Member Reviews
Storyton Hall is hosting a competition – poets vying for a greeting card contract. When a woman is found dead in a rowboat on the lake, and another death occurs later, Jane and the Fins work with local law enforcement to learn who is responsible.
This is book #8 in this series, and I enjoyed it every bit as much as the previous books in the series, perhaps even more. Each book makes me wish my area had something like Storyton Hall and the town surrounding it. The characters are like old friends, and it’s been fun watching relationships grow as the series progresses. Issues and problems come up that they have to deal with, but they work through them with the help of their friends.
There seemed to be plenty of suspects to consider here, and it was hard to narrow my mental list down to just a few characters. I like the way Jane and the rest work *with the police, rather than conducting their own investigation and keeping what they learn to themselves. I have to wonder, though, how realistic it is for the police to welcome, even ask for, help from civilians in trying to solve the crimes. The person ultimately revealed to be the killer as on my list, but didn’t move to the top until just before it was revealed in the book. I look forward to reading the next book in this series.
Ellery Adams does it again in the latest Book Retreat series...... Murder on the Poet's Walk has some of my favorite characters doing what they all do best. Get your hands on this book when it is released. Thanks
@NetGalley
for the ARC.
Ellery Adams is my go-to person when I need a comfort read so this fit perfectly for this week.
In book 8 we join Jane and her book retreat crew as they host a poet competition for a greeting card company. Unfortunately, the competition turns deadly for two competitors. Can Jane and crew find the killer or will they get away scot-free?
One of my favorite things about this series is all the book recommendations. I learn many new authors from this series. There is a combination of poets and fiction authors mentioned. I like poetry but in small doses.
This series is best read in order but honestly, Adams does a great job in giving just enough background that if you started with any book you would be fine.
Look at your favorite book dealer (retailer) for pre-ordering options.
I received a complimentary copy from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions expressed above are entirely my own.
The Book Retreat series is among my very favorite mystery series. The books set at Storyton Hall are amazing reads for mystery and/or book lovers. This one, the 8th in the series, is among the very best of them.
Storyton Hall is hosting a poetry competition where the winner will "win" a greeting card competition.
Love the regular characters, Jane Steward in particular, along with her family and the "Fins."
Always a treasure, always enjoyable to read. Absolutely loved this installment in the Book Retreat series.
This author has written so many books including six separate series in one of my favourite genres and this is the first one I have read. I have really been missing out!
Murder on the Poet's Walk is the eighth book in The Book Retreat Mysteries. It is set at Storyton Hall, a book retreat managed by Jane Steward. She is backed by a cast of excellent characters including her twin boys, her partner Edwin, some very faithful staff and a group of close friends. In this story they are hosting a group of poets who are competing for a valuable contract with a greetings card company. First one of the poets is found murdered, then another and Jane is determined to discover the murderer.
I really enjoyed this book despite the fact that I was very late to the party. Storyton Hall is a beautiful setting and the writing is very well done. I loved all the literary references and if the place really existed I would definitely have a holiday there! Now I must look out for more books by this author and go back and read the earlier ones in this series.
Ellery Adams writes outstanding cozy mysteries. With this book she continues her Book Retreat series at the bibliophile resort, Storyton Hall. See my complete review at www.reviewingtheevidence.com.
Murder on the Poet's Walk by Ellery Adams
Publisher: Kensington Cozies
Publishing: September 27, 2022
Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Huge thank you to Netgalley and Ellery Adams for my digital copy of the book to review. All opinions are my own.
Synopsis from Amazon: "As Jane eagerly anticipates the wedding of her best friend Eloise Alcott, Storyton Hall is overrun with poets in town to compete for a coveted greeting card contract. They’re everywhere, scrawling verses on cocktail napkins in the reading rooms or seeking inspiration strolling the Poet’s Walk, a series of trails named after famous authors. But the Tennyson Trail leads to a grim surprise: a woman’s corpse drifting in a rowboat on a lake, a crumpled copy of “The Lady of Shallot” in her lifeless fist.
When a second body is discovered, also holding a page from a poetry book, a recurring MO emerges. Fortunately, Jane is well versed in sleuthing and won’t rest until she gives the killer a taste of poetic justice . . ."
My Thoughts: I had never read a cozy mystery before Ellery Adams' The Secret Book and Scone Society. This is my second and I wonder why I never got into the genre before!
This book was a breath of fresh air for me. If you can imagine Gilmore Girls' Stars Hollow with the town having a book theme and a few murders, you have Storyton Hall. While it is 8th in the series, this was my first time with Storyton Hall's residents. I loved getting to know Jane, Butterworth, the twins, and all the other lovely characters. I wish it were a real place because I would go visit in a second.
The mystery part was just right without being too overbearing and gruesome. It was still murder, yes, but not on a horror scale. If you want a mystery that won't give you nightmares or you haven't read a cozy mystery yet, go grab this one. It drops at the end of September, just in time for spooky season! 👻
#bookreview #bookreviews #netgalley #netgalleyreview #ARC #advancedreaderscopy #newbooks #newrelease #elleryadams #murderonthepoetswalk #mystery #cozymystery #storytonhall
Storytime Hall is full of poets vying for a coveted job with a greeting card company. As Jane helps the owners of the card company organize the different events that will lead up to their winner and a job offer, she is also preparing for her best friend's wedding. So when one a the guest turns up murdered, Jane and the Fins are determined to help the sheriff solve the murder before the guests are due to check out and Eloise and Landon’s wedding.
I love the setting of Storyton Hall. This would be an ideal place for a reader to vacation, well except for the occasional murder or two. Jane, her sons, the Fins, and the Cover Girls (Jane’s friend and book club members) are interesting, smart, and likable characters. Jane is not only smart at managing a resort, but does it while raising twin pre-teen boys, and helping solve murders. The Fins are loyal to Jane and her family, they will do whatever it takes to keep the family safe and Storyton Hall’s secret protected. The Cover Girls are each unique in their own ways and a great group of friends, they celebrate one another and are are there for each other in times of need. The mystery is well-paced, with plenty of suspects and surprises to keep you guessing whodunnit and why. I recommend this book to cozy mystery fans.
All thoughts and opinions are my own, and I have not been by anyone.
I love this series and I love Ellery Adams.
I enjoyed coming back to Storyton Hall with the beautiful scenery and the literary-themed atmosphere. Its a place I wish that I could really visit. I love how independent and strong Jane is. All the characters are really well developed. I would love to meet the twins, I bet they are a hoot.
Our favourite resort manager, Jane Steward, is back for a new adventure! This time she is playing host to a poetry competition, where one lucky poet will win a greeting card contract! However, the contest starts to turn deadly when a contestant turns up dead. Who is determined to narrow the playing field? And, will Jane find the killer before they strike again!
I absolutely love Ellery Adams' stories! Her Charmed Pie Shoppe mysteries are in my top 5 favourite series! She crafts delightful, interesting mysteries that bring in the reader like no other. Her new novel, Murder on the Poet's Walk, is no exception.
The series always delivers a great mystery, but it is the characters and interesting facts about other authors that keeps me coming back. This one centres around poetry, and in particular Walt Whitman. As an Australian, who now resides in Canada, I found the history of American poets really fascinating!
The mystery itself was top-notch and I didn't manage to solve it before Jane and her friends. I sure had fun trying, though! At every dead end, I had to look at the rest of the never-ending suspects! It definitely kept me on the edge of my seat, until the final denouement!
I cannot recommend this series enough. Whenever I suggest it, I always say "come for the mystery, and stay for Storyton"! Storyton is a delight, and one cozy town you have to visit!
Jane Seward and the entire cast of Storyton Hall are back in this eighth installment of the Book Retreat Mysteries series. In this book Storyton Hall is hosting a full house of poets there to attend a poetry competition. A greeting card company is offering a lucrative contract to one poet who wins the competition. When one of the poets is found dead in a rowboat on the lake, posed as "The Lady of Shallot", the poetry competition has become too competitive. Jane, her staff, her book club friends, and the Sheriff race to find the killer. All the poets are suspects along with a few others.
I enjoyed returning to Storyton Hall with the beautiful scenery and the literary-themed atmosphere. The characters are delightful and I can count on Ellery Adams for an interesting cozy mystery to get lost in for awhile. I've read several books in this series and have enjoyed them all. I can highly recommend this series for anyone who enjoys a good cozy mystery.
Thanks to Kensington Books through Netgalley for an advance copy. This book will be published on September 27, 2022.
Murder on the Poet’s Walk in the eight mystery in the Book Retreat Mysteries series. When Storyton Hall is full of poets in competition for a greeting card contract and one of the competitors turns up murdered, Jane Steward and her crew are on the search for another murderer among them. I have enjoyed this series from the beginning and this book is no different. In the past I have listened to the audiobooks of this series, but this is the first one I have actually read and I enjoyed it just as much, I can even hear the narrator in my head when I’m reading certain dialogue. The Storyton Hall setting and underlying storylines are always interesting and help pull the reader into the world even more. This is a series that I would definitely recommend to cozy mystery buffs!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book!
This is one of my favorite cozy mystery series and I enjoyed delving back into Jane's world, but I think this latest installment is my least favorite so far. A bit too slow in parts.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free e-copy.
This is book 8 of the series and takes the rear back to the grounds of Storyton Hall, where murder seems to be becoming a bit too common place, as all the characters alude to during the book! With a poetry contest uncerway, there seems to be no end to the prose and sense of foreboding, though the underlaying reasons and relations seem a mit murky indeed. It's a fun take that will have you rereading your havorite poems by the end, and looking to bake some of the scrumptious recipes included! perfect for Fall reading don't miss putting this on your 'to read' list!
Murder on the Poet’s Walk
A Book Retreat Mystery #8
by Ellery Adams
Publisher:
When corpses clutching poems begin turning up around Storyton Hall, resort manager Jane Steward is on the trail of someone exercising poetic license to kill . . .
As Jane eagerly anticipates the wedding of her best friend Eloise Alcott, Storyton Hall is overrun with poets in town to compete for a coveted greeting card contract. They’re everywhere, scrawling verses on cocktail napkins in the reading rooms or seeking inspiration strolling the Poet’s Walk, a series of trails named after famous authors. But the Tennyson Trail leads to a grim surprise: a woman’s corpse drifting in a rowboat on a lake, a crumpled copy of “The Lady of Shallot” in her lifeless fist.
When a second body is discovered, also holding a page from a poetry book, a recurring MO emerges. Fortunately, Jane is well versed in sleuthing and won’t rest until she gives the killer a taste of poetic justice…
My Thoughts
I enjoyed returning to Storyton in Ellery Adams’ latest novel in the Book Retreat Mystery Series. Two things keep me reading these books: the characters and the strong bonds they share with each other and the well-written mystery that keeps me guessing all the way through the story.
The characters are a family-either by blood or by the strength and longevity of their relationships. Jane’s devotion to her elderly relatives-Great-Aunt Octavia and Great-Uncle Aloysius comes through in the writing, as does her anguish when Uncle Aloysius starts becoming forgetful. Jane is also a single mother to mischievous twin sons Fitzgerald and Hemingway. But she isn’t the sole adult raising the boys; close friends and staff at Storyton Hall are also raising Fitzgerald and Hemingway. There is a trust and love among the characters that bring me back for more.
Adams also crafts well-plotted and hard to solve mysteries. The red herrings are effective in keeping me guessing as to the murderer’s identity. The twists and turns keep the plot moving and me engaged in reading—Adams’ writing makes it difficult to put her books down once started! Recommended.
Publishing Information:
Kensington Books
304 Pages
ISBN: 9781496729491
ON SALE: 09/27/2022
FICTION / MYSTERY & DETECTIVE / WOMEN SLEUTHS
Thanks to #Netgalley for providing a copy of the book #Murderonthepoetswalk
I love this series.
Really like all the characters,especially the Cover Girls BOok Club,the FIns and the boys.
Just a great mystery,throughly enjoyed.
Voluntarily reviewed.
I so want to visit/live at the amazing Storyton Hall every time I read an installment, and this one adds yet more layers to the characters and estate with this poet filled mystery, well written and filled with surprises.
Poets convene at Storyton Hall for a contest, and two end up dead. Why, you ask? They were in competition to win a greeting card contract. Along with this, Jane is preparing for a wedding for her best friend Eloise. I love all of the poet references in this book, especially to Tennyson's Lady of Shalott. I really enjoyed this book, and I know you will, too. It's like going to a special place on earth where all good books and people converge. I'd like to be able to visit an actual Storyton Hall, if one existed.
Murder on the Poet's Walk by Ellery Adams is book #8 in the Book Retreat Mysteries series. I enjoyed all the poetry references. I envy the characters since they all seem to be so well read. They all can recite quotes from literature and the others recognize the author of the quote. Kudos to them. They are such well-developed and likable characters. It was quite entertaining to follow along the trail of this murder mystery. I love this author's writing style and look forward to her next book.
When I think of cozy mysteries, I think of books just like this one, that gives all the feels, thrills and can satisfies just about every reader's heart. This is a perfect books to snuggle up with on any day.