continues. In this book, she is reunited with someone from her past – her late fiancé’s father. She doesn’t really trust him, and this plays a big part of the story. Plus, Addie has a couple of local men interested in her, but she’s having a hard time moving on and starting a new romance.

A delightful cozy mystery. I enjoyed Murder in the First Edition, and plan to go back and read book 2 in the series. This is a cozy mystery series I look forward to keeping up with. Good for fans of cozies who enjoy bookish themes set in a small town.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Books in the Beyond the Page Bookstore Mystery Series:

1. Murder by the Book
2. Prologue to Murder
3. Murder in the First Edition
4. Proof of Murder
5. A Page Marked for Murder
6. Under the Cover of Murder
7. To the Tome of Murder