Book two in Main Street book club series.
Setting small town Mississippi.
Arlo, and her friends are back at sleuthing. This time ladies in her book club are sticking their noses into a 50 year old local cold case .
Arlo can't seem to disuade them.
Fun cast of characters

Book store owner Arlo thought forming a book club would be fun but she has had her hands full ever since three elderly go-getters formed that club. They continue to suck her into the vortex of mystery solving by rash actions that Arlo is continually trying to hamper. It does not help that the police chief is her ex-boyfriend from high school.

I enjoyed the humor of the elderly book club members and liked that they were portrayed as vibrant individuals. Thanks to Sourcebooks and NetGalley for an ARC. The opinions expressed are my own.

Arlo is back along with the elderly members of her book club. This time they want to solve a missing person’s case from 50 years ago. I really loved how the author sowed the seeds of this mystery is the last book. It was very creative & pulled me in right away. Each of the book club members are colourful & clever, Arlo forever having to rein them in. I love the way the author writes & I find her mysteries quite unique. I’m definitely going to be reading the next instalment! Just like before Lillard leaves a thread that she’ll carry on to the next book, which is really appealing.

If you’re a reader, you probably love stories with book stores and book clubs as much as I do. This particular book club is a hoot. Three ladies, Helen, Fern, and Camille, all of the older generation, make up the book club. They meet at Arlo’s book store and she does her best with them. Do wish your book club could meet every day? I so enjoyed these ladies and their escapades. Grab a drink and join in the fun as these ladies take you on some interesting adventures. I enjoyed all the characters in this book and I think you will too. Now to find out who Daisy James-Harrison is. I received this book from NetGalley, but my opinion is my own.

I loved being back with this book club, and of course, Fletcher!
In the first book these lovely ladies solved the murder of Wally Harrison, and now they are at it again. They are convinced they know whom his book is about, and they are going to prove it, but then, another body!
You are going to want to join this Friday Night Book club, they sure are a hoot, and you know what, listen to what they have to say. I would love to hang around with these ladies!
As the book progresses surprising facts are revealed, and keep reading there are bombshells that are dropped right up to the last page.
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Poisoned Pen Press, and was not required to give a positive review.

There is nothing better than a great mystery and I loved this one. I loved the first book and this book is a great addition to the series. I loved reading about the fun characters in the book club and how they get wrapped up into a cold case and a fresh case.
I loved the mystery and the humor, both in this fun page-turner. The book club ladies turn into investigators, once more and run into a murder of a young girl. This is a cozy mystery and if this is your genre, you will just love it! The interweaving of the book that they are reading in their club and what is actually going on is very cool. Book club members in their 80's can make for a lively and fun read.

I received an ebook copy from NetGalley. All thoughts are my own.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of A Murder Between the Pages by Amy Lillard. Arlo Stanley and Cleo Carter run Arlo and Chloe's Books and More. They have daily meetings of book club ladies. They all go to Lily Field to pick up a donation of books. They also asked to see Haley Adams. As Haley came down the stairs, she had a fatal fall. Police were called, it was murder. One of the older ladies in the book club has a new boyfriend. He has prison tats and a shaved head. Arlo's book club ladies feel they can solve the mystery missing lady - such an unruly group of over 80 year old ladies. I would hate to be in charge of them. I've read stories of book stores, but none with such a rowdy, opinionated group of ladies. Amy has quite an imagination. What trouble these ladies get into.

Wally Harrison might be dead, his murder solved by Arlo and the Friday Night Book Club, but he is still causing trouble. The women of the club are convinced that Wally's book, Missing Girl, is based on a disappearance that occurred fifty years ago. They use Arlo to gain entrance to the place the real missing girl was last seen. Unfortunately, within moments of their arrival, a murder occurs. Àrlo and the club end up with two mysteries to solve. Like how Arlo doesn't set out to solve the mystery. She is trying to keep her friends out of trouble since they are the ones wanting to get involved. I like how the two murders tied together. I'm looking forward to seeing what the mystery will be in the third book. After all there is the movie premiere of Missing Girl in Sugar Springs' future.

Arlo and her best friend Chloe run a coffee shop and bookstore in a small Mississippi town. Arlo started a book group but the 3 older ladies who joined have become obsessed with solving mysteries - and not just between the pages of books. Between a 50-year-old mysterious disappearance and a present day murder ,Arlo has her hands full keeping these 3 out of danger.

A very well written and entertaining cozy mystery. Mystery fans will love this book. I received an advance ebook from the publisher and Netgalley. This is my unbiased review.

I thought this book was a bit confusing. It jumps around and the characters seem to be stuck in the bookstore every day for a book club which never discusses books. I liked the characters ok but they're not very developed. #A Murder Between the Pages #NetGalley

This is the 2nd in Main Book Street Book Club series. Arlo Stanley is a co-owner with friend Chloe of a book store and coffee shop in Sugar Springs Mississippi. Arlo started a Friday night book club with the intent to get younger people into the store but instead she ends up with three less than young ladies including Helen who was her guardian when she decided she was tired of moving around with her hippie parents when she was 16 years old. Arlo is content to stay in one spot after moving around her whole childhood. Helen and her two friends Fern and Camille are the book club and in their eighties. They decide after the excitement of helping to solve the mystery of Wally the author of Missing Girl to solve the real case of Missing Girl in Sugar Springs. The ladies are convinced that Wally’s story is based on the real life disappearance and presumed murder of Mary Kennedy from the Lilyfield estate fifty years ago. When Arlo has to go to the estate to pick up a donation the ladies of the book club tag along and another murder happens of young girl Haley who is working there and is the sister of their employee Courtney. Are the two murders related. Arlo has little control over the ladies and their antics is what keeps the story going. Arlo at every turn seems to dismiss the ladies comparisons between Wally’s book and the cold case of Mary Kennedy. Things don’t add up on Haley’s case as well as Mary’s case. I did enjoy this book but I could not believe some of the things that the ladies were able to do and the police ignoring such blatant disregard of rules. There also is a love triangle which personally I do not like in stories. Hopefully the history of the police chief Mads, Sam the private investigator and Arlo can get resolved. I do look forward to the next installment as I am guessing based on all the discussion of a movie premiere of Wally’s book will happen during that. Sounds promising.

Murder Between the Pages by Amy Lillard, is the 2nd book in the Main Street Book Club Mysteries, and it's another fun addition. This book takes place in Sugar Springs Mississippi. Arlo Stanley is the owner of the bookstore, she also has to keep watch of the Friday Night Book Club, which is made up of elderly ladies. A few months ago they helped solve a murder, and now they have decide to investigate a 50 year old missing persons case. When a young women is murdered, the club is determined the cases are connected. I really enjoyed this cozy, and am looking forward to the next book in the series. I highly recommend this book.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I received my copy from netgalley! I always love Amy's book's! I love a good mystery! I loved the cover I loved the character's! I love the story has A book club in it. I can't wait for more! I hope she writes more in this series!

After local author Wally Harrison's murder was solved by the local Friday Night Book Club it seemed only fitting to choose his novel The Missing Girl  as one of their next reads. Unfortunately for the Books and More Store co-owner Arlo the three elderly club members become convinced a local case is the factual basis for the fictional bestseller and are determined to solve the mystery once and for all.

The decades old missing person case they investigate via the new novel is complicated by a present day murder which conveniently happens right in front of the four of them. Arlo's presence in all things investigative is explained away by her not wanting them to get into trouble which given their determination to ignore most of what she says would serve them right!

A Murder Between the Pages is the second in this series and could have made more sense if I had read book one first as it may have explained why local a book store proprietor lets her business run itself while she rushes around town in her older friends' wake. The three elderly protagonists lead main character Arlo a merry dance and none of them come across in a positive light or in the case of Camille, Fern and Helen a likeable one.

Although this is an enjoyable read it tends to ride roughshod across any recognised law enforcement procedures paying no attention to crime scene protocols, chain of custody requirements, or basic good manners. None of which, so far as I could see, was discouraged or prevented when most of their actions would have negated any chance of a successful prosecution in the future.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the opinions expressed are my own. Unfortunately there are too many excellent cosy crime novels which don't have these unbelievable elements for this one to stand up to scrutiny.

Arlo and Chloe are partners in a book shop. Arlo decided a book club on Friday night would be great to attract all kinds of hip people to the store but instead they get three octogenarians that meet daily and tend to get involved with solving murders.

There were a lot of characters thrown in at once and I had a hard time getting them straight. Perhaps that is due to the fact that this is the second in a series. In this outing the gals are discussing a book called Missing Girls, written by someone who lived in the town and they claim is a fictionalized version of the murder of Mary Kennedy which took place 50 years ago. At the same time a young girl is murdered at the same estate and they want to solve that too. I found it confusing because they jumped around so much and I couldn't keep track if they were talking about the Mary Kennedy murder or the recent one. There was a lot of talking about the murders with the women running around town doing crazy things and Arlo being the straight man and trying to rein them in. Throw in an old high school sweetheart, Sam, who lives above the shop and another ex, Mads, who is on the police force and there is a little inkling of a romance.

I never felt truly engaged in the mystery. To me it was just a lot of speculation until the very end. Even though I hadn't really figured it out by then I just really didn't care. I liked Arlo and the ladies were certainly interesting but I didn't feel like any of the characters came to life for me.

I would read another in the series, or make sure I read the first and hope that it excites me more than this one did.

Thank you to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the opportunity to read this book.

I enjoyed this second in the Main Street Book Club Mysteries set in Sugar Springs, Mississippi where Arlo and her friend Chloe own a bookstore and coffee shop on Main Street. Arlo wanted to start a Friday night book club where she was hoping to attract young people but instead a group of almost eighty year old ladies meet at the shop to discuss books, only it's every day around noon. Oh well. The ladies are reading a book written by a local author Wally Harrison, that we met in the first book in the series, and is now deceased. They believe that Wally's book, Missing Girl, is really about a local mystery never solved, where local piano teacher Mary Kennedy disappeared fifty years ago after giving lessons to the young son of a wealthy family. They have now another mystery to solve because while they were at the estate doing a little sleuthing, a young girl falls down the stairs while they are standing in the entryway. It is later discovered that she was murdered before falling. Arlo has her hands full keeping Helen, Fern, and Camille out of trouble as they brazenly investigate both mysteries. She is also dealing with some unfinished business from high school with ex-beaus PI Sam and local police chief Mads, both of whom have recently returned home. Camille is in love with a new man in town and Sam cannot find any information on him. This is a fun new read with the feisty book club ladies and others. It is filled with twists, turns, and layered with different surprises along the way.
I received a complimentary ARC from Poisoned Pen Press through NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine only.

I read book 1 of this series and liked it well enough to give book 2 a try. Arlo owns Books & More in small town Sugar Springs. She started a book club in book 1. Three older ladies in town make up the book club. As in the first book, the ladies, Helen, Fern and Camille, get out of control easily. It seems that it is Arlo’s job to rein them in since the book club was her idea.
Mads is the town sheriff and an old beau of Arlo. Sam is a private investigator who rents the 2nd floor of Arlo’s shop and an old beau of Arlo. The relationships between Arlo and the men are part of the story but Arlo avoids the issues from the past. I don’t think this possible love triangle adds much to the story.
The book club ladies are obsessed with a fifty year old disappearance that they think is behind the book The Missing Girl, which was written by Wally who died in the first book. The investigation puts the ladies and Arlo front and center for a modern day murder.
The dramatics and carrying on of the book club ladies makes the book seem longer to me.
The past and present mysteries don’t seem to be related...at first. The winding up is full of danger and drama.
I feel like the elements of a good cozy mystery are all there but they don’t mesh for me in this series. The book is good but doesn’t shine or draw me through the story quickly like some other series I read. That makes it 3 stars.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review the book prior to publication.

The cozy mystery, A MURDER BETWEEN THE PAGES by Amy Lillard, offers small town life, a book club, eccentric characters, murder, and some humor. It’s the second book in a series called the Main Street Book Club Mysteries.

Arlo Stanley, together with her best friend Chloe Carter, own a bookstore and coffee shop in Sugar Springs, Mississippi. Hoping to start a Friday night book club for cool and hipster intellectuals, Arlo instead is saddled with three octogenarian women who fancy themselves as sleuths. They quickly become interested in solving a murder from 50 years ago. While searching for clues, they stumble across another murder. Now they have two murders to solve!

The first half of the book was a bit off to me as it broke the “show, don’t tell” rule and this undermined the natural flow of the book. I felt lost a couple times - not from the mystery but from trying to figure out what the author was trying to say.

If you like your books with an emphasis on cozy and less on mystery, this series is for you. There were multiple twists in the book, but most of them were not shocking. While it’s not necessary to read the first book in the series to read this one, I would suggest reading them in order as there are character developments, relationships and information that evolve and it would make it more enjoyable as there are many references throughout.

Special thanks to NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press and Amy Lillard for sharing this ARC  in exchange my honest review. ❤️️

A MURDER BETWEEN THE PAGES by Amy Lillard brings small town living, a cozy book store/coffee shop, quirky characters and humor to this cozy mystery. It is the second book in the Main Street Book Club Mysteries series and is set in Sugar Springs, Mississippi.

Our protagonist, Arlo Stanley, is co-owner of a bookstore and coffee shop with her high school friend, Chloe Carter. Arlo started a Friday night book club which three octogenarians, Fern, Camille, and Helen, joined. Their next book selection is by a local, deceased author and focuses on a missing girl. The women believe the book was inspired by a cold case that occurred in their town during the 1970’s. When another young woman, Haley, dies at the house where the girl disappeared, the book club decides to investigate both cases. What happened fifty years ago? Did the girl run away or was she murdered? Did Haley have an accident or is there something more sinister behind her death?

Arlo is a character that seems to be the ‘straight man’ to the three octogenarians who were the stars of the book in my eyes. She tries to keep them out of trouble, but continues to be pulled into their shenanigans. This makes for some comical scenes that lighten some very serious themes. However, we gain insight into Arlo’s personality through her interactions with these women and this makes her feel more real and relatable. Her voice manifested in her mindset, vocabulary, opinions, body language and her internal narrative. There are a lot of characters to get to know rather quickly, but if you pay attention, they become clear and distinct.

The author did a great job of creating a strong sense of place. The first part of the book had several instances of “telling” rather than “showing” and this detracted from the initial flow. However, as events transpired and the action picked up, I soon felt like I was living the events alongside the characters. There were several twists in the book, but most of them were not great surprises except for the last sentence in the book.

If you like entertaining and amusing cozy mysteries, then this is one you should check into. It worked well as a standalone novel, but would likely add background and depth if read in order. This is the first book that I have read by this author and I look forward to enjoying the next book in the series.

Thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and Amy Lillard for a digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. This is my honest review. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way. Publication date is currently set for November 24, 2020. This review was originally posted at Mystery and Suspense Magazine.