Gemma Doyle is part owner of a bookstore dedicated to the great Shelock Holmes and has a great intuition for solving mysteries. With her best friend, Jayne Wilson, Gemma agrees to check out the town historical site Scarlet
House's recent strange activities. A few strange events happen the night they spend at the house, but Gemma is sure they can be easily explained without her looking into them any further. But after Gemma and Jayne find one of the volunteer workers dead, Gemma is sure more is going on.

Is there a ghost causing trouble at the Scarlet House, the oldest house in West London, Massachusetts? The local historical society needs answers and they turn to Gemma Doyle to find them. It isn't long before the question of the pesky ghost takes a back seat to the even bigger question. Who is the murderer? When a dead body comes on the scene Gemma and her friend Jayne are on the case. Who wants to cause trouble for the historical society/museum and why? Their major effort centers on doing historical re-enactments and murder isn't part of the script.
This series of eight books - so far - has never disappointed me. Each mystery entertains me from start to finish with Gemma, Jayne and assorted recurring characters. The Sherlock Holmes Bookshop and Emporium is a shop I would love to visit in real life. Until then this series will do just fine.
My thanks to the publisher Crooked Lane and NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

You just have to love an author like Vicki Delany who is consistently good no matter what series she is working on. Her plots are thoughtful and intriguing. Characters are interesting and well-developed. Appreciate her references to Sherlock Holmes. Thanks to #NetGalley and #thegameisafootnote for advanced digital copy.

Grab a fresh baked blueberry muffin and a spot of tea as this story takes us to Scarlet house, not the fanciest of historic houses but the one in which the Heritage Society has placed all of their proverbial eggs. Book store manager, Gemma Doyle, is highly observant and capable of the most excellent deductions, rather like the Great Detective himself. She can also seem a tad cold and distant and rather matter of fact, but she is British and she believes in getting straight to the point. This is why she has been asked to deduce what is going on at Scarlet House. Unexplained or inexplicable happenings, missing history and a missing store clerk makes this latest Sherlock Holmes Bookshop cozy is one that you will not want to miss. There is an unlikely victim, several suspects, and one possible specter. Gemma and Jane are on the trail while trying to stay out of the police investigation and out of trouble. Gemma can’t help it if she is in the wrong place at the right time or is it the right place at the wrong time. In the midst of this investigation, Gemma is desperately trying to determine what has become of her trustworthy shop clerk who has disappeared without so much as a text message or note. The game or rather the mystery is afoot and Gemma’s inquisitive and deductive powers of reason will not be denied. As always, Ms. Delaney delivers in the way of interesting plots and character development.

Gemma Doyle is the co owner of the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop in West London, Massachusetts, and has a knack of figuring things out. She is approached by “Scarlet House”, a local re-enactment museum, as there seems to be things moving around that are not explainable. Gemma doesn’t believes in ghosts but is determined not to get involved, but agrees to spend the night at the museum as a favour. She agrees things are odd but thinks it is pranks, until a body is found.
Nice easy read, perfect to curl up with and get lost into the world of Sherlo… I mean Gemma Doyle.

I gave The Game Is a Footnote by Vicki Delany five stars.

Scarlet House, now a historical re-enactment museum, is the oldest building in West London, Massachusetts. When things start moving around on their own, board members suggest that Gemma Doyle, owner of the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop and Emporium, might be able to get to the bottom of it. Gemma doesn’t believe in ghosts, but she agrees to ‘eliminate the impossible’. But when Gemma and Jayne stumble across a dead body on the property, they’re forced to consider an all too physical threat.

Gemma and Jayne suspect foul play as they start to uncover more secrets about the museum. With the museum being a revolving door for potential killers, they have plenty of options for who might be the actual culprit.

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This is the 8th book in the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery series. I loved reading the previous books and this new installment was no exception.

I love the characters in this series, and we also got to know Gemma's sister more in this book. It was a fun hint to Sherlock Holmes, that her sister is exactly the same as Sherlock's brother, Mycroft.

The story was great and the mystery kept me intrigued. I also liked the side mystery with Gemma's missing sales clerk, Ashleigh. It made me like Gemma even more, seeing her worry about Ashleigh so much.

A great addition to an exceptional series. Highly recommend!

This book comes out January 10.

Thank you Net Galley and Crooked Lane Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CnL_XDQL9BH/

Although The Game Is a Footnote brought my attention to how museums and historic places suffered-- and continue to do so-- due to the pandemic, it is filled to the brim with the things that I love about this series. There is an excellent mystery here in which, although I deduced the whodunit early on, it took me a long time to put together the whydunit.

Gemma is her usual irascible yet brilliant self. Jayne still follows her around in a fruitless attempt to keep her out of trouble. There's a surprise visit or two. Gemma's employee Ashleigh causes her own problems, and Moriarty the shop cat gets to chew the scenery and steal a scene.

I love the interplay between the characters, and I especially enjoyed how the history of Scarlet House and its family was woven into the mystery. Somehow prolific author Vicki Delany knew that, if a mystery involves an old house, I'm usually the first one up the porch steps to knock on the door.

The Game Is a Footnote is a thoroughly enjoyable mystery that has me looking forward to the next installment and smiling at one of the lessons learned in the story's climax. What lesson? Why, never underestimate a woman who knits, of course!

I enjoyed reading about Gemma even thogh this is the 8th in the series I was able to follow wthe characters even though I haven't read any of the other books. Will have to go back and read the others. Gemma and her sister are a real pair i. I didn't see that coming about her sister. A job well done.; letting everyone think the house was haunted. HAH!!!! All the twist and turns and guess who was the culprit to the whole thing???

I really enjoyed this 8th book in the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop mysteries. While Gemma isn't always a very loveable character, it's been nice getting to know her and the supporting characters better over the series, and this is a great installment. I always enjoy visiting Cape Cod, and this mystery includes the potential haunting of an historical local landmark, which is interesting to learn about (even though fictional). The bookshop and tea house are a fun setting, and I look forward to spending more time there in the future! (I also enjoyed the Easter egg connecting this book to another of Vicki Delany's cozy mystery series!) Thanks to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for the advance digital copy!

I do so enjoy Ms. Delany's books, especially her exploration of the Sherlock canon and the recognizable quotations sprinkled throughout. Unfortunately, I found most of the characters in this book (other than the key players) thoroughly unlikeable. It's hard to root for the protagonist to roust out the bad guys when you hate most of the supporting characters.

This one takes place in a historical setting where strange occurrences pepper Scarlet House. The chairwoman of the Historical Society brings Gemma in to get to the bottom of things, despite the fact that she clearly puts no stock in Gemma's opinions and doesn't listen to a word of reason, accusing Gemma of "ghost hunting" despite multiple statements that she does not believe in hauntings and everything has a logical explanation. The explanation turns out to be a jewel heist of international significance.

I struggled with this installment of the series. As mentioned, I really hated most of the society members, especially the chairwoman, Robin. I also thought the book went on for a bit too long.

I received a complimentary ARC copy of The Game is a Footnote, (A Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery #8) by Vicki Delany from NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books in order to read and give an honest review.

… a well-written, cleverly plotted cozy mystery with a quirky cast of suspects, The Game is a Footnote is a fun fast paced read that I would highly recommend …

In the eighth entry in the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery series, author Vicki Delaney does it again. In The Game is a Footnote we hear about the history of the local historical landmark “Scarlet House” in West London, Massachusetts. Gemma Doyle, Co-owner of The Sherlock Holmes Book store along with her Uncle Arthur is helping her best friend and co-owner of Hudson’s Tea Room Jayne Wilson, plan her wedding while enduring a dreary off-season winter in West London. When Jaynes mother Leslie Wilson a board member of The Historical Society who owns and operates the Scarlet House asks for Gemma’s help, she agrees to attend a special board meeting. At the board meeting, Gemma agrees and is once again dragged into mystery, murder, and intrigue. Asked to investigate and debunk odd happenings which others are convinced are supernatural in nature Gemma agrees to spend the night in the house with a few volunteers, board members and neighbors to track down the source of the disturbances. When an unexplained uproar in both the kitchen and barn wakes up the overnight crew and work the farm animals into a frenzy it is apparent something or someone is working behind the scenes. After the events of that night at an emergency board meeting Gemma tries to convince them that there must be human interference and a logical cause to the commotions, but the board is divided. After the meeting Jayne realizes that she has left her purse at the house and she and Gemma go to retrieve it. Unfortunately, they arrive to find the house is locked for the night but notice the barn door is open and the pigs are making a ruckus. When Gemma investigates, she stumbles across the dead body of board member Dave Chase. Gemma’s boyfriend, WLPD Detective, Ryan Ashburton and Gemma nemesis, his partner Detective Estrada, are on the case. When a former pop star has been suspiciously hanging around the shop along with the sudden unexplained disappearance of Ashleigh, Gemma’s number one employee, occurs all around the same time Gemma begins to wonder what is going on and feels compelled to get to the bottom of it despite warnings from Ryan and his partner Estrada. When Gemma’s spy sister, Pippa unexpectedly shows up on her doorstep on a business trip from England, she cannot help but wonder if there is more going on behind the scenes. Despite a strained relationship Gemma enlists Pippa’s help along with Gemma’s version of the irregulars to solve both the murder and the mysterious disappearance of Ashleigh.

Being a devoted fan of the series, this book did not disappoint me, a well-written, cleverly plotted cozy mystery with a quirky cast of suspects, The Game is a Footnote is a fun fast paced read that I would highly recommend. For fans of the author, I also appreciated her little nod to her other series, the Lighthouse Library Series she writes under the pen name of Eva Gates. Although not my favorite in the series it was still a solid entry filled with twists, turns and plenty of red herrings to keep you guessing to the very last chapter!

Gemma and Jayne are asked to stay overnight at an historical house in West London, because people believe it is haunted. There are indeed strange goings on, but Gemma does not believe in ghosts. She knows something more is at play. When Ashleigh goes missing from the shop and a retired pop star shows up in town, Gemma has plenty to keep her busy. Another great book in this series. Love these characters and the plot kept you guessing. Some interesting twists help to keep this story fresh.

Readers who enjoyed the spooky-ish elements in this author's Lighthouse Library series she writes as Eva Gates will love the idea of a haunted museum...or is it haunted by a flesh and blood perp? I also loved the little nod to the Lighthouse Library given in the text of the book--see if you can spot it!

Gemma sure had her hands full with Jayne's mom begging her to help out with the supposed haunting and ever-patient Gemma went along with it while attempting to explain she wasn't a ghost chaser. When an innocent bystander was killer, it was pretty clear that someone was trying to get rid of the museum people, and Gemma's always-inquisitive mind wouldn't rest until it was solved. I enjoyed how Gemma's sister somehow got involved in the case and the fun innuendos around who her esteemed boss was. It was a sweet nod.

There was a good side story featuring Gemma's shop assistant Ashleigh which slightly tied in with the main mystery. I liked the outcome and how Ashleigh handled things. I wasn't too surprised at the whodunit for the main mystery and as always, explanations were shared with friends and food, a super fun way to end the story.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book provided by Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley, and my opinions are my own.

This cozy mystery series is set in a town on Cape Cod, Massachusetts called West London and the main character is a young woman, Gemma, who hails from London, England. Her uncle (or maybe great-uncle) has a bookstore that specializes in Sherlock Holmes (books about him, books about the author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, mugs, puzzles, etc.) and other books set in Victorian times, and now Gemma is running the shop. The story in The Game is a Footnote is set in January, a slow time of year for a touristy area like “the Cape.” Gemma has a reputation for being very observant, like her hero Sherlock Holmes, and is asked to get involved in trying to figure out what happened at a local historic house. The story was a bit far-fetched, but it kept me guessing.

I’ve only read one other book in this Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery series so I can recommend this as a standalone. There are references to things that have happened in previous books but they weren’t essential to the current story.

Fans of the cozy mystery genre will enjoy the fact that not only is there a cat who lives in the building that houses the bookstore, but that Gemma owns two dogs.

I bounced between the audiobook and the ebook for this title, which was very convenient. The audiobook is narrated by Kim Hicks. The story is told by Gemma and I thought her narration was excellent for Gemma, but I didn’t like the voices/accents she used for the local characters. None of them sounded in the least like the New Englanders I know and love.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to an advance copy of this audiobook and to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance reader copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I've enjoyed reading books in Delany's other series, but this is the first book I've read in the Sherlock Holmes Book Shop series. Background information is given about the main characters, but I was at a disadvantage not having read the prior books in the series because it took me a while to keep everyone straight. Like Sherlock Holmes, Gemma, the main character is very observant and uses the details she sees to make deductions. She is a smart, but not particularly warm character. Her ability to make deductions is helpful when she is asked to look into unusual occurrences at a historical museum, but ends up investigating a murder.

The pacing is a bit uneven, but there are a lot of things to enjoy about the book. I enjoy Gemma's friendship with her best friend, Jayne. In addition to the investigation into the events taking place at the museum, there is a side plot involving the disappearance of one of Gemma's new employees that I enjoyed. I guessed who was responsible for some of the strange events and the murder, but not the complex reason why. There are parts of the book I really liked, but I really wish I could have connected more with Gemma.

I received this book at no cost from NetGalley through the courtesy of Crooked Lane Books. My review is voluntary and unbiased.

Gemma Doyle and Jayne Wilson are on the "case" again in the newest installment in the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery. This time they have been asked to investigate a "ghost" in the Scarlet House, a historical museum. Gemma knows that anything that has been going on in the museum is being done by flesh and blood, but she agrees to spend the night to investigate and hopefully solve the mystery. The stage is set to make the night frightening as there is an intense storm with branches scraping against the window, rain pounding on the roof and thunder and lightning. Everyone is edgy and tense, but Gemma does not believe in ghosts. When Jayne and Gemma find Dave Chase's body in the barn, she knows that it was not accident. Dave was a member of the historical society. It becomes a case of cat and mouse as the mystery deepens. There are always plenty of suspects and some twists that make the mystery even more interesting. There is also another side mystery involved as a friend of Gemma' disappears. They are also searching for her while trying to solve the mystery at the Scarlet House. This book and this series are always fun and interesting to read. I love the bookstore aptly named the Sherlock Holmes Bookstore. The characters are interesting and relatable to me as the reader. Moriarty is the shop cat, and he provides some comic relief with his hissing and antics. If you are an animal lover, you will enjoy reading about Gemma's dogs as well. The mystery was interesting and required a little thinking. The mystery ends up being a little more complex than usual once you find out the motive behind everything.

Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for this ARC. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Aaaaaannnnnnndddddddd we are back! Hallelujah!!

After the previous book, I had serious doubts about this series, which until said book, had been really amazing. Book 7 was decidedly not. Between formatting, a very weak story, the narrator being really off and again, a very weak story [though I will say that the premise was really good and unique and I was SO happy to see one of the characters from that story in this one, albeit very briefly, that didn't take away from a seriously weak story and some real frustration] and poor writing and I thought that maybe the series had run its length and needed to be over.

And then I got this one from NetGalley [along with the audiobook, though I was hesitant in that area] and figured I would give it a shot, simply because I have loved this series so much.
Ohhhhhh friends, I am SO GLAD I did. THIS is the writing and story-line that I have loved all along and this was, quite simply, how you open a new reading year IMO. It took everything I had to put it down the first day I started and finally, by yesterday [when I finished], I caved and just read/listened until I was finished. And what a finish! WOW.

I was absolutely sure I knew who the killer was. And if I was wrong [ ;-) ], I had an almost certain 2nd choice [they were a red herring, but such a BIG red herring that is was almost certain they were more than such. HA! I was wrong there too]. I was soooo wrong on both counts. VERY. VERY. WRONG. How absolutely glorious.

Gemma is at her absolute best here. She is seriously trying to NOT get involved in something that everyone actually WANTS her to be involved in and when she finally jumps in full force, things escalate very quickly. Jayne is again the perfect side-kick and I loved the addition of several characters [that I will not mention as to not influence those who have yet to read this] that really enhanced the story.

I was lucky to get the audiobook ARC of this book as well and the narrator [Kim Hicks] was back on track as well and I was so glad that I chose to take a chance on the audiobook and request it and then listen to it. I absolutely love how she does Gemma's voice and the only voice I dislike that she does is Detective Estrada - for some reason, that voice grates on my last nerve and I'd love it if that one changed by the next book. I realize that is easier said than done, but it was the only thing I had a full-issue with [well, the whole side story with Ashleigh and her disrespect of Gemma, but that is a whole 'nother conversation] and didn't detract from the story overall [and is very much a personal issue, not a story-line issue]. I look forward to [hopefully] listening to the next one.

On to book nine!!! Well done!!!

Thank you to NetGalley, Vicki Delany, Kim Hicks - Narrator, Crooked Lane Books, and Dreamscape Media for providing both the ARC and the audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed the mystery in this one as it starts out as a paranormal investigation rather than a murder one, although that does happen eventually. The new characters added to the series are a welcome addition and I liked getting to know them and their quirky personalities. The mystery was well-paced and Gemma was in top form, using her observation skills to glean more from the suspects. Still not a fan of Sherlock and his techniques that are incorporated into the books but I love the setting and characters so much, it doesn’t bother me. Can’t wait to see what they get up to next.

Thank you for the opportunity to review this new novel.

I just realized that I'm over cozy mysteries... it's not this books fault but it's mine. When I read it I was so bored because it felt nothing happened but I know this is not a bad story. So I'm giving this four stars because this is a case of: it's me, not the book.

4.5 stars

Ah, the cheeky Brit, Gemma, is back, in all of her glory. This installment of The Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mysteries has everything that made me fall in love with the series: great character development with genuine relationships among them, engaging setting and episodic descriptions, and a well-paced plot line with enough original content to avoid cookie cutter genre traps. The narrator of the audio is good, especially with the primary character and the accents.

Thank you to Vicki Delany, Crooked Lane Books, Dreamscape Media, and NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.