Murder by the Book by Lauren Elliott is the debut novel in A Beyond the Page Bookstore Mystery. Addie Greyborne has had a rough year with the murder of her fiancé and the death of her father. Thanks to an inheritance from her great aunt, Anita Greyborne, Addie has relocated to Greyborne Harbor and is ready to open Beyond the Page Books & Curios. Opening day begins by Addie almost getting run over by a black sedan. After opening the bookshop, she meets Serena Chandler who owns SerenaTEA next door. The day spirals out of control when someone uses a distraction to steal a 1961 copy of Alice in Wonderland. Late that night, Addie awakens to a noise and finds that someone has broken into her home. Several of the rooms have been ransacked but Addie has no clue what the thieves are after. When her shop suffers another break in, the local shop owners are less than pleased with Addie. The next day there is a commotion outside Fielding’s Department Store involving Serena. She has been arrested for murdering Blain Fielding. Addie uses her keen eye for detail and sleuthing skills from tracking down rare books and artwork to expose the guilty party behind this nefarious plot. Can Addie clear Serena of the murder charges? Come along for the investigation in Murder by the Book.

Murder by the Book is a book full of action. It starts off with a bang with a car almost running down Addie. Addie has lost her fiancé, father and a great aunt in one year. She leaves her job at the Boston Public Library to start over in Greyborne Harbor. In her new home, Greyborne Manor she discovers numerous books which gives her the idea to open a used bookstore. Then someone starts breaking into her home and shop. We are left wondering what the thieves are trying to locate. Then there is the murder and slowly more details are revealed. The mystery is complex yet simple at the same time. There are hidden rooms, rare books, a secret staircase, a black sedan, and unknown thieves. Some details/clues are provided as the story progresses, but others come to light just before the reveal with the remainder explained at the end. I would have liked more clues interspersed throughout the book to allow a reader to play sleuth along with Addie (the best part of a mystery is solving it). Most readers, though, will have no problem identifying the guilty party. Addie quickly becomes friends with Serena and her new employee, Paige. I thought the relationships developed too quickly. It seems Serena became Addie’s instant friend and she trusts Paige despite her disagreeable mother. For some reason, the bakery owner, Martha has taken a disliking to Addie. We are not given Martha’s last name, the name of her establishment or why she dislikes Addie. Actually, very little information is provided on Greyborne Harbor. Addie has been in town three months and seems to have met no one. A prequel to the series would have been beneficial or the author should have started the series with Addie receiving her inheritance. I loved the description of Addie’s Queen Anne Victorian. It sounds beautiful inside and out (period details with antique furnishing including a desk with hidden compartments). I would like to know more about Addie (her growing up years). I appreciated her enthusiasm for books and knowledge of rare books. I hope the author lets the romance build slowly between Addie and Marc especially since Addie is not over her fiancé. I enjoyed reading Murder by the Book. It captured and held my interest which few books have done recently. My rating for Murder by the Book is 4 out of 5 stars (I liked it). I thought it was a delightful beginning to A Beyond the Page Bookstore Mystery series, and I look forward to reading Prologue to Murder.

I could not get in to the meat of the story. The talking was stiff and it did not seem natural. The actual mystery also seemed contrived.

Welcome to author Lauren Elliott and this fabulous new cozy series.
Murder By The Book is the first book in the new "Beyond The Page Bookstore" mystery series.
This is a great start to a long series with all the right elements of the perfect cozy mystery. .

In this first in series we meet our protagonist Addie Greybourne who has moved to a small charming New England town to run a bookstore after discovering a large number of rare books. Addie has suffered to great deaths , one her long time boyfriend she was set to marry and her Father. She has inherited a lot of money from a relative in this town she did not know and used it to move to her new home and start her bookstore. She is ready to start over. Her family has a history here so she is excited to find some roots and start over.

After her shop opens some in town do not want her there. She does make some friends and her store is doing well on its first day. When a murder occurs Addie jumps in to defend the person arrested who she is sure is innocent. She is a loyal friend and proves to be a apt detective while investigating.

I loved this first in series. it sets the stage for further books in the series as Addie develops her life in this new town and makes friends. The charcters are strong and all add to the story. The setting is charming and I look forward to further books in this series.. I enjoyed the sleuth and the clues the author gave were surprising and I did not figure out the suspect. All in all a perfect start to a cozy series. Thank you to the author , publisher and Net Galley for the opportunity to read this first in series. .Its always a thrill to welcome a new cozy series !
Very well done to the author.

Thank you NetGalley for ARC in exchange for my honest review

Murder by the Book starts with a common theme ~ heroine who suffers tragedy starting over ~ with rare books. I love the rare books approach and Addison is already jumping into new relationships. The story is a bit rough at times but worth reading.

November 11. 2018
DID NOT FINISH
Stopped at 20% [Read some of the end and it was just so ludicrous I am so glad I didn't waste my time].
ZERO STARS!!!!

First, I am glad that I got this as a NetGalley ARC and that I didn't actually pay money for it.
Second, I am VERY glad that the audiobook was on Hoopla so I didn't pay money for that either [because I would so be returning it if I had paid good money for this].
Third, I realize I am going to be in the minority here [considering all the 4 and 5 star reviews I am seeing. Clearly we are not reading the same book].

The things I didn't like about this book:
1. The main character. CAN anyone be stupider? I find it hard to believe that she ever lived in a big city. Ever. She is careless, overly-naive [to the point of being stupid] and has the "poor me, WHY is this happening to me" kind of attitude. She grated on my last nerve. When two women CLEARLY run a con on her to get her keys, she is so clueless about it I wanted to both scream and bang my head against my desk. Someone one like that NEVER worked and lived in a big city like Boston or London. Sigh.

2. Freaking romance. Again. Seriously? The main character and the cop/police chief/detective. This story-line arc is getting seriously old and I sure wish authors would figure that out. P L E A S E.

3. The even ditzier "best friend" [who she meets and two seconds later they are best friends like they have known each other their whole lives, even though someone is breaking into her shop and trying to run her down, she immediately believes that it CANNOT be this girl blah blah blah]. I actually like Serena better than Addie, but still.

4. The fact that almost everyone in this town has a GINORMOUS chip on their freaking shoulders and they are all just mean. Plain and simple, they are a very mean bunch. And they do not care who they hurt with their words and actions. I am not sure why Addie would even want to stay there to be honest, because they are horrible. Their snide remarks, harsh criticism and just plain meanness was a huge turnoff from the beginning and just continued to be as I read on.

5. The ending/reveal. Because I read ahead. No. Just no. SO glad I didn't waste my time for THAT. Puh-LEESE!!!!

What I liked about this book:
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You get the picture.
I will not be reading the next one in the series [there is a spoiler chapter at the end and it is clearly more of exactly the same as was in this book. EXACTLY. Pass. Pass. P A S S.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Murder by the Book by Lauren Elliott is the 1st book in Beyond the Page Bookstore Mystery series, and an enjoyable start. Addie Greyborne was a librarian at the Boston Public Library, working with rare books. After her fiance was murdered, and her father was killed in a car accident Addie was ready to move to a small town in New England where she inherited a mansion, Greyborne Manor, from her great aunt. With all the books left in her aunt's home she was able to open her own bookstore. Addie makes quick friends with Serena, who owns a tea shop next door, while the women who owns the bakery on the other side dislikes both women. When a store owner is murdered, Serena is the main suspect, and Addie is determined to help her new friend. I enjoyed this cute book, with all the twists and turns, and I can not wait for the next book in the series. If you love cozy mysteries, I recommend this book.

I received this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Murder by the Book is a new offering in the cozy market. It’s not a bad addition: Addison Greyborne comes to the town named after her ancestors, with all her family recently deceased. She’s alone, wealthy from inheritances, and needs a friend or two. She finds them in the quirky Serena, who owns the tea shop next to Addie’s bookstore, and Marc, the chief of police and Serena’s brother. When people start dropping like flies in the town and Addie is subject to multiple break-ins, it’s quickly obvious that some kind of trouble is following her.

The book drags on a bit. The many, many break-ins just feel repetitive. It’s almost a relief when people start dying instead. However, it’s an interesting story, and you do want to keep reading to figure out what exactly is going on.

Wow!! What a great read! This book is full of twist and turns that you never see coming. A fun easy read and I am so glad to have discovered this author and I can’t wait to see what Addie Greyborne is up to next!

Murder by the Book by Lauren Elliott is a promising start of a great series.

It is fun, light, entertaining and thoroughly absorbing.

When Addie inherits a house from the aunt she never knew existed, she decides it is time to move to the little coastal town especially after the personal losses she had experienced. She opens a charming old books store but strange things start happening from the day one. Not only is someone trying to run her down, her house is being broken into, there are some very hostile neighbors and some very quirky clients.
The only good thing is the new friend she has made and her more than dreamy older brother who just happens to be a police chief. But the worse happens when her friend is accused of murdering a local businessman,

I liked the story, it is very engaging even though there are some cliches, I also found certain moments a bit incredulous.
I liked the fact that three young people get together to solve a puzzle. I especially liked secret compartments and old books.
And I also felt that at times there was too much going on and some things were not clearly explained.
It relies heavily on romance so it is not a typical cozy although I did not mind it at all.
All in all I highly recommend it and I am eagerly awaiting next installment..

Thank you to Kensington Books for a free copy in exchange for a honest review. This cozy mystery was well written with interesting characters.

This first in a new cozy mystery series hits the ground running! I like many things about this clever cozy mystery, beginning with the setting of a New England old/ rare books and curios bookstore. The mystery is complex, with plot twists that include outrageous treachery from those who were thought friends. The characters are detailed, especially Addie, who learns a few family secrets.
Addie has faced many crises in the past year. The most recent was that her great-aunt Anita Greyborne, who she didn’t even know existed, passed away. It was thought that Anita was the last of family line whose ancestors founded the town until Addie inherited her estate, including Greyborne Manor. As a young woman who had studied about and worked with rare and antique books, when she saw the treasures in the attic, Addie knew she had to start a bookstore.
A year earlier, after being “loaned” to the British Museum by her employer, Boston Library, her fiancé David was murdered. The police deemed it a crime of opportunity and blew off her questions. David, like her father, searched for and reclaimed stolen rare books and art for an international company, but police didn’t think the crime rings he busted had anything to do with the murder. Six months later, her father died leaving Greyborne Harbor, and police closed the case claiming he was driving too fast for foggy conditions. Then her great-aunt passed away.
Opening day for Beyond the Page arrives, and a car that aims and speeds up, barely missing Addie. Serena, of SerenaTea next door, came to her assistance. As they chat, someone tries to pry into her back door and Martha, the crotchety old baker, threw a bag of trash at him. As they cleaned up, Addie saw that someone had come in and thrown books off the shelf to the floor. Only one book of relatively lower value was missing.
Addie faces break-ins, a pair of women who are working together, and her new friend Serena is arrested for murder of a local department store owner. Serena’s brother Marc is the police chief, so he must conduct a completely impartial investigation. As he gets to know Addie, she helps with the investigation as only a researcher of her caliber can do, seeing things that Marc would not have recognized. The trouble and treachery against Addie and her friends heightens.
I really enjoyed this novel and highly recommend it for reasons including:
The characters, especially Addie, are as transparent as necessary. I like Addie, Serena, her brother Marc, and Addie’s new assistant Paige for their unique qualities, loyalty, and creative intelligence. They work well together to find the bad guy. The number of characters is limited; each one has an important role. There are no superfluous folks to distract from the case.
This is a thorny novel that includes more than one mystery. Addie is certain that everything is interrelated. There are many plot twists, including secret collections, past employers, and treachery. Friendship is a key factor in helping Addie get through the treachery, find who the bad guys and good guys really are. While I had a vague idea of the common thread, I wasn’t sure whodunit and the depth of motive. I was happy to see how my curiosity played out and stunned to see who was behind the murder and thefts. This is the impressive start of a new series that I hope to see much more of!
From a grateful heart: I received an e-Arc from the publisher through NetGalley, and this is my honest review.

4.5*
Thank you to the publisher via Netgalley for giving me an ARC of this book.
This is a Small-Town cozy mystery with lots of coffee cups. It's an easy read and the characters were well written. I do look forward to reading the next one in this new series.

I really enjoy reading biblio cozy mysteries and this one did not disappoint. This is the first book is a new series. Addie used to work for the Boston Public Library but has left the city to open a bookstore in a small New England Town after receiving an inheritance from a long lost aunt. Since this is the first book in the series the author does try to establish all the relationships at once. I hope in future books the relationships are not quite so rushed. As soon as the shop opens her shop and her home are broken into. A local business owner is found dead and her new friend is accused of the crime. She decides to work with the police to solve the crimes. The mystery was good and there are lots of secrets to uncover. There were some surprises at the end. I liked the bookstore/rare books background, the characters and the mystery. I did think the author tried to put too much in this book and I was not a fan of maybe romance. I look for word to reading the next one. It was a quick enjoyable read.

Murder by the Book by Lauren Elliott sounded like the perfect read for me: a small-town cozy mystery that takes place in a bookshop. But I struggled with the writing as well as some very important plot points and I almost DNFed, but decided to stick with it. Unfortunately, the story didn’t get any better for me by the end.

Addie Greyborne previously specialized in rare books at the British Museum and Boston Library. Following a string of tragedies—her fiancé’s murder, her father’s fatal car crash, and the death of her great aunt—Addie relocates to the small town that her ancestors helped found.

An inheritance from her aunt leaves Addie with a sizable rare book collection, allowing Addie to open her own bookshop. She quickly makes friends with Serena, owner of the tea shop—and makes fast enemies with Martha, the crotchety bakery owner.

When a local man turns up dead, Serena is arrested. But Addie is determined to prove her new friend’s innocence. Interesting premise, but it’s the execution that I had issues with.

Addie is a good friend of the number one murder suspect. In addition, Addie is getting flirty with the police chief Marc, who’s also Serena’s brother. So no only does Marc arrest his own sister, but also he’s kept on the case…? How is this allowed?

Worse yet, throughout the investigation, Marc feeds Addie information about an active murder investigation. I’m no cop, but I’m pretty sure that’s…illegal. He even allows Addie access to active crime scenes AND gives her permission to remove evidence from one!

Lastly (and this is purely a stylistic gripe from me), but the characters in this book wink entirely too much. It happens in nearly every chapter.

Excessive winking aside, I really couldn’t get on board with the procedural inaccuracies/tampering of evidence/crime scene contamination. The central mystery became secondary for me, and unfortunately I just didn’t enjoy this. Murder by the Book is book #1 in the Beyond the Page Bookstore Mystery series; sadly, I won’t be reading the next book.

I received a free copy of this book thanks to NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I very much enjoyed this cozy and the usual cast of characters that tend to patronize these types of small towns. I loved Addie's shop, it's definitely one I would patronize! Serena seems like a great person and I love their friendship. The mystery itself was very good with guite a nice selection of red herrings and whodunit was fun to try to figure out. I only wish more time was spent talking about the other shops or describing the town as it sounds nice, and the characters did too much winking for my comfort but...I look forward to reading the next book!

Murder by the Book by Lauren Elliott is the first book in the cozy Beyond the Page Bookstore Mystery series. Well, I’m going to call this one a cozy mystery as it does have the elements there but it also felt a bit like romantic suspense too.

Addison Greyborne had not been having a good year before she moved to a small New England town that had been named for her ancestors back in Colonial times. Addie is still recovering from the murder of her finace, her father dying in a tragic accident and then finding out a long lost aunt had also died but left her whole estate to Addie.

Addie inheritance however has given her the opportunity to start over and continue to work with books after leaving her job at the Boston Public Library. With her aunt having so many rare book in her collection and the funds to open a shop Addie decides to open Beyond the Page and had even begun to make friends in the town when her good friend Serena is arrested for murder and Addie finds herself teaming up with Serena’s police chief brother to clear her name.

Now as I said this one seemed to be crossing a bit over into romantic suspense with the main character not exactly working on her own and against the police as with a normal cozy set up. Instead Addie is pushing herself into the investigation and actually working with the police chief using her skills she had from her previous job and with a lot of flirting between the two a romantic connection did begin to grow. I do however like this set up as it gives credibility to the investigation.

This one however was missing my love of the overly quirky and eccentric characters but Addie was likable enough along with her love interest that I still enjoyed getting to know them. I did think a few times though that Addie’s actions seemed a bit too childish for a thirty something woman while flirting with someone. In the end though the book had a ton of action and an interesting plot relevant to the character that led me to give this one 3.5 stars and I would definitely continue with the series.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

This book was one that I found super enjoyable to read. - It had a lot of twists and turns but the characters were interesting as well. I enjoyed the fact that this was the first book in this series and excited that there are more books to come. I would recommend this book to anyone wanting an easy to read mystery that still leaves you guessing as to who the murderer is until the end of the story.

Too frantic and strained. Trying to do too much in one relatively short book, with too many characters that didn't get enough foundation or development. It was a nice touch to play up the relationships, but they seemed to come out of nowhere without enough foundation to be believable.

This is book 1 in the Beyond the Page Bookstore Mystery and Lauren Elliott’s debut novel. After receiving a substantial inheritance from her great aunt, Addie Geryborne leaves her job at the Boston Public Library and opens up a small second hand store in a quaint little town. It should be the perfect place for a fresh start after the sudden deaths of both her father and fiancée. However, some of the local merchants aren’t greeting her with a warm welcome. She soon finds a mysterious sedan following her and quickly becomes involved in a few breakins. Someone is definitely looking for something and they think Addie is hiding it!!

The mystery was really well done. It kept me guessing until the big reveal. The story introduces quite a few characters so the reader really needs to pay attention to pick up on small clues and keep everyone sorted out. I really enjoyed the main cast and setting. There is lots of room for some good development in both of these areas. Serena and Paige were definitely my favorites. Serena felt like a long lost friend. Loved her snarkiness and blunt honesty. Paige intrigued me from the start. Can’t wait to see how her relationship with her mother progresses. The quick pace of this book reminded me of the Hannah Swensen series. Addie falls into clues, situations and even a little romance very easily. I still found it entertaining and a good, light read. Her chemistry with the chief of police is really sweet. Being a avid reader, I loved all the mentions of rare, collector’s editions. The book concludes with a sneak peak at the sequel, Prologue to Murder, which will be available in the Spring.

Lauren Elliott's first Beyond the Page Bookstore mystery is a promising beginning. Addie Greyborne has been touched with altogether too much tragedy, but she's also been touched with an overdue sprinkling of fairy dust. The great-aunt she never knew was a rich woman, and now Addie can have her dream bookshop and live in an old Victorian house that's filled with first editions and other treasures that provide stock for her store. She's well-qualified to run such a business since she worked in the rare editions department of the Boston Public Library as well as the British Museum in London.

There is an excellent mystery in Murder by the Book: missing keys, Addie's shop and house being broken into, the local merchant being killed, secret panels, secret compartments, secret rooms... It was a pleasure to attempt to figure out what was going on. However, there are some annoying aspects to this book as well.

Murder by the Book tries to do too much for a first book in the series. The mystery is a complex one, and it is overshadowed by all the relationship building Addie does. She becomes immediate best friends with Serena, who owns the tea shop next-door. She hires a stranger off the street on her intuition alone, not even performing the most perfunctory background check. And then there's the budding romance with the local chief of police (who is also Serena's brother). This first book would have been improved if all this relationship stuff had been paired with a less complex mystery. This plot could then have followed in book two.

Other annoyances involve both writing and one particular character. In her writing, too many of Elliott's characters "huff," "puff," tap their toes or cross their arms across their chests and glare at someone. Not only did this make me want to hand everyone an asthma inhaler, I also felt as though I were reading about a group of reality TV divas. And then there's Martha, the crone in the bakery. Everyone tells Addie that Martha is always grumpy and never likes anyone. If she's always that hateful, how can she still be in business? No one ever says that her baking is ambrosia. Even her main complaint against Addie doesn't hold water. However-- if you ever need anyone to arm the villagers with pitchforks and flaming torches for a march on Frankenstein's castle, trust me, Martha is the perfect choice.

Even though Murder by the Book contains an excellent mystery and a likable main character, it is overshadowed by relationships and romance. Since I prefer my mysteries to focus on the mystery and not on the romance, I doubt that I'll continue with this series.