This was a decent mystery, but I read it out of order and I really don't like doing that. I doubt I'll continue with the series.

Charley and her gang are at it again in book 4 of the series. Could be read alone, but the previous books help. This one is going over an old case of a teen being murdered. When Charley finds an old journal of the victim, it get the creative juices flowing. Fun series, although I found myself skimming a bit in the middle. Otherwise, highly recommend.

This cozy mystery is one fascinating look into solving cold cases for amateur sleuths - but don’t be fooled by it’s cozy exterior, there’s some real meat in this story.

This book is the fourth in a series, but an be read as a standalone. I had no troubles keeping up with the characters or the plot.

The book begins with a tornado, which sends Charley and one of her young sleuth friends into an underground tunnel near the local high school. While there, Charley discovers an old backpack which contains a journal - which it turns out belongs to a girl who was murdered 40 years ago and whose killing was never solved. Charley and her friends set out to finally lay the case to rest and bring peace to their community.

The central mystery is really fascinating; Reagan’s murder was once thought to be solved, but through a strange series of events, it remains a cold case. This gives plenty of suspects and plenty of scenarios. And I did not solve this one before it was revealed. The author does a really good job of planting some red herrings and slipping in clues. The “historical” aspect just made things better, since Charley et al were working with memories and an old journal, not really fresh clues.

I also liked the characters for the most part - Charley and her friends were a real treat to see at work and I’m excited to see where they go from here. The romance between Charley and her boyfriend was a little on the cheesy side, but hey, if you like Hallmark-style movies, you’ll enjoy it.

Overall, I really was glued to the pages of this one. I found the mystery great and enjoyable, as well as the characters. This is a great series if you like cozies!

This simply was not the book for me. While the opening premise of a great storm and the ancient backpack being discovered was gripping the plot and pacing quickly became tedious.

I was more interested in the mystery itself than I was about being told how wealthy the main characters boyfriend was. I sincerely tried but ended up unable to finish this title. If I could have fast forwarded to the end I would have really enjoyed the resolution of the story. The usage of code deciphering and the chilling past murder and trial really made it hard to turn away from this. But alas I could not plod along through the numerous characters that I felt no endearment toward.

This is the 4th book in the Oakwood Mystery series. I really enjoyed this book. I've read the other books in the series and enjoyed them as well. Leslie Nagle has an enjoyable writing style that makes the book easy to read, her plots are interesting and her characters are well-drawn.

In this book, Charley discovers an old journal while escaping a tornado. It looks like a teenager's journal, and upon investigation turns out to belong to a murder victim. The identity of the murderer is actually still a little unclear and the journal is in code. After Charley and her band of friends break it, they find this cold case is still very hot.

I highly recommend this book. Thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Alibi and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Charley Carpenter runs a vintage clothing shop, but frequently turns detective when a mystery presents itself. Driving home to get ready for the first Oakwood Mystery Book Club meeting, Charley has to abandon her car when she is caught in the path of a tornado. escaping to safety through an underground tunnel at the high school, Charley discovers a backpack with a journal that is coded. After researching the code, she and one of the current high school students,PJ, who is a math wiz, determine that the journal belonged to Regan Fletcher , a young girl murdered 40 years ago after the Homecoming Football game. Her boyfriend had been convicted (while protesting his innocence) and a felon later confessed and recanted. Her boyfriend was never really freed from the suspicion of her murder. Charley and PJ continue to work on the coded journal and eventually figure out what was really going on 40 years before.

I found this mystery to be extremely entertaining, maybe because I was in high school in the 70's or maybe because of the interesting way the story was presented, Using technology that hadn't been available 40 years before. Sometimes the mix of old and new doesn't work, but this did.

So I enjoy books by this author. I liked this book. I would recommend it to others who are looking for a quick, light read.

A convoluted and clever murder mystery. A cold case becomes extremely hot for all involved. The usual group of characters from the previous books in the series, along with several new ones. I started this book and then forgot about it. When I picked it up again I wondered how could I have ever stopped reading it.

Another excellent edition to a wonderful series! Full of twists and turns that leaves you wanting more and enjoying each moment until the end when the killer is caught!

Another great book in the series. I wondered if it would be as good as the previous one in the series, it was. Though, I think the 3rd one is still my favorite so far. This one kept me guessing until the end. All the characters are great and it moves at a nice pace. Looking forward to the next in the series!

This is the 4th book in the popular "Oakwood Mystery Series." I have read the entire series and recommend it highly. Each book has a enjoyable mystery and likable charcters.
Thank you for the ARC for review. My opinion is my own.
In this next in series our protagonist Charley is busy running her vintage clothing shop when she is in a tornado . After the tornado she finds a mysterious diary written in code from the 1970's that appears to have belonged to a young girl who was murdered . Charley decides to investigate and finds out that the suspect was never caught. The mystery deepens when she finds that those she questions about the girl do not want to talk. She decides to involve her mystery club and they all begin a investigation. Soon a murder occurs that draw them in to a second mystery to solve.
I enjoy the small town true to life deception where people hid secrets and do not always tell the truth. The mystery was very well layered and kept me guessing.
This is a enjoyable well crafted cozy series that I highly recommend.

A tornado passes through Oakwood. It knocks out the power and provides a new mystery for Charley to investigate. In an underground tunnel, she finds an old journal. The journal belongs to a girl that was murdered in 1979. The journal is in code and some of the teens that help Charley work on decoding the journal.
The house is ransacked and a new murder occurs, so Charley knows the murderer is alive and afraid of being exposed.
I enjoyed all the detecting. In addition to Charley's gay friend, lesbian interactions become part of the cold case. So be aware if you are very conservative.
This is the fourth book in the series. Each has gotten better as ithe series goes along.

“ The Codebook Murders” is the fourth book in the Oakwood Mystery series by Leslie Nagel. Let me preface this by saying that this was my first time reading anything by this author. I enjoy the fact that this each book seems to have a new mystery to solve and can be read as a standalone. However, I did find myself wanting a little more background info and such, which was no fault of the author, but I do recommend starting with book one, The Book Club Murders.
This story began with action. There were lots of twists and turns throughout. I thought I had everything figured out but alas, I did not! I cannot wait to read this series in its entirety. I will definitely be checking out more from this author in the future

* I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review*

I loved this story very much, I love the mystery books that talk about books, if they are by Agatha Christie even more.
During a tornado, Charley finds a diary that belonged to a girl who died in the 70s and the culprit was never found. With the help of her mystery club she will try to solve this complicated case. Provided she is able to codify the diary which is written in code and to overcome the reticence of the people to whom they ask for information. Meanwhile there is a murder and a kidnapping.
Charley runs a vintage clothes shop. She is part of a mystery club born as a reading club and then became a real investigative group. She is a strong woman, stubborn, generous, intelligent, with great intuition to solve mysteries. All members of the club are funny and bizarre. I also loved the atmosphere of this small town, where everyone knows each other, full of secrets, gossip.
It's the fourth book in the series, each book may be enjoyed as a stand alone novel but for more enjoyment read the whole series
It's an intriguing and interesting book with a great pace, full of twists difficult to guess the ending.
Highly recommended

The Codebook Murders by Leslie Negel is the 4th book in the Oakwood Mystery series, and another great addition. I really enjoy this series. Charley Carpenter owns Old Hat Vintage Fashions in Oakwood, Ohio. Charley and a teenager are caught in a storm, when someone helps them into the safe under tunnel to the high school. While in the dark, Charley finds an old back pack and a book, filled with codes. The book seems to belong to a teenager who disappeared decades ago. Determined to find out what really happened to her, Charley is determined to find the truth. This book kept me reading page after page, and it had more twists and turns as we figured things out along with Charley. I strongly recommend this book and series.

I reviewed a digital arc provided by NetGalley and the publisher. Thank you.

New author to me and I am hooked. This book pulled me in and kept me guessing til the end. Writing is great and the characters are great to get to know and see evolve.

Charley found an old book and is determined to decode it and find the killer of a murder that happened in the past.

Oakwood, Ohio has had its calm disturbed by a large tornado. Charley is almost trapped in a tunnel until she and Katie are rescued by the high school janitor. While leaving the tunnel Charley trips and finds a backpack with a journal. The journal is tied to a 40-year-old murder of a local student, Rachel Fletcher. However, the journal is in code. Can Charley and her team solve the code and then discover the old murdered?

This is the first book in the series I’ve read. I really enjoyed the mystery and the characters.

I love a good cozy murder mystery, unfortunately I was disappointed by the quality of this one and struggled to finish it.
The story opens with a storm – clearly used as a mean to kick off the mystery. Even though it comes back throughout the story, the storm really doesn't serve any other purpose, which, in my opinion, felt like a missed opportunity to add spookiness to the action.
The mystery was interesting at first, I was really excited to decipher the code alongside the main character. However, it dragged on and the more I read, the more indifferent I felt to figuring out the mystery. The ending was okay, I guess, but not really satisfactory. I really did not like Regan’s character arc (the murder victim) nor the janitor’s - I thought their storyline was quite problematic to say the least. Charley (main character) was kind of irritating to me; her thoughts were a bit all over the place and often nonsensical. Moreover, I found it highly irresponsible of her to give dangerous tasks to teenagers (that she could do with them) and then to barely worry when they don’t answer their phones… that’s weird… oh well… like, what?! No, GO investigate why they don’t answer for Pete’s sake! They have an important piece of the puzzle and have been very careless with that, shouting it to the world. Oh and there’s a MURDERER on the loose!!! Unbelievable.

Also, there were just too many unnecessary characters. I understand having a mystery solving club sounds exciting and all, but it was poorly executed here. A lot of the characters were not written with much depth to them, very one-dimensional... I didn’t see the point for all their side stories – it was more boring than entertaining to me.

I think the biggest thing that hindered my enjoyment of this book was that I didn’t connect with the writing style at all. It felt very blunt; everything was explained as if we could not figure it out on our own… although, we did have unfinished thoughts a couple of times, but were more annoying than intriguing.

THINGS I LIKED:
• Although this is the 4th book in the Oakwood Mystery series, you don't need to have read the previous ones before thanks to the background info given, which was great.
• I really liked the promise of a rainy, stormy mystery that embodies the perfect cozy mystery atmosphere to me.
• There was a good amount of red herrings

The Codebook Murders by Leslie Nagel is the fourth installment of the cozy Oakwood Mystery series. Each book in the series is a new case to be solved so while the characters have carried over from book to book it would be possible to read any as a standalone if choosing to do so. There would however be a bit of character building left out as their lives have progressed from book to book.

This series has introduced readers to the author’s own small hometown of Oakwood, Ohio although while the city is real her characters and murder mysteries are not. The main character of the story, Charley Carpenter, owns Old Hat Vintage Fashions, a clothing store selling gently used antique fashions and has a knack for stumbling upon crimes.

The Codebook Murders begins with Charley racing the weather while trying to avoid a speeding ticket while heading home where she will be hosting a meeting of her Oakwood Mystery Club. As the weather worsens Charley and a teen she’d offered a ride to find themselves needing shelter from a tornado when a man shuttles them quickly inside into some underground tunnels as the tornado strikes and wouldn’t you know Charley finds a clue to an old unsolved cold case.

Having read all the books of the Oakwood Mystery series it’s always fun to rejoin the characters each time on their new adventure. Charley is a strong and determined female lead character that I’ve found very likable and she is dating a police detective so that gives her opportunities to further her own investigating. There are plenty of twists to keep engaged in the story throughout while trying to figure out just why the murder had taken place. Will look forward to any additional books added to this series to see just what Charley gets herself involved in next.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

A tornado forces Charley Carpenter and her friend to take refuge in a tunnel underneath the high school with the school janitor when she discovers an old backpack with a book written in code. Turns out the back pack and book belonged to Regan Fletcher, a vivacious high school senior murdered 40 years ago. As Charley becomes involved trying to break the code, a series of burglaries take place leading to another murder. In this entertaining cozy, Charley and friends are fascinated by the Nancy Drew books and many allusions to them are used to good effect. Series just keeps getting better!