The perfect follow up to the first book in this series.

It’s witty, thrilling and keeps you guessing the entire time. It’s also a great cozy mystery story.

I am a big fan of Tamar Berry and this cozy did not disappoint. Love the characters and the story line!

This is such a wonderful book in a great series. I love all the characters and the story had just the right amount of twists and turns, I highly recommend this book and series

I love this series so much and the perfect dynamic of mother and daughter; always full of laughs and feels so unique.

I cannot get enough of these characters! I wish this was a cozy mystery series with 20+ books, I would devour them all. Once again we find the main characters going through some crazy, outlandish scenarios that Tess has to team up with her hunky detective to solve. The plot is so creative that I have no idea what Miss Tamara is going to come up with until my mind is blown and then I'm laughing my butt off and what happens. I never thought I would enjoy a cozy mystery series as much as I am but wow, I love her writing. These are officially my comfort books that I will definitely be reading again and again.

*Many thanks to Poisoned Press for the gifted copy for my honest review*

Author Tess Harrow and her teenage daughter Gertrude have moved to Winthrop permanently. Their once primitive cabin has been renovated to provide some comforts they are used to. Now Tess has begun transforming her late grandfather’s former hardware store into an independent bookstore.
The work ends abruptly when human bones are found during demolition. The discovery leads many in the town to believe her grandfather was a murderer. Tess calls upon a fellow author friend to help her solve the murder and clear her grandfather’s name.
This is book two in the By the Book Mysteries series. I enjoyed the first book and looked forward to this addition to the series. The characters continue to develop and the new characters are well-developed. The setting is described nicely and easy to picture as you read.
The plot to this story is original and engaging. I found it hard to put down at times. I am looking forward to reading book three and recommend this book.

I didn’t read the first one in this series, but requested an ARC of no 3 before I’d finished this second one! So much fun. Obviously missing a little background detail as to how Tess and Gertie wound up at the cabin, but the backstory was well enough incorporated that I managed to figure it out without feeling lost. Tess is a terrific character: funny, clever, witty and unapologetic/unashamed of going to great, and sometimes odd, lengths to research information for the thriller novels she writes. Hence the reason we open the story and find her in a basement, sitting on a chair with her hands tied behind her back and trying to escape.

When the ceiling collapses, dumping a skeleton on top of her, she’s drawn into the mystery of who it was and how they wound up in the floor of her grandfather’s old hardware store. The sheriff plays a great, straight foil to Tess’s slightly manic approach to everything, and Tess is searching for answers while trying to decide if letting Gertie, just 15, shadow the ME for a school career’s programme is actually a good idea.

A great cast of characters, well-rounded and thought out, and a great mystery with plenty of both clues and red herrings. Another new series going on my TBR pile. Recommended!

Bestselling author Tess Harrow and her teenage daughter Gertrude have decided to make Winthrop their home. They're turning the family hardware store that Tess inherited from her late grandfather into the town's first independent bookstore. But when renovations unearth bones from a cold case Tess calls in a fellow horror author for reinforcements. Together, they'll come up with a perfect story to make all the clues fit, and solve a mystery more than thirty years in the making.
This was a very interesting cozy mystery. I felt like I was missing something from the start. I realized I didn’t understand the romantic subplot. I think I will have to read the first story in the series. Otherwise, the characters were likeable, and the plot kept me turning the pages until the end. Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this advanced reader’s copy. This review is my unbiased opinion.

I really loved this book in a new to my series and author. I can't wait to read the next one. The characters and location really add to the plot. This book keeps you guessing until the end

This was a riveting and rollicking mystery novel. The pacing of the book is spot on and i loved the humor. I also enjoyed getting to know more about Sheriff Boyd.
Many thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

After all this midwestern mayhem, I ended the month in one of my favorite states, Washington, and the fictional town of Winthrop, where mystery writer Tess Harrow and her daughter Gertrude have settled down permanently after Tess' divorce. Tess is remodeling her grandfather's hardware store when a body is found, and then a second body, and soon Tess realizes that the murders are eerily familiar. Funny and delightful, with engaging secondary characters, a realistically healthy yet imperfect mother-daughter relationship, and a small town full of very quirky inhabitants make for a very fun read. Yes, I figured out the whodunnit pretty early on, but that didn't stop me from enjoying the book. I want to read the first in the series now, and hope I don't have to wait too long for Tess and Gertrude's next adventure

2nd book in the series and another enjoyable read. Months have passed since Tess first came to live in her deceased Grandfather's cabin. She and her teenager daughter, Gertie, now call it home. The book opens with them renovating her grandfather's old abandoned hardware store. Like the first book, there's a boom and Tess ends up hitting the ground and covered in bones. (Loved that it mirrored the first book this way.) A missing person's case has now turned into a murder case and Tess has to follow the clues to clear her Grandfather's name.

Loved the new characters introduced in this book. Tamara Berry is wonderful at bringing her characters to life. The mystery, the setting, the characters make me want to read more!

With that said, I deduct a 1/2 star for some of the repetitive actions or comments that kept popping up. A huge one that stood out is all the blushing that keeps going on. It reached a point where I was rolling my eyes at every mention of any character that blushed. A little bit of overkill.

I deduct another 1/2 a star for the ending. Much like the 1st book, the last 1/4 of the book makes me raise an eyebrow at the antics that happen in solving the final case. I still have a few questions on a new character introduced at the end of the story that may be sticking around for the next book. No spoilers, just hoping that the next book will answer all my "why?" questions. The murder mystery (like any cozy) gets solved. But the ending seems to let a few things slide and expect you to accept it. I do just because I enjoy the writing so much. It can be read as a stand alone but it is worth it to go back and read the 1st book.

Despite my eyerolls, I do give this book 4 stars and look forward to the next in the series. Thank you #Netgalley and #PoisonedPenPress for this eARC.

At first, I was a little slow to get into this book. However, it really started to grab me once I got past the catch up and new character intros. I honestly can't say I had any idea who the murderer was until they were revealed. That's a bit of a first for me with a cozy mystery book. It was refreshing. I will need to go back to read the first book.

On Spine of Death is the second By the Book cozy mystery by Tamara Berry. Released 29th Nov 2022 by Poisoned Pen Press, it's 408 pages and is available in mass market paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This is an appealing small town cozy with a full complement of eccentric characters, usually including the requisite handsome local officer of the law, and featuring an intelligent female amateur sleuth. The genre is wildly popular and due to the abundance, more than a few are, frankly, formulaic and predictable. In this case the writing is well above average, engaging, well done and entertaining. There's more than a little humor, and the dialogue is never overwrought or clunky.

For readers who love small-town mysteries, especially bookish mysteries, this one combines both. It's potentially a little too gritty to be called a proper cozy mystery, but it's not very graphic and readers will likely have no trouble with the descriptions.

Four stars. Definitely worth a look for fans of bookish small-town cozies. There are currently two books out, with a third due out in second quarter, 2023, making it a good candidate for a weekend mini-binge read.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Tess is one of the oddest cozy mystery characters ever. That is not to say it is a bad thing. Her daughter Gertrude is equally as unusual. It works though. The mystery on this one was a bit weak. This was my first book in the series, but I would read another.

This is book 2 in the By the Book series. It can be read as a stand alone. Tess is a best selling mystery writer and she and her daughter Gertrude are making Winthrop their permanent home. They solved a murder in book 1 and now the townsfolk are expecting them to solve this new murder. While Tess and Gertrude are renovating the old hardware store into a bookshop they find some bodies. Now they are trying to prove their Grandfather didn't murder them. A good story with lots of great characters. An easy to read book that is enjoyable.

This is such a fun series! The mystery was so fun and well plotted. I love the characters and all of their antics. I missed some of the entertaining banter between Tess and Sheriff Boyd in this one, but I still enjoyed this book so much. I cannot wait for book 3!

⭐⭐⭐⭐ -- Cute cover on this one!

This is the second cozie in a row that has been an absolute delight to read. 🙌🏻 Despite it being the second book in the series and having a plot point that carries over from book one, this held up incredibly well as a standalone. It was well written and well paced. The plot was engaging, and humorous, with plenty of red herrings to keep this reader guessing. And speaking of that, the twist at the end was aces. I never saw that coming, and if you know me, you know I can sherlock with the best of them. 😂 Last, the characters were plentiful and likable.

The only thing stopping this from being a 5 star read was the....LOVE TRIANGLE 🤦🏻‍♀️ If I wanted to read about a love triangle I would pick up a romance. They don't belong in cozy mysteries, and honestly it just seemed like an awkward addition here. 🤷🏻‍♀️

**ARC Via NetGalley**

This was a cute second book in the series. I love that it wasn't a new murder that took place but a discovery of something in the past. I find sometimes cozy mysteries have so many murders happening that it's almost unbelievable sometimes so this was a great way to spin that. I did think the ending kind of came out of no where and I'm not sure I love that. But I gotta say Tamara Berry sure knows how to keep you guessing and expected the unexpected in this series. Overall it's a good read and I would definitely continue reading more in the series.

Have I ever mentioned how much I love Tess and Gurdy? Seriously, love this mother daughter duo. The dynamic they have, along with the town, makes for an excellent cozy mystery backdrop.

Second, sign me up for rural Washington living. They really did a number by turning the house and hardware store into a space of their own, minus a few dead bodies.

Once again Tess is up to no good, using her amazing research and author skills to locate another murderer.